Chameleon drinking from water bowl?

[UglyHero]

So I have a male Veiled, just picked him up off an owner that wasn't taking care of him about a week ago, and I've noticed on multiple occasions he'll make his way down to the bottom of his enclosure and drink the water that collects there from my drip system.

The water only touches a fake leaf before dripping into the container below, so I'm not too worried about contamination (it's emptied and cleaned frequently), however I'm not sure if he's properly hydrating himself since he uses his tongue to get the water from the bowl into his mouth.

I have seen him catch water droplets a similar way off of vines and leaves, but I was under the impression they would not drink from standing water. Should I try and find another way to keep him hydrated or let him be?

 

[Juliaf3]

Best bet is to check his poop out. If his urate is good and white, don't worry about it. I definitely can't stress enough that the water catcher/bowl be kept immaculate though! The first time he drops a deuce in that and then drinks out of it he could get sick. Just keep it clean!

 

[fleetwoodchams]

Hi
My 4 year old ambilobe male drinks from his own fountain. Like one of those table top versions. When I got him from a I noticed the same thing He did drink droplet on leaves but insisted on drinking the collected water in the plant trays. In order to keep him from doing this I got him a fountain( one that he could not drown in , it is small) He has been using this ever since. And it is easy to keep clean. I know he's weird but he is what he is.

I have been trying to get video of him doing this but by the time I open his viv door he sees me and stops. Bugger! When I do I'll post it

 

[UglyHero]

Thanks guys, I've actually been waiting a couple days now for a bowel movement, I was trying to avoid feeding him because I believe the previous owner was over-supplementing (he gave me a nearly empty 30 gram bottle of Exo-terra multi-vitamin, and he's only supposed to be about a year old) and I thought since he was drinking quite often I would try the "Detox" method posted on the forums here.

His last excretion looked okay, bit of orange near the tip of the urate but from what I've read that's normal. Small, well rounded turd. I've been slowly feeding him more each day as I wasn't sure how much he could put down.

On a side note, I witnessed him eat a sperm plug a few days ago before I could get in there to clean it up (he was very close to it and very territorial). I don't think it will really affect him, but has anyone else seen this?

 

[Carlton]

Thanks guys, I've actually been waiting a couple days now for a bowel movement, I was trying to avoid feeding him because I believe the previous owner was over-supplementing (he gave me a nearly empty 30 gram bottle of Exo-terra multi-vitamin, and he's only supposed to be about a year old) and I thought since he was drinking quite often I would try the "Detox" method posted on the forums here.

His last excretion looked okay, bit of orange near the tip of the urate but from what I've read that's normal. Small, well rounded turd. I've been slowly feeding him more each day as I wasn't sure how much he could put down.

On a side note, I witnessed him eat a sperm plug a few days ago before I could get in there to clean it up (he was very close to it and very territorial). I don't think it will really affect him, but has anyone else seen this?

If he wasn't getting good care before, maybe he learned to drink out of the bowl because thirst led him to try. As long as your container is kept clean it won't hurt him to keep doing it if that what he knows.

 

[FrankTheTank]

The guy you got him from might have had a previous Cham that he used the multi for. Just a thought. Better safe then sorry though

 

[fleetwoodchams]

Question was asked about the light. yes It was a red light but I only used it here to try to catch him in the act. I failed again. When he sees me he stops and wants to be held.
Also I have two fountains for him. This on and another small type. I swap them out when I am cleaning so he always has fresh water. By the way I still mist for humidity several times a day. I don't know where he got the habit of drinking from a dish. He had it when I got him, but the fountains keep him from drinking fouled water in plant bases.

 

[UglyHero]

If he wasn't getting good care before, maybe he learned to drink out of the bowl because thirst led him to try. As long as your container is kept clean it won't hurt him to keep doing it if that what he knows.

Yeah, I thought that may be the case. When I picked him up there was a drinking bowl like what you would find in a Bearded's cage. Took that out and tossed it.

