are showers ok?&

[bayne_928]

so i have noticed this being talked about before but was wondering if it was alright to use the shower for extra hydration for a dehydrated rehab cham? i saw en exotic vet today so she could get checked out properly, and she told me as long as i was careful and the cham wasn’t stressed out, it was safe. i shower her by letting the water hit the wall and mist the tree she climbs. the chameleon i am rehabbing hasn’t drank out of her dropper or during misting, but will drink if i use the shower on her or when i have to use an eye dropper in her. so am i ok to do this? the vet said yes but some cham groups are very against it

 

[AnamCara]

I believe @jamest0o0 does this with his Parsons. When my chameleon was sick she also wouldn't drink. I did not shower her, instead I hydrated with horn worms and got her hospital bin up to 90-95% humidity in the night time.

I positioned a cool mist humidifier to pretty much land directly in her and covered the top of her hospital bin so no moisture would escape..but left a little room for air flow.

 

[bayne_928]

thank you for some clarification! i would love to try a horn worm but she is so sick she won’t eat anything. the vet started her on carnivore care as well as a calcium/vitamin supplement today and told me to keep up with a diluted gatorade solution as well as misting. i have never owned a chameleon but i know they’re finicky little guys so i want to give her the best chance i can i put a photo of her below for reference on how tiny she is

 

[MissSkittles]

Poor little honey. The concerns with showers are stress levels and water temperature. What feels lukewarm to us can actually be scalding hot to a chameleon. I would just be misting the heck out of her enclosure around her and not on, but over her to simulate a shower. If you can find very small hornworms, you could try and slip one in her mouth. They do bite though, so I would make sure to () crush it’s head first.

 

[AnamCara]

Gatorade? Like regular Gatorade? I've never heard of that. That doesn't seem good to me as it has sugar....

 

[AnamCara]

@jannb @JacksJill @kinyonga ever heard of using Gatorade??

 

[bayne_928]

Poor little honey. The concerns with showers are stress levels and water temperature. What feels lukewarm to us can actually be scalding hot to a chameleon. I would just be misting the heck out of her enclosure around her and not on, but over her to simulate a shower. If you can find very small hornworms, you could try and slip one in her mouth. They do bite though, so I would make sure to () crush it’s head first.

oh yikes i didn’t know they bite but i will for sure try to stick to bottle misting instead! i make sure the water is temped first so she doesn’t burn her. i just wanted clarity on the showering since some people weren’t happy with me for doing it. my other question is is diluted gatorade acceptable? again i cleared it with the vet and she was very much for using watered down gatorade to hydrate but again, i was told this was wrong and should never happen

 

[bayne_928]

Gatorade? Like regular Gatorade? I've never heard of that. That doesn't seem good to me as it has sugar....

yes i take a cup of water and dribble in a bit of gatorade so it’s diluted but the vet said this was actually fine since it has sugar and electrolytes and is a good way to help her out. she laps it up like crazy and it seems to have helped her out with getting some energy back. again, i have seen mixed reviews online so figured i would ask

 

[Gingero]

Did the vet say anything about an upper respiratory infection? These closed eyes and body position are symptoms of an URI.

 

[bayne_928]

Did the vet say anything about an upper respiratory infection? These closed eyes and body position are symptoms of a URI.

yes she said she doesn’t think there is an active infection but gave me antibiotics just to be safe

 

[kinyonga]

What's the basking temperature?
How did you come to get her?
What antibiotics were you given for her? Be careful she doesn't aspirate it when you give it to her.

 

[bayne_928]

What's the basking temperature?
How did you come to get her?
What antibiotics were you given for her? Be careful she doesn't aspirate it when you give it to her.

so i work at a pet store and she was being outcompeted by the other ladies so she declined really fast and i decided “if she’s not going to make it she will at least be comfortable and cared for in her final days” and i took her home. i have yet to put my probe thermometer in her tank (i have to move it from my gecko tank) but it should be around 90. she also has a linear t5 uvb bulb. the vet said she was very impressed with my care for being a complete newbie to chams and she thinks she has a pretty good chance to make it with me. she will eventually be rehomed to a reptile education center

 

[kinyonga]

Here's a recipe that might be of interest to you...
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html

So good of you to rescue her and bring her home.

