Maintaining Proper Humidity Levels for Pet Chameleons

Fogger (or ultra-sonic humidifiers)

We often focus on daytime hydration because we don’t think about what goes on at night. But an in-depth conversation regarding Veiled Chameleons in Yemen on this podcast with Petr Necas introduced me to the concept of foggy mornings being an important component to hydration. A basic search turned up a scientific study showing how Anole lizards (anolis) lose moisture through their breath just like humans. This jogged me into thinking about how this could explain why chameleons seem to drink so much in captivity when they do not have access to such water in the wild. The idea is that a foggy early morning, like they have in their homeland, reduces their dehydration during the night and is being evaluated as a possible hydration source. If you were listening to this podcast in 2018 and 2019 you would have been able to trace my exploration from the original interviews with Petr Necas about the natural condition in Yemen to my testing in my own collection to interviewing Mario Jungmann on his years of experience with fogging. We still have much to learn about fogging and chameleons, but at this point I believe it to be an important tool to recreating the naturalistic hydration cycle. I am sure it is no surprise that I will continue to work with fogging to figure out what it can do for us and our chameleons.

It is useful to know that fogging has become a highly politicized subject in the chameleon community. You will encounter everything from strong opinions that it should be the only hydration method to people who insist fogging will kill your chameleon. As you might suspect, there are scraps of truth in all those arguments, but not a full picture. Fogging as been shown to be an effective hydration technique by chameleon keepers and replicating a natural rise in humidity at night is an obvious component in replicating the natural environment. But fogging is only a tool and our use of it is limited by the equipment we have available. Foggers, like anything dealing with water, must be kept clean to avoid health issues. We need to take bacterial issues seriously, but that is a discussion about cleanliness protocol, not the validity of high humidity nights as a husbandry consideration.

For more details on fogging there is a detailed discussion page, Fogging For Chameleons. Click the below for the link.

A simple hydration method is the gravity feed dripper. These can be as easy as poking a pin hole in a party cup to purchasing an inexpensive reptile dripper that has a water reservoir and a valve for controlling drip rate. Drippers are an excellent back-up and staple hydration method. They do not have the sudden, scary turn-on factor like misting systems and they provide a constant source of water on the leaves that the chameleon can find whenever it is thirsty. You will need a drainage collection tray of some sort to collect the excess water at the bottom. Do not let it pool as it could easily become a health hazard.

Whether mister, dripper, or fogger or anything else dealing with water, be careful to keep all parts clean. Misters will spray the entire cage with dirty water and foggers will aerosolize whatever is in the water basin. Make sure your equipment is cleaned on a regular basis.

There are other hydration methods such as pipettes, drinking glasses, or fountains. I do not deal with those as they are treating hydration in an unnatural manner. Although they can get water into the chameleon they are also methods that won’t work effectively on all chameleons. When we have to train the chameleon or force the chameleon to do something unnatural to survive it is, philosophically, going down the wrong direction. There is nothing inherently wrong with any hydration method which gets water into the chameleon, but to limit the hydration strategy to an unnatural method is relegating your chameleon to live in the tolerance zone instead of in an ideal husbandry situation. That is not what we do here.

You may hear something about taking your Chameleon into the shower for a weekly douse. Showers are often used for emergency hydration situations. Hopefully, you are not in this situation and you should have the cage set so they get all the hydration they need in the cage. So, in the standard chameleon husbandry you shouldn’t have to use a shower.

Another practice you need to be on the watch for is soaking your chameleon. There are some vets that are not experienced with chameleons that will tell you to soak your chameleon in a bowl of water. This is not effective to hydrate a chameleon and will cause undue stress. If your vet is directing you to soak your chameleon then it is time to consider another vet. They are probably qualified to do fecal exams, dispense antibiotics, and perform surgeries, but do not take husbandry advice from them and it is worth it to stand up for your chameleon and not let them be soaked. This is a practice taken from other reptiles and is not only not effective for chameleons, it is highly stressful.

Let’s start by going through that generalized day in the life with a focus on what is happening

When night sets, and the chameleon sleeps, your chameleon will lose moisture through breathing. The more humid the air the less moisture is lost. As the night goes on, the humidity rises until fog rolls in. The air is moist and, as the temperature falls past the dew point, the moisture condenses into dew on leaves. They are breathing in moist air throughout the early morning greatly reducing the dehydration during the night. When the chameleon wakes up they can lick the dew to complete their rehydration if necessary and start their day. If this is the rainy season then there will be rain and more water than the chameleon can want. But if it is the dry season, when it is months between rain, then the chameleon will maintain hydration from the fog, dew, and the moisture found in its food.

