Gave Reptar a bath, confused on behavior/colors.

cantgetagoodsn

cantgetagoodsn

Avid Member
So I noticed Reptar's (10 month male jackson's) urine was a little orange so I hand misted him, and decided to give him a warm bath since he has been shedding for what seems like 2 weeks now and has only managed to shed his head.

Anyways, it was close to his bed time, but I gave him a bath real quick. He didnt like the small container I used, so I tried my bathtub and put him on a stick. He seemed to love the water. He closed his eyes while on the branch in the water and turned pretty bright.

What confuses me though is that he was extremely bright in the smaller container with water, but was trying to get out as hard as he could...

And last when I put him in his cage he didnt even open his eyes, he just went in there and grabbed thenearest branch and went to sleep. The lower half was really bright, the top half was darker with bright triangles in the middle.

Can anyone make sense of Jackson's colors. He seems to be showing bright colors in situations where he is stressed. I don't know what to think.
 

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maybe was confused and sorta enjoyed later on....and plus bright colors can sometimes mean excitement or "spooked", then become dark and become pissed...just a guess
 
He probably was extremely stressed from being taken out of his cage and put in some water. If his urates are orange, mist more and make sure you have a dripper for him to drink from throughout the day. If he still has orange urates, give him a shower for about 30 minutes. I would put the cage in the shower and have the shower water bouncing off the walls. I think this is a lot less stressful for the cham rather than being taken out of his cage. Btw, you'll get orange urates a few times, when they continuously happen is when you worry.
 
Thompson said:
He probably was extremely stressed from being taken out of his cage and put in some water. If his urates are orange, mist more and make sure you have a dripper for him to drink from throughout the day. If he still has orange urates, give him a shower for about 30 minutes. I would put the cage in the shower and have the shower water bouncing off the walls. I think this is a lot less stressful for the cham rather than being taken out of his cage. Btw, you'll get orange urates a few times, when they continuously happen is when you worry.
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Oh okay, this is the first time I've seen it. I'll keep an eye out for it...

There is no way I can take the cage out and put it in the shower. Its a wooden 2x2x4 screen cage. I've been leaving the door open and letting him climb to the top to free range, then I'll put him back inside to mist or get heat.
 
Closing the eyes is not good. You probably scared the crap outta him and gave him a heart attack at the same time! :eek:

Use a sturdy plant in the shower. Have the water room temp (not hot or warm, just room temp as what is warm to us is hot to them since they are cold blooded.) have the shower stream aimed at the wall so that water bounces off the wall and onto HALF the plant. Then put him on the plant and let him choose to go into the water or sit dry and just lick the drops.
 
I have a jacksons cham. i did not know that giving a shower or a bath to a cham was even a good idea. does this help with getting rid of skin still left from shedding?
 
Not particularly. It just helps with hydration. Adults don't usually shed their skin in all one piece anyways.
 
It looks to me like the part of his body that is green is in the water and the water must be warm. Temp. is also a reason they change color the warmer they are the lighter their skin color.
 
Wasn't be trying to get out of the small tub? Chameleons don't always move away from the light while they're burning (hence horrible back wounds on some chameleons.) I imagine it could be similar here.
 
pssh said:
A warm bath might have been Super hot to him. He may have closed his eyes in pain.
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Reptiles do not show pain like we do. A reptile showing sickness/weakness/pain is a reptile that will be eaten.
 
pssh said:
Wasn't be trying to get out of the small tub? Chameleons don't always move away from the light while they're burning (hence horrible back wounds on some chameleons.) I imagine it could be similar here.
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Yeah, but not out of the bathtub... He opened his eyes and started to move. He opened his mouth and gaped, I put him in his cage and he went right to sleep. I hope he's okay. I'm not going to handle him for a long while. I think I've stressed him out enough, I dint want to scare him to the point where he will never trust me.
 
Right, but i've been told (by much more experienced members) that a chameleon closing it's eyes is similar to us wincing in pain. (hence why they close their eyes when ill.) So... Unless these people were wrong, I think it's possible.
 
How many times do you mist him a day? What's the temperature range and basking temp you have set up for him?
 
I think giving him some time is probably good, but if his urates stay orange, you need to get him drinking and a shower is a good way to do that. My suggestion is to use the "baby test"...put your wrist in the water where it will hit the chameleon...if it feels too hot to you, it's too hot..if it feels too cold to you, it's too cold. Pretty simple.
 
We also close our eyes when very relaxed as well if you wanted to look at it that way... I wish it was easier to read these guys!
 
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