Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to inquire about anyones experiences keeping chameleons outdoors in southern Arizona. In particular Veiled or Oustalet's. If you have I would like to hear about any of your methods to adapt your husbandry practices to the climate.

Thanks

This will be difficult as you'll need to raise the ambient humidity a lot 24/7. Temps can be modified by dense shade and moving air. You would probably go through a very large amount of water every day to humidify the enclosures and in an area where being economical with water is important (being dependent on water rights on rivers that are already over-allocated) maybe not a great idea. If you build more enclosed areas they might be hard to keep cool enough. Just my thoughts.

Yes, Arizona is a warm place but the aridity and dramatic temp fluctuations definitely would be a challenge. Thanks for your insight.

Depending on your location, varmints might also be an issue!
I'm now in Phoenix and I put my veileds outside for as long as possible in the cooler times of the year.
My last veileds were doing exceptionally well during the spring and early summer. I would *not* recommend putting them outside during mid summer. You might be able to do it for a couple of hours in the late evening, but please be very careful. 100+ weather will kill your chameleon in less than an hour. Sadly, I know this first hand.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com

I am actually thinking about Veiled Chameleons. I am thinking I would keep them inside from June through September. Spring and Fall would be the best times, but winter would probably require a ceramic heater on a thermostat. Thanks for your thoughts.