How do you know when chameleon is dehydrated?

[julies liam]

I havent seen my 6 month old panther chameleon drink for a while. I have a dripper and i still mist how do i know if he is dehydrated?

 

[CLP]

Check his urates. If they are nice and white, then he's hydrated. Yellow or orange urates is a sign of dehydration and often the easiest way to tell. One of my chams has never had a drink in front of me in the entire year I've had him. Sometimes they like to drink "in private"

Also, their eyes will start to look sunken in too when they're getting dehydrated. If you're guy's eyes are good and his urates are white, you've got nothing to worry about. Just keep misting and offering the dripper knowing he must be drinking when you're not looking.

 

[julies liam]

I have never seen him urate to be honest but if it us wat i i keep finding then it is a yellowy orange colour :/ i mist about 5-10 aday so he always has water? Xx

 

[julies liam]

sorry i had a blonde moment then i didnt know their wee is in their poo. lol...he is fine

 

[Haze1981]

If it a yellowy orange colour it means he is a bit dehydrated. The urates should be white. How long do you mist for?

 

[lancaster0861]

If his urates are yellowish or orange that means he is likely dehydrated. If you are misting 10-15 times a day, i wouldn't necessarily increase to more mist sessions, but would rather increase the amount of time i mist for. I would mist for 2-5 min each time. If he is still drinking after that time i would continue to mist until he stops.

 

[bbprinting]

You should also look into getting a dripper for him, even if its a simple cup on top of the cage dripping down onto some leaves to pool on.

 

[julies liam]

I have a dripper. i mist for about a minute a time. I didnt no that the white bit was wee it is white i think i will propley look tomorrow...thanks guys xx

 

[Haze1981]

I have a dripper. i mist for about a minute a time. I didnt no that the white bit was wee it is white i think i will propley look tomorrow...thanks guys xx

Asking questions is how you learn. I am sure your little guy will be fine. I would just up the amount of time you mist for. From personal experience my chameleon doesn't start to drink until I have misted for at least 2 minutes. I mist for 5 minutes but then my little guy doesn't drink from a dripper (I don't think).

 

[julies liam]

Thank u all very much.....does the viv have to be really dripping then coz i do it for 2 mins and it looks soaked???

 

[CLP]

Thank u all very much.....does the viv have to be really dripping then coz i do it for 2 mins and it looks soaked???

What you want is to see the drinking response while you're misting. Kind of looks like they're licking their lips. I have one guy that takes at least a minute, but another that only takes about 30 seconds, so there is no hard and fast rule. If you're misting with a hand sprayer, you can also lengthen the time between pumps. Like only depress the pump once every two seconds. It is still enough to get the mist moving about and prompt the drinking response, but slows down the amount of water overall. However, you do want to give the enclosure a good soak, and then also allow access to the dripper for at least a few hours through the day.