Anybody Have Drinking Tips??

[UserName336]

My guy hasn't really been drinking too much for the last few days. The urate got pretty bad (bright orange). I dug around some old posts and found that heating up the water might help. Tried that yesterday and again today. Sure enough, today i saw him licking a leaf as i was leaving for school, and the urate today was slightly less bright orange, mixed with some white.

Does anybody have any more tips on getting them to drink?

I have a dripper going all day, and i haven't tried the shower thing yet since he doesn't seem to like misting (he runs away no matter the water temperature and fires up sometimes as well)

 

[drcrossfire]

You may just want to try the shower thing anyways.

What type of mister are you using?

 

[Elizadolots]

My first suggestion is to get the dripper going, then drench the cage with a very good misting. Make sure all the leaves are dripping. Sometimes it takes that to trigger the "I can drink this" thought....then, hopefully, as the dripper is just a continuation of the "rain" he'll still drink from it.

A more "hands on" approach if you really need to push him is to drip water directly on his nose using an eye dropper (plastic) or needless syringe. They are often unable to resist that drop of water as it rolls onto their mouth.

 

[brandonfrias]

i have the same problem /: i have a jacksons...whats the shower thing? i want to try it

 

[Psychobunny]

Yep, get yourself a dripper going as suggested, then do this:

Get a plastic spray bottle, like 1 liter.
Fill it with water *
Nuke it for about a minute so it's pretty warm, not hot.
Spray your cham from above in short "bursts", not hard spray.
Spray them directly, slowly, untill you see his mouth open and close (this will mean he is drinking).
Continue until he stops and walks away (when retreating, stop spraying).
It may take a long time and lots of water before he starts opening his mouth, so get maybe 2 bottles.

I do not like the "shower" method as I believe it causes to much stress on the animal, esp when there are other ways to do it while they are in their own home.
(JMPO)

Obviously, you need good drainage

* if you have hard tap water, use distilled water from the store.

 

[Psychobunny]

i have the same problem /: i have a jacksons...whats the shower thing? i want to try it

LOL!! everytime I hear of a cham is not drinking, I always assume it's a jacksons

The shower thing involves taking your cham out of his/her cage, putting them on a temp perch, like small fake bush, perch of some kind,
and putting them in your bathroom shower with the warm water bouncing off the wall so they get a indirect spray.

 

[slinko9]

what colours are we supposed to be watching for in poops to hint towards dehydration??? Or as an sign of health??

 

[UserName336]

i've got the exo terra pressure mister thing (i got it for free with my cage). i usually use about .5 - .75l of distilled water. i spray down the cage in 15-30 second bursts and usually just go until i run out of water. he runs like crazy though. he tries his hardest to stay as dry as possible and even resorts to climbing outside the cage sometimes. he'll go as far as to grab onto the mister and run up my arm to get away from it (so i really want to avoid the shower since he's THAT insistent on not being misted).

as for the dripper before mister, i do that every morning in that order. i have the Big Dripper (fill it half way every day) and i stop it an hour before his bed time to let the leaves dry out.

i might try the eyedropper thing (i have a guitar humidifier syringe that i can use). he seems to have learned that i'm not going to harm him so comes outside on his own about 5 times a week. should i try it when he's walking around on my arm or should i put him on a plant he hangs out on thats on my windowsill?

 

[UserName336]

what colours are we supposed to be watching for in poops to hint towards dehydration??? Or as an sign of health??

watch the urate.

white = good
yellow = he might not have had a drink the previous day. keep an eye out
orange = bad. he's getting pretty dehydrated
red = seek immediate help

thats how i understand it anyway

 

[Thezillaman21]

My guy hasn't really been drinking too much for the last few days. The urate got pretty bad (bright orange). I dug around some old posts and found that heating up the water might help. Tried that yesterday and again today. Sure enough, today i saw him licking a leaf as i was leaving for school, and the urate today was slightly less bright orange, mixed with some white.

Does anybody have any more tips on getting them to drink?

I have a dripper going all day, and i haven't tried the shower thing yet since he doesn't seem to like misting (he runs away no matter the water temperature and fires up sometimes as well)

start the dripper on the highest leaf and make sure that the light is on it. make sure the water is luke warm. every once and a while my guy does this and I have noticed that the lighting seems to help. id also try getting some hornworms

 

[slinko9]

Off Topic!!!! What kinda axe is that??? I play too!!!