90F is a little hot for her IMHO...if she does have a RI the temperature would likely be best a bit higher than normally recommended...but I think that's just a bit too much.

 

[kinyonga]

Has she been eating at all? Do you have the right size insects for her?

Be very careful that she doesn't aspirate the water from misting/showering and the Gatorade if you continue to use it. The opening to the lungs is near the front of the mouth. When she's sick like this, she I'll have more trouble coping with misting, etc and it will be easy for her to get overwhelmed by too much liquid hitting her mouth all at once.

I wonder if pedialyte would be better than Gatorade? Maybe you could ask the vet?

 

[bayne_928]

Here's a recipe that might be of interest to you...
https://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html

So good of you to rescue her and bring her home.

90F is a little hot for her IMHO...if she does have a RI the temperature would likely be best a bit higher than normally recommended...but I think that's just a bit too much.

i will definitely adjust the temp when i have a definite temp. she also seeks out the heat and will climb onto the lid and sleep directly under the heat bulb. i don’t allow this in fear of her burning herself but she does everything in her power to be right under the heat

 

[bayne_928]

Has she been eating at all? Do you have the right size insects for her?

Be very careful that she doesn't aspirate the water from misting/showering and the Gatorade if you continue to use it. The opening to the lungs is near the front of the mouth. When she's sick like this, she I'll have more trouble doping with misting, etc and it will be easy for her to get overwhelmed by too much liquid hitting her mouth all at once.

I wonder if pedialyte would be better than Gatorade? Maybe you could ask the vet?

she has not eaten at all unfortunately. she has been eying up her meal worms like she wants to but is scared. the first real thing she ate was her carnivore care and that was only 0.1 g as prescribed i was told i could cut open the mealworms and scoop out their insides and syringe feed that as well but i want to get her started on her meds first

 

[kinyonga]

i will definitely adjust the temp when i have a definite temp. she also seeks out the heat and will climb onto the lid and sleep directly under the heat bulb. i don’t allow this in fear of her burning herself but she does everything in her power to be right under the heat

You could raise the light up a bit so she can't get so close to it...and test it by putting your hand palm side down, inside the cage as close to the light as possible...if you want to move your hand then it's definitely going to burn her.

 

[kinyonga]

she has not eaten at all unfortunately. she has been eying up her meal worms like she wants to but is scared. the first real thing she ate was her carnivore care and that was only 0.1 g as prescribed i was told i could cut open the mealworms and scoop out their insides and syringe feed that as well but i want to get her started on her meds first

The bug juice recipe might help to get her started. Also, if she starts to drink, place an insect between her teeth so she bites down on it and see if she will eat it that way. I would be using something besides mealworms. Crickets are a good option. Small silkworms would be good too...might help with hydration.
How are you determining that she's dehydrated? What color are her urates? White or somewhat white or very orange?

 

[bayne_928]

The bug juice recipe might help to get her started. Also, if she starts to drink, place an insect between her teeth so she bites down on it and see if she will eat it that way. I would be using something besides mealworms. Crickets are a good option. Small silkworms would be good too...might help with hydration.
How are you determining that she's dehydrated? What color are her urates? White or somewhat white or very orange?

i will definitely try sneaking in some bugs thank you! and i have only seen her poop once and it was right before the vet today and it was very liquid but it was white when it dried so hopefully all the meds work. i was going to go with the carnivore care first to get the appetite back but i will definitely try sneaking in some bugs for her

 

[JacksJill]

Here is how the forum describes showers. "Shower - Another method of providing water, especially to dehydrated chameleons, is by using a shower. Place a large plant in the tub, aim the shower head against the wall, and run the water so that only a fine mist reaches the chameleon. The water should be room temperature (not hot!). They may drink for up to 30 minutes. Make sure to supervise your chameleon at all times while using this method."
Sounds like you are talking about hand misting with some electrolytes. That doesn't sound unreasonable if its not over done. I've done something similar with hand misting or dripping to stimulate drinking.