by Chameleons » Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:36 am
Like most of those that have answered I keep my Veiled outside as much as possible. I think that all of the comments made so far are very valid.
Some of ours are in flexariums, and a group live in an aviary. Rain is not an issue unless it is accompanied by a cold wind; even then unless it is very cold they get left outside. Panthers and carpets are different and come in when the wind is cold. Last night was the first night for many months that I brought in most of the veiled - we had a horrendous storm, the cages were covered in hail and the temperatures dropped to 13c by 6pm. One big male was left in a massive flexarium were he tends to spend the nights low among plants.
Temperatures can be a bit deceiving - in the Middle East (and some of the members who live there could give us some personal views?) it can get cold. My time has been spent in Kuwait not the Yemen but there it got very cold at night in winter (freezing on occasions) and low during the day - 15c maximum in February. This would make it seem a bit like game farms around Brits temperature wise; We get a lot of dilepis on our farm at Brits but the temperatures have gone down to minus 8c - it killed kudu but in the next spring the flap necks were out. Does that mean we can keep flapnecks in captivity (hypothetically, obviously - horrid things in cages) at minus 8c? No!! In the wild they have a range of places they can escape to in order to avoid the cold (and worst of the heavy summer rains) - in a cage they cannot.
As for rain - when we were in Dubai a few years ago we went to a place that was wet. While the rest of the country was a dry sandpit, one area that sits at the base of some hills get good rainfall - the air drews up the moisture from the sea, blows inland and straight up high mountains where it drops it. I imagine that the Yemen has similar places.
Most chameleons will take lower temperatures than you would expect (look at the DSTV weather forecasts for Madagascar) but if they get colder at night then they must get warm during the day - prolonged low or even average temperatures can be fatal.
In my opinion (and it is purely an opinion) I think that Veiled should experience a winter as well as a summer, so keeping one at a constant 32c daytime year around is unhealthy. Ours go outdoors in the winter during the day at every opportunity and rarely get ambient above 18c, normally less but at night they come into an unheated room with the windows wide open, where it gets to about 15c. Note that all chameleons should have a drop at night of around 5c if possible.
The suns rays will allow them to bask and raise their temperature. They then breed in a seasonal cycle which is a niusance when trying to keep a constant supply of young available but it contributes to a healthier animal.
We keep all of our young Veiled at around 25c during the day and 22c at night. Only after about 4 months do our chameleons face the variables of out doors.
Back to your original questions:
* Subject to age - feeding every two days is fine; misting several times a day is good. Ours get a hose turned on them once a day!
* There is a range of views on dripping ice water as a method of watering chameleons - some say the water is unnaturally cold; others say it is ok. I suspect it depends on how soon they drink it after it melts!
* Move him in when it gets too cold - see above; it ends up being a personal thing and I have ended up leaving them outside on nights when the forecast lied and the temperatures have plummeted. Use your judgement and stay above what you think is too low; err on the side of caution.
(And thanks to Boaboy for him comment but I would not claim to be an expert - I have just killed more over a longer period than most! First one - 37 years ago.......)
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