 

[SarahcoadunatioZac]

What if the tip is orange? Is it the same? As in any orange at all and hes dehydrated?

Or if the tip is orange then hes just not getting 'enough' water but still some?

 

[shaunaroxanne]

Make a little "umbrella" area for him to sit under. I made mine with big, fake leaves. That way he can sit under it and stay protected from the mist, but he can still lick the water up.

 

[Preekoo]

i've got the exo terra pressure mister thing (i got it for free with my cage). i usually use about .5 - .75l of distilled water. i spray down the cage in 15-30 second bursts and usually just go until i run out of water. he runs like crazy though. he tries his hardest to stay as dry as possible and even resorts to climbing outside the cage sometimes. he'll go as far as to grab onto the mister and run up my arm to get away from it (so i really want to avoid the shower since he's THAT insistent on not being misted).

The thought of this situation made me laugh lol. I have a hudson pump, like the things people use to spray weed killer. EVERY morning I fill it up with some nice hot bath water around 100 degrees and pump it for a long time so I can get a nice long lasting spray for about 5 minutes. I'll start to spray the bottom of his cage and continue upwards until I get to him and then I'll spray him at an angle (not directly, more of like an arch) for about 2-3 minutes. It comes out as a nice fine warm mist. He LOVES it.

The pumps are about 15$ at walmart. (no poison in it of course )

 

[Psychobunny]

i've got the exo terra pressure mister thing (i got it for free with my cage). i usually use about .5 - .75l of distilled water. i spray down the cage in 15-30 second bursts and usually just go until i run out of water. he runs like crazy though. he tries his hardest to stay as dry as possible and even resorts to climbing outside the cage sometimes. he'll go as far as to grab onto the mister and run up my arm to get away from it (so i really want to avoid the shower since he's THAT insistent on not being misted).

as for the dripper before mister, i do that every morning in that order. i have the Big Dripper (fill it half way every day) and i stop it an hour before his bed time to let the leaves dry out.

i might try the eyedropper thing (i have a guitar humidifier syringe that i can use). he seems to have learned that i'm not going to harm him so comes outside on his own about 5 times a week. should i try it when he's walking around on my arm or should i put him on a plant he hangs out on thats on my windowsill?

The reason he is running away from the water could be that you are spraying him with cool water while he is raising him body temp under the basking light.

that's why I mentioned warming the water. It only takes a minute, and your cham will actually like it (probably, that is

 

[UserName336]

The reason he is running away from the water could be that you are spraying him with cool water while he is raising him body temp under the basking light.

that's why I mentioned warming the water. It only takes a minute, and your cham will actually like it (probably, that is

I do warm up the water. I mentioned that in my original post. He still doesn't like it but he isn't running out of the cage anymore. At least, not in the last 3 days. I feel like the problem is he wants to shoot at the water drops. He tries but gives up quickly. Don't know how to fix this problem

 

[Psychobunny]

I do warm up the water. I mentioned that in my original post. He still doesn't like it but he isn't running out of the cage anymore. At least, not in the last 3 days. I feel like the problem is he wants to shoot at the water drops. He tries but gives up quickly. Don't know how to fix this problem

Oh, sorry, didnt see that part.
your cham may be drinking more then you think since you cant sit there and watch him 24/7.
Lots of chams are even shy to eat and drink if a person is watching because (in theory) it gives away their possition to a suspect preditor (the person!!)

What I do is just check their poop every day to tell if they are eating and drinking like they should and dont worry if I dont actually see it

 

[UserName336]

i know they can be shy. my guy isn't shy whatsoever about eating, and he used to drink right in front of me. then he stopped and hasn't done it again. his urate turned bright orange and his eyes are fairly sunken. he's also quite grey looking most of the time as opposed to his usual bright blue. i'm just getting worried about him.

 

[pigglett79]

I have a really hard time getting my Jackson's to drink as well. I mist w warm water several times a day. The only thing that really keeps him hydrated is a steady supply of hornworms.

 

[UserName336]

Well, its been a few days so he's taken a few poops. I will post pictures of recent ones to get your opinions. I will do it when I get home (I'm on campus right now). I think he is showing signs of improvement. Hopefully everybody else agrees