How much should a veiled chameleon drink?

[Stefan9881]

Hey,

So I just wondered how much is enough for them or can they like drink "over the limit"? All of my chameleons recognize the spray bottle and have eventually learned that they can drink straigth from the spray bottle too(with my help). Everytime when I mist, they come near the cage waiting for me to spray water slowly in their mouth. They just come near the mesh and slowly open their mouth and start drinking as I gently spray in their mouth. Today I tried to see how much does my veiled drink(for no real purpose, just curios) and it kept on drinking for 2 minutes straight untill I stopped spraying and then she went to the live plant and started drinking off of that. Whats up with that, can they drink more than they can "handle"?

Sorry if the text is confusing

 

[Sinfulintent]

Hello Stefan,

I've been trying to find this out too, from what I've been reading around here they can drink alot. People put the chams in the shower for 30 minutes and they drink all they want I suppose. You may want to look into it, or wait for someone more knowledgeable to help you.

 

[OliveTheVeiled]

I was wondering too, i hardly ever see my girl drink, even less now that i have a mister. I worry about her.

 

[Angsty]

I have had my veiled since September and finally today got him drinking!!! I must lots and there are always drops coming from the top of the screen!!

 

[Olimpia]

No, chameleons won't drink themselves to death, indeed most of them love water and can drink for a very long time. That's why I set my Mistking to relatively long misting times, to give everyone a long chance to fill up if they want to. My Meller's alone will drink 15-20+ minutes straight!

 

[Stefan9881]

No, chameleons won't drink themselves to death, indeed most of them love water and can drink for a very long time. That's why I set my Mistking to relatively long misting times, to give everyone a long chance to fill up if they want to. My Meller's alone will drink 15-20+ minutes straight!

Thanks, good to know!

 

[CLP]

I concur with Olimpia. Give them as much as they want. How much they "should" drink would be somewhat dependent on their age, species and specific cage conditions like temps and humidity (and other factors I'm sure I've left out), so... if they are thirsty, let them drink

 

[DavidBuchan]

I have drippers set up. When my chams were younger they didn't drink much in front of me, but I knew they were drinking enough water off leaves or direct from the dripper because they had nice white urates (mostly).

Now my chams do like Stefans and drink from the mister. I mist them directly almost everyday (yes, I miss a day here and there.....).
Sometimes they like it and drink for a while. Sometimes they just sit there. Sometimes they wander off and go in the corner and start drinking there.

At least once or twice a week I have an especially wet day where chameleons are in the rain for about 10 mins worth of misting, 3 or 4 times each. By the 3rd time neither of them is ever at all thirsty or doing the eye cleaning thing at all.
They don't seem to vary much in how much they drink but there's no way to put a ml value on how much water goes into each cham.....
I'm sure Olimpia is right, they won't ever drink themselves to death (unless they are severely salt poisoned or otherwise drugged....)
My chams may not be typical of Veileds, my misting schedule isn't typical.
Hope I helped answer you question though.

 

[Stefan9881]

I have drippers set up. When my chams were younger they didn't drink much in front of me, but I knew they were drinking enough water off leaves or direct from the dripper because they had nice white urates (mostly).

Now my chams do like Stefans and drink from the mister. I mist them directly almost everyday (yes, I miss a day here and there.....).
Sometimes they like it and drink for a while. Sometimes they just sit there. Sometimes they wander off and go in the corner and start drinking there.

At least once or twice a week I have an especially wet day where chameleons are in the rain for about 10 mins worth of misting, 3 or 4 times each. By the 3rd time neither of them is ever at all thirsty or doing the eye cleaning thing at all.
They don't seem to vary much in how much they drink but there's no way to put a ml value on how much water goes into each cham.....
I'm sure Olimpia is right, they won't ever drink themselves to death (unless they are severely salt poisoned or otherwise drugged....)
My chams may not be typical of Veileds, my misting schedule isn't typical.
Hope I helped answer you question though.

Yes, your methods are quite similar to mine and your cham(s) react similarly too.

 

[MCSEB]

Hey Stefan,
Wow this is pretty interesting. This is the first time I've heard of this. Then again I am new to chameleons and to the forum. I would suggest just to have a little patience and wait for somebody who knows a little more about veiled chameleons to answer your question. This forum is filled with great owners who have great advice so eventually they will come upon this and give you an answer