To replicate this Perfect Day cycle we use misters to lay down the dew and a fogger to create our fog. Sometime after midnight, in the cool of the night, we simulate the rolling in of a fog bank. The actual hour doesn’t matter, but I start my fogging around 1 or 2AM. I will then keep the fog bank going until right before the lights come on in the morning. I bracket the fogging session with a short misting of about 30 seconds before the fog starts to prime the cage surfaces. The fog from the ultrasonic humidifier tends to roll off dry surfaces and flow out of the cage. But if we lay down a layer of dew the fog tends to stay around. By having the mister and fogger going at the same time there is a potent mixture of humidity. We only need the mister to lay down a layer of moisture. We do not need a drenching so the mister goes for only the first 30 seconds of the fogging session. The fog will continue until just before the lights come on. Note than you can have the fogger going 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off until the morning lights come on. If you are in an environment with high relative humidity to begin with it may not take constant fogging to keep the fog bank replication going. Just remember the fogger is your tool, it is not the end requirement. Each one of our tools will have to be used differently in different environmental conditions.

Right before the lights come on the misters will activate again for a minute or two and reinforce that layer of dew on cage surfaces. When the lights come on, the chameleon wakes to a world covered in dew and can complete any necessary hydration to start the day .

And this is usually all the hydration a chameleon needs.

Now, I always like to include a test to make sure everything is going well. And I use two tests to verify hydration. The first is the poop test. And this is simply whether the poop has an acceptable level of moisture. If the poop is moist then the chameleon is getting enough hydration.

A second way to measure hydration levels is in behavior. Generally speaking, we don’t like seeing our chameleons drink because that means our methods aren’t working as well as we would like. So, I often like to run a dripper in the late afternoon and observe the behavior. A thirsty chameleon will go over to the drip and drink. A hydrated chameleon will ignore the drip or will play around by shooting its tongue at the water droplets. If there would be a time the chameleon was dehydrated it would be in the late afternoon after basking and a day of hanging out. If their poop is moist and they ignore water in the afternoon then you have your answer.

One may immediately notice that there is no misting during the day in this naturalistic hydration method. Wouldn’t it replicate the natural condition during the rainy season to have multiple mistings during the day. While that is true, chameleons hate being sprayed with water. Add that to the hygiene challenges when you have constantly wet surfaces and it is worth critically evaluating replicating the wet season conditions. And if full hydration can be obtained without excessive “raining” during the day then we don’t need to do it until we find a link to a health or psychological need.

The said, there may be a use for you to implement an afternoon rain shower. Perhaps you are having trouble figuring out the right hydration balance. Perhaps you want to experiment with the benefits of having more rainy season elements. Whatever the reason, there is a way to warn the chameleons that a rain is coming. You can simulate a coming cloud cover by turning off some or all the lights. I also will start the fogger about a minute before starting the misters. All of these are signs your chameleon will quickly recognize as a prelude to the misters coming on and they will be able to decide how they want to handle the coming afternoon rain shower.

Basics: Chameleon Hydration and Drinking

Properly hydrating your chameleon is one of the most important parts of chameleon husbandry. Life in the trees presents us with a challenge when we are trying to figure out the best approach. I will be giving an overview of chameleon hydration

• Chameleons get water from dew, food items, and rain
• The natural humidity cycle is high in the night and lower during day
• Constantly wet surfaces encourage bacterial, fungal, and mold growth
• Automatic misting system is best single hydration tool

How to increase the humidity levels for a chameleon

FAQ

Can you put a humidifier in a chameleon cage?

The fog from the ultrasonic humidifier tends to roll off dry surfaces and flow out of the cage. But if we lay down a layer of dew the fog tends to stay around. By having the mister and fogger going at the same time there is a potent mixture of humidity. We only need the mister to lay down a layer of moisture.

How do I control the humidity in my reptile tank?

1. Choose the Right Substrate.
2. Provide Water Dishes.
3. Mist Inside the Enclosure.
4. Use a Humidifier.
5. Add Live Plants.

Why is humidity important for Chameleons?

Correct humidity helps your pet healthy with good digestion, eye health, and skin. When humidity levels get too high over an extended period, it puts your pet chameleon at risk of tail rot and respiratory infections. The higher moisture levels help bacteria to breed, which can get into your pet’s system.

What is the best humidity level for veiled chameleons?

The optimal humidity level for a veiled chameleon is 50%. While they are hardy lizards that can adapt to different environments, it’s not advisable to keep them at a higher humidity level of 50%.

Do chameleons need water?

A chameleon needs water to drink and to keep the humidity in its skin at the right level. Air humidity will provide the proper humidity for its skin, this is especially important when it sheds its skin. You can keep the relative air humidity (RH) up by spraying water into the enclosure of your chameleon.

How do you keep a chameleon humid?

You can keep the relative air humidity (RH) up by spraying water into the enclosure of your chameleon. You can do this by hand with a plant mister or automatically with an electric fog machine / humidifier (“fogger”) or slowly dripping device (“dripper”).

Do chameleons need a humidifier?

Humidity is an important aspect of chameleon husbandry. Veiled chameleons require levels around 40-70%, which can be achieved by several misting sessions a day over all areas of the cage. Live plants help increase and maintain humidity. Sometimes a cool mist humidifier or timer-controlled misting system is needed.

How to reduce humidity in a chameleon cage?

If you have chosen a glass enclosure, ensure you have a screen lid, which allows ample airflow to reduce humidity levels. Alternatively, you can open the windows in the room where you keep your chameleon cage to lower the humidity. Another option is to place a fan in the room to increase airflow. 5. A Sock Filled With Rice or Cat Sand