Cham not drinking properly

Matt1851

New Member
Chameleon Info:
· Your Chameleon – Nosy Be Panther, Male, 4 Months old. Been in my care for 1 month
· Handling – Every other day (just to make sure he is healthy)
· Feeding – Crickets as a main diet. Starting to feed a superworm every now and then. I usually give him 6 crickets in his cup and let 2 or 3 free roam. I usually put them in when he has 1 left or none left. Im gut loading them with carrots, collards, cabbage.
· Supplements – I have Reptocal Calcium with Vit D3 (given once a month) Repti-cal Calcium (given every other feeding) and Repti-cal Multivitamin (given once a month)
· Watering – I mist the terrarium and have a cup with a small hole used as a dripper. I mist him 3 times a day if not more for about 15 seconds until everything is pretty wet. I see him drinking usually once a day.
· Fecal Description – Droppings are brown (big chunk after he eats) and there is a little bit of white at the end not a lot with sometimes a little bit of yellow or a fair amount of yellow. He has not been tested for parasites. (hoping to do that soon)
· History – Not to sure about his history, not sure what breeder the pet store got him from. The pet store is called All Reptiles in Toronto Ontario

Cage Info:
· Cage Type – I have an all screen terrarium. Its 16x16x30 (WxLxH)
· Lighting – I have an R-Zilla Heat lamp and a normal aquarium hood for the uvb, I have a 50 watt heat bulb and the Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. I have my lights on a timer witch goes on at 7am and off at 8pm (same as the sun outside)
· Temperature – Floor is usually 70-75 and the basking spot ranges from 80-85. lowest overnight temp is 70-75 I have a zoo-med digital thermometer with probe.
· Humidity – Im not to sure if my analog hydrometer is weird or w/e but right after I mist it says its about 85-100 and about an hour or so later it goes to 50-65%? I mist the terrarium 3 to 5 times daily.
· Plants – I am using one live plant and I am not to sure what its called but it’s a tropical plant and I will be getting a schefflera today
· Placement – My cage is located in my bedroom. It is not near anything of high traffiz or any fans and whatnot. The hight of the top is 66 inches from the floor.
· Location – I am located in Toronto Ontario Canada.

Current Problem – So my cham is about 4 months old, I spray him 3 times a day if not more and i have a dripping system that drips about once per second and i refil constantly, i see him drink but im not to sure if he drinks when im not around. After i inspect his poo sometimes its fine with the slightest bit of yellow and sometimes its got alot of yellow. Should i use a small syringe to give him water daily for now or will he be ok?
 
Rather that use a syringe I would increase how long you mist each time. Chameleons often take a while to drink after the misting starts. Mine at misted 3 times a day for 9 minutes each, but I have an automatic mister. Your guy could use as much misting as you can stand misting him. Also the water should warm but not hot. And you are kidding yourself if you think you are holding him every other day to check him out. It is really hard not to want to hold him a lot, I could hold each one on mine every day and be happy. But for him you should cut the holding him way down. He sounds great, enjoy the baby time they grow up so fast.:):)
 
Rather that use a syringe I would increase how long you mist each time. Chameleons often take a while to drink after the misting starts. Mine at misted 3 times a day for 9 minutes each, but I have an automatic mister. Your guy could use as much misting as you can stand misting him. Also the water should warm but not hot. And you are kidding yourself if you think you are holding him every other day to check him out. It is really hard not to want to hold him a lot, I could hold each one on mine every day and be happy. But for him you should cut the holding him way down. He sounds great, enjoy the baby time they grow up so fast.:):)

ill try to increase the misting, he seems to hate when i mist him but if misting him longer is what it takes then i guess ill do it!. Ya he is such a little funny guys but i kinda want him to grow up :)
 
Mine all hated misting, now some like it and some still hate it. Pickle, adult male veiled, runs like I am trying to kill him when I start my manuel spraying, then he stops and drinks, crazy little nut.
 
I think they have to adjust to the water before they start drinking. Sometimes my cham looks like she's ready to back away and then she starts drinking. She also drinks both warm water and cool water which I can't make any sense of lol. Yesterday she was drinking from the thermometer probe and the wall it was actually pretty funny to watch. But when I first had her that once a week i took her out i gave her water with a syringe because i never saw her drink at first. So I don't think that would hurt along with increased misting time.
 
How long does the dripper run for, and does the water drop onto leaves?
(I am assuming you dont have a hose end that he can drink directly from).

How heavily are you dusting the feeders with calcium?
 
How long does the dripper run for, and does the water drop onto leaves?
(I am assuming you dont have a hose end that he can drink directly from).

How heavily are you dusting the feeders with calcium?

the dripper is on for the majority of the day, it does drip onto leaves but i have seen him go up to where it drips from at the top and drink the drops before they fall, i get the crickets fully coverd in dust but he dosnt eat them right away so some of the dust gets cleaned off
 
They can learn to enjoy misting sessions. Tommy's last owner didn't mist him - in fact he looked confused when I aksed about it. He then said 'Oh yeah, I flick water at him occasionally, and he drinks from his dripper'. I couldn't believe it! Poor Tommy. Needless to say he now gets misted properly twice a day. He gradually learnt to accept the mistings - to start with he would run and hide. It didn't take long for him to get the idea though - he usually starts drinking within a few sprays, then he'll just sit drinking with his eyes shut and enjoy it! I also see him drink from the dripper tube to - he likes to bite the end!
 
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