How do you tell if a Chameleon is hydrated enougth???

[martindean32]

Hiya all, all I want to know is how do you tell if a chameleon is hydrated enougth? I put my water dripper on twice a day for 2 hrs per session. Would you also suggest that I mist the viv as well? How fast would you let the dripper drip? Fast or slow??? Would you put cold water from the fridge in the dripper or normal temp water? Same question with the splant sprayer (to mist the viv). Lastly where would you suggest I place the sensor of the hydrometer to get a decent reading of how huimid the viv is????

I know there is a lot of questions here but if you could answer them I would be extremely grateful!!!

Many thanks

Martin Dean

 

[draetish]

If you can leave the dripper on all day at about 1 drop per second that would be ideal along with misting twice a day. Make sure the drip is falling on a leaf and trickles down. That is moving water that the cham will recognize and drink. Use room temp water, not cold in the drippers and use warm water to mist. I start my drippers in the morning and mist heavily on the leaf the water is dripping on and all around and the cham will start his swallowing behavior.

Dehydrated cham's eyes are usually sunken in. You can google "dehydrated chameleon" and find all kinds of info and pictures.

The sensor should be placed somewhere away from the actual water so the reading is the ambient relative humidity.

 

[martindean32]

I cannot leave the dripper on all day as it will run out!!!! Ive only got a zoo med little dripper (If you have heard of that item?) you see!!!! What do you do (or recommend I do) to catch the water so that it doesnt bust the bottom of the vivarium????

 

[draetish]

Here is my dripper set up, it is easy, inexpensive and last all day.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/draetish/225-making-dripper-set-up.html

 

[martindean32]

Draetish if I send you the money to you via paypal is there any way you could get me all the items that you use to make the dripper and collect the water in the bottom and send it to me in the UK????

 

[draetish]

post pics of your enclosures mainly the tops and bottoms and I'll help you figure something out.

 

[Miss Lily]

I am also in the Uk. I made my own drippers out of empty plastic sweet jars and got the adjustable aquarium air valves off of good old ebay. I use tall plastic storage jars with mesh on top so the chams can't fall in to catch the drips.

 

[ShaunaLynnA]

I use the big drippers for my cages and for now keep a towel on the floor for leakage. When my cages are situated in a permanate place I plan on getting a system for all of them. I also use a sprayer though and spray down there tree still so I know there getting enough water a few times a day!

 

[martindean32]

Righty O Draetish!!!! Here we go Ive just taken piccies of me viv, top and bottom and whole viv!!! So here we go:

Whole viv:

Wooden bit on top of viv (has hole drilled in for the tubing of the little dripper):

Top part of the viv (underneath the wooden bit):

Another piccy of the top of the viv (under the wooden bit):

Bottom of the viv (its plastic I think but ive lifted the Reptile grass and lino that I put in the viv):

There you go!!! Any help would be extremely grateful!!!

 

[draetish]

Okay! First go to an appliance or hardware store to the ice maker section and ask them for a valve and hose. The standard here is 1/4" hose. Next get a plastic gallon container for the fresh water and get a nail and poke a small hole that is smaller than the tubing on one of the sides at the bottom. Work the hose/tubing into the small hole into the container about half way. Cut the tubing off and leave about 2" poking out of the container. Put that tubing in one end of the valve and then another piece of tubing in the other end that will be the one that drips the water. The valve will control the speed of the drip.

Next you need to figure out where you want the drip to be so you can determine where to put the drainage. Hold on, I need to find a pic!

 

[draetish]

For your drainage, if the entire bottom is plastic then you could drill a hole in one corner to let the water out. You will need to lift the opposite corner/side to tilt it so the water will drain out. You can insert some tubing of just let the water drip out into a container. Or you could make a 6" stand the same size as the viv and put the viv on it. Make a cubby hole to fit a plastic container into it under the bottom of the viv and let it drain into there. My pics show 2x8 under the viv that I slipped the containers into to give you an idea.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hiya all, all I want to know is how do you tell if a chameleon is hydrated enougth? I put my water dripper on twice a day for 2 hrs per session. Would you also suggest that I mist the viv as well? How fast would you let the dripper drip? Fast or slow??? Would you put cold water from the fridge in the dripper or normal temp water? Same question with the splant sprayer (to mist the viv). Lastly where would you suggest I place the sensor of the hydrometer to get a decent reading of how huimid the viv is????
I know there is a lot of questions here but if you could answer them I would be extremely grateful!!!Many thanks
Martin Dean

Hi

I run a home-made drippers twice a day. they drip very quickly in the morning for about half an hour. Then I refill them, and turn the drip rate down to a very slow one drip every other second or so. This goes for about an hour. Then, when I get home from work, I refill the drippers again, still dripping slowly. This has proved entirely sufficient for keeping my chameleons well hydrated. I find they all drink quite well in the early morning, but not so much after that.
I still mist about once a day - more for the benefit of skin and eyes than for hydration.
I place my humdity guages at about mid cage level, near the back, away from the water that is dripping and I try not to spray it as well.
How I make my drippers: https://www.chameleonforums.com/drippers-19143/#post177210
Since it is so easy and inexpensive to make drippers, I think I might as well make a second one for each cage. that way, I do not have to adjust the drip rate - one for slow, one for quick