dehydrated???

[ramhemi55]

hey everyone, i spray my veiled chameleons cage down 3 to 4 times a day and i usually have a couple cubes of ice melting on the top down the plants. my question is, i never see him drink off the leaves or anything but is there a way to find out if he is dehydrated. goofy looking skin, bad color, anything like that. thanks!!!!

 

[Warrix642]

His poo should have 2 parts 1 brown(poo) 1 white(Urate) If the part that should be all white has any orange in it than he/she is dehydrated.

 

[ramhemi55]

ok but there is no way other that to find out like skin color or anything like that just by looking at him?

 

[chambabysitter1]

Ice cubes are a bad way to provide dripping. Chameleons aren't really fond of drinking freezing water like that.

Try a cup or a bottle with a pinhole in it. Or make your own with a dripper head from the gardening center.

How long do you mist for?

The best way to tell is by looking at the urate as previously stated. But the color may be off and sunken eyes are a sign as well. But the urate is your best bet.

 

[ramhemi55]

i usually give the cage a good mist, make sure every plant is dripping. not totally soaked but dripping

 

[chambabysitter1]

Some chameleons are stimulated to drink by longer misting sessions. Especially in the morning. I would try that.

By long I mean like, 5-15 solid minutes of misting. Sometimes it takes 5 just to get mine started, once she does I will continue until she stops, which can be 10 min later.

Keep checking for that urate though.

 

[Warrix642]

ok but there is no way other that to find out like skin color or anything like that just by looking at him?

Why would you need another way, what I told you is fool proof?

i usually give the cage a good mist, make sure every plant is dripping. not totally soaked but dripping

You should be misting for 3-5 minutes several times a day and dripping once a day at least.

 

[ramhemi55]

oh, i was originally told by the guys at the store i bought him from that mist down 3-5 times a day enough to wet everything down and have the plants drip. didnt know it was supposed to be for that long. thanks for the input!

 

[chambabysitter1]

oh, i was originally told by the guys at the store i bought him from that mist down 3-5 times a day enough to wet everything down and have the plants drip. didnt know it was supposed to be for that long. thanks for the input!

It's all relative in the end. But, I definitely notice a difference in drinking when it comes to duration.

 

[ramhemi55]

yeah cause i just did look at his droppings and his eyes in the tank. droppings look good as described and he himself looks good. ill def have to come up with a misting system now. thanks a lot everyone!

 

[chambabysitter1]

yeah cause i just did look at his droppings and his eyes in the tank. droppings look good as described and he himself looks good. ill def have to come up with a misting system now. thanks a lot everyone!

Honestly, a lot of chameleons are "secret drinkers".
They wait until people leave the room then they lap up the dew from leaves or catch the dripper.

You might just have a shy chameleon, they might warm up over time.

As long as the urates are good, then your hydration techniques are pretty much great.