Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday, I moved my female veiled outside and she is not taking it well. She is showing all her stress patterns and is staying at the bottom of her enclosure. She is also pretty restless. I know that hyperactivity is a sign of the temps being too hot. The temp the last two days has had highs around 93 degrees. How hot is too hot? I do have some shaded area for her to get out of the sun. Should I be concerned or is she still just settling in? Thanks

I live in Phoenix, AZ and began asking this same question about 2 months ago....
The general consensus seems to be that we're not too too sure how hot too hot is! My pregnant female veiled ENJOYED being outside, even when it was getting 100 degrees. My male veiled was panting and showing stress coloration at 90 .
I didn't keep her outside for too long in those conditions. The best answer seems to be that it depends with the individual chameleon. If you're going to keep it outside in 90 weather, Be sure to provide plenty of shade, plenty of water and mistings, and to MONITOR your chameleon, especially as the weather gets warmer. If they start to show stress coloration, move them inside.
This is the plan of action that we've been taking (me and my wife Bernie). Not too much information on keeping chameleons in 100 weather conditions over extended periods of time, so we're finding out for ourselves first-hand. Just being VERY VERY careful with our chams and reacting to their cues seems to be the best course for now.
Hope this was of help.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com

I agree with Victor. I had my group of merumontanus and montium outside today for most of the morning and afternoon, and I had to be out there every 20 minutes to check on them. Even though the temperatures at the time ranged from 88-95, I was able to keep their ambient temperature in the low 80s by placing their heavily-planted enclosures (Reptariums®) under the trees (receiving only filtered sunlight), and by providing them with a gentle shower for at least 2 minutes at a time (every 20 minutes). Their enclosures are quite portable, so I bring them outside once ot twice a week.

My animals begin showing signs of stress above 85 degrees (these are, as some people call them, "montane" chameleons), but your calypratus come from a hotter weather in Yemen. Even then, you should carefully monitor their response to the heat, as Victor said, by providing PLENTIFUL shade and lots of water. The higher the temperature, the more water they will need.

Having said that, the stress that your chameleon is experiencing could not only be due to temperature, but also to the change in light intensity, the fact that it has been exposed to more open place where birds fly above them, wind, etc. Remember that even though you may have high intensity UV bulbs indoors, the UVA, B, and C radiation from the sun is hardly comparable. Also, the spectrum (color of the light) may be very different, and reptiles are VERY sensitive to these changes.

You may want to do this gradually, bringing out the chameleon outside for a short period of time in the morning, and placing it back in its indoor enclosure for the rest of the day. I realize this may constitute unnecessary stress, so evaluate your options.

Good luck,

Fabián

I have not been here much the last few weeks and was pleased to see your post! Are you referring to Lola in your post (or someone new)? I emailed you a couple times to see how she was faring after her surgery last year. Please, an update...and a pic???

lele & Luna
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0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Chameleon Help & Resource Info

Lele- Yep it's me...and Lola! Lola is doing alot better, though she did lose part of her tail. I didnt receive your emails, sorry about that. I read a while ago that Luna was having some difficulty. Hope all is well now. Try me again at jwthought81@aol.com and we'll catch up.

Victor and Fabian- Thanks for the info. I saw Victor's post before I started this thread and came to the same conclusion-each individual responds differently. My question now is, is there any way, as side from obvious panting and things like that, to tell the difference between "fear" stress and "heat" stress? I ask because if her stress is the former, i feel she will get used to it, under supervision, of course. If it's the latter, then I need to make some changes. Or is any stressor equally detrimental? Sorry if that is confusing at all, by the way. Anyway, thanks again. And Mt. Meru's are so cool.