The guy you got him from might have had a previous Cham that he used the multi for. Just a thought. Better safe then sorry though

Never crossed my mind, good point! I was going to ask him but he's lied to me on several occasions about the conditions he was kept in (gave me an old UVB fluorescent and called it a "heat lamp", lol)

 

[alpayne]

I have a female (a recent acquisition) that I noticed drinking this way as well. She is the only one I have ever seen do this and I have been keeping chameleons for years. She was (and is) well hydrated and healthy from the time I got her.

 

[FrankTheTank]

Never crossed my mind, good point! I was going to ask him but he's lied to me on several occasions about the conditions he was kept in (gave me an old UVB fluorescent and called it a "heat lamp", lol)

Wow...well either way some time off from supplements definitely won't do a lot of harm and could be beneficial if that was in fact bought at the same time he acquired the Cham. Hope all goes well for the little guy though!

 

[broderp]

I'm learning from this forum, that just because something is "preferreed" doesn't mean it's always the only way or the correct way.

It has been said that chams will not see standing water as a water source, you now this is not true. I also know chams can be trained to use a rodent water bottle, as this is the way my cham drinks.

Water fountains, I bet they can. I believe the issue with water fountains and standing water is the potential for bacteria or other 'bad stuff'

I say unless you want to try and break your cham from drinking out of a water dish (mine did this too to my surprise ), or standing water maybe there's nothing wrong with what he's doing if he's healthy and you keep fresh water for him.

 

[fleetwoodchams]

Exactly, I didn't train him to do this he was already doing it. Just he was drinking dirty water. I simply gave him an alternate water source. He still is misted several times a day although I never see him drink from the leaves, just his little fountain. I keep it very clean and it works for this particular cham. By the way I have small rodent water bottles in each cham cage too. My others still drink from the dripper and leaves but I do see them take water from the bottle every now and again. I see it as a "backup" source for if I am out of the house for a while and they need water.

 

[Hyokenseisou]

I'm learning from this forum, that just because something is "preferreed" doesn't mean it's always the only way or the correct way.

It has been said that chams will not see standing water as a water source, you now this is not true. I also know chams can be trained to use a rodent water bottle, as this is the way my cham drinks.

Water fountains, I bet they can. I believe the issue with water fountains and standing water is the potential for bacteria or other 'bad stuff'

I say unless you want to try and break your cham from drinking out of a water dish (mine did this too to my surprise ), or standing water maybe there's nothing wrong with what he's doing if he's healthy and you keep fresh water for him.

Pretty much took the words right out of my mouth.

Different chams have different preferences. My old veiled, would NEVER drink from droplets, dripper, misting, anything. The only time he'd drink if from the mist bottle directly (would slow spray at a pace to which he was drinking). So I knew he was getting his water, because as soon as he saw the bottle, he would come over and start shooting the tip until I started spraying him. It was cute and good to know he was for sure getting water, but that also meant I couldn't take a 'vacation'/trip for longer than 3 or so days.
I did have a video of that some where, just gotta find it.

 

[fleetwoodchams]

Pretty much took the words right out of my mouth.

Different chams have different preferences. My old veiled, would NEVER drink from droplets, dripper, misting, anything. The only time he'd drink if from the mist bottle directly (would slow spray at a pace to which he was drinking). So I knew he was getting his water, because as soon as he saw the bottle, he would come over and start shooting the tip until I started spraying him. It was cute and good to know he was for sure getting water, but that also meant I couldn't take a 'vacation'/trip for longer than 3 or so days.
I did have a video of that some where, just gotta find it.

If you find that please upload it . That would cool to see

 

[Hyokenseisou]

I have a feeling it's on my old harddrive which I can't accept because it's corrupt I thought I had it uploaded on fb because a friend wanted to see, but I guess not. :,(
If I ever get around to retrieving the stuff off that harddrive, then I will. Still debating paying the fees for a "maybe able to retrieve"