Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have to go on vavatin for 12 days. hat should i do. i doon;t have anyone to babysit them. if i have to i may have to pay a pet store to atch them. i know for sure that my female drinks from a cup. but the male i;m not sure haven't seen him do it yet. can ii getawayy wiith just putting in aabout 100 crickets a piece in each cage and a big bowl of water?

a bowl of water and 100 crickets?? no, don't think that will work. Even if your chams drink from a bowl (which is very unusual) what happens when poop gets in the bowl and a cricket drowns and begins to decay? You then have seriously contaminated water. When are you leaving? Do you have a reliable friend who can come in daily to turn on your dripper, mist the cages and put some crickets in a cup? I assume you do not house them together?

Paying a pet store is almost sure death. How about an employee from the store who knows reptiles (if you can find one). And one other consideration is trusting someone (a stranger) in your home.

I am sure others have dealt with this and hopefully will come up with some setup options, but even if you get it all figured out you need a trusted friend to come in regularly just to make sure everything is OK. If your power goes out and your times get all messed up they need to be reset, etc.

Not trying to freak you out but hopefully you are not going for a while and you can work something out. Maybe someone on the forum lives near you. Another option is to contact your local vet and/or herp society and see if they have someone who can care for them. what state are you in?

good luck!
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

Or, ask neighbors or friends who travel who takes care of their pets. If you have to pay someone there may be a local pet sitting service who could at least come in once a day. Write out a logical detailed caresheet with the chores needed, run through it with whoever you get, and leave the sheet and a cham info source (book, website) for their reference during your trip. You won't be able to leave them like that for sure. What about temp cages like Reptariums and taking them to a vet or to a vet tech's house? What about a state herp society who may have members in your area?

I went away on vacation over the holidays & made use of a pet sitter. She was a bit on the pricey side, but before we left, she came over & we had about 2 hrs to go over all the specifics on the animals, what they eat, when to water, what to look for if there's trouble & so on... Make sure you get someone who is insured & bonded if you do this, just in case the worst happens. Also, ask them for references. The one I hired lived in town & could make it even in a snow storm. She also was able to come in if the power went out & make sure they didn't freeze. Even if you have to "dumb-it-down" by seperating the food into containers with only 1 days worth of food, it works much better than leaving 100 crix in there with your chams.
Good Luck!!
~C
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1.0 Crazy dog... or duck, sheep, snake, cat & grumpy old man combo... (Gizmo)
0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
1.1 Veiled Chameleons (Charlie & Emma)
0.1 Collard Lizard (Jimmie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Lily)
0.0.1 AWOL Leopard Gecko (Eddie)
1.0 AWOL Kitty (Mikey)
0.7 Guardian Angel Puppies (Sandy, Floppy, Lily, Crash, Tigger, Lady, Lassie)
0.1 Amazing Fiance =o)