Drinking?!
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
Fiona's Mom
Chameleon Enthusiast
Waterfalls are usually not recommended by experienced owners. They are hard to clean and collect bacteria. Better to use a drip or mist system. Watch your chams urate...if it is white then your cham is hydrated if it is yellow to orande it is not getting enough hydration.
The fountain is ok for occasional use... as in, use it for a weekend, then clean it (diluted bleach), let it dry and put it away. If left set up, it will harbor bacteria. Some people get away with it for years, some for a few weeks. It depends on the cham's immune system. Like Fionas Mom said, misting systems (like MistKing) and drippers are much better. If you don't have money for a misting system right now, get a pump sprayer like this one from Dollar General for $4. The mist is finer (and less likely to scare the chams) than most spray bottles and you can soak the cage a lot faster.
https://www.dollargeneral.com/trueliving-one-liter-pump-sprayer-assorted.html
Other than looking at the urate, watch for sunk-in eyes. When the eyes are sunk-in, they are very dehydrated so try to head it off before that. I seldom see my chams drink. I have 2 of them and maybe once every other week, one of them will guzzle down some water in front of me. If you are really concerned you could put a camera on them and record the action when you leave the room.
https://www.dollargeneral.com/trueliving-one-liter-pump-sprayer-assorted.html
Other than looking at the urate, watch for sunk-in eyes. When the eyes are sunk-in, they are very dehydrated so try to head it off before that. I seldom see my chams drink. I have 2 of them and maybe once every other week, one of them will guzzle down some water in front of me. If you are really concerned you could put a camera on them and record the action when you leave the room.
austin1125
Member
I had the Repti Rapids skull waterfall, cleaned it on a Sunday, and also set up my mist king ultimate system the same day. by Tuesday the water in the waterfall had become foamy and smelled a little bit like algae. I decided to get rid of it all together after asking the people on here as well. From my understanding as limited as it is, if you have an automatic misting system, there is no hope for a waterfall, my chameleon's enclosure is kept at 70% humidity during the day and with that and the temperature of the enclosure itself, its a breeding ground for bacteria and an exercise of futility to keep a waterfall clean enough to drink from. If you haven't already, invest in an automatic misting system and live plants so your chameleon can drink the dew from the leaves. Good Luck my friend!
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
How I wish Exoterra would get a friggin' clue and stop selling these things as terrarium decor/supplies!! They can create hazards and too many people waste their money on them only to find they are a PITA.
