How often would you say...

[rachelk]

your chameleon drinks water a day? i probably see mine drink a little at every misting (mist 5-7x a day) but i hardly ever see him drink from the dripper..i am afraid he is not getting enough water, i've written about this before but his eyes don't look as "buggy" as they should, i do notice that when he gets pissed off which is pretty much every time i mist his cage his eye sink in a little and kind of get wrinkly like after a shed, maybe i am just being paranoid..??

 

[kenya]

What color are his urates? They will be a better indicator of his hydration status.

Many chams will pull their eyes in when they feel threatened- it makes sense, too, because their eyes are the most important body part for them. I am babysitting a female veiled who is perfectly hydrated but really pulls her eyes in when she gets upset (not that it is hard to upset her....just reach for the cage)

 

[rachelk]

well he has dark poops and the urate is white,

 

[kenya]

Is it totally white? If so, then you should be fine for hydration.

 

[BigR]

I've never seen mine drink in the 4 months I've had her, but she's always well hydrated. I always have fresh kale in a container full of water that she loves though.

 

[rachelk]

Yes his urate is snow white and looks kind of slimy..sick.

 

[kenya]

Yes his urate is snow white and looks kind of slimy..sick.

Haha, I wouldn't worry about his hydration then. Have you had him checked for parasites recently? I know that having overly slimy poo can be an indicator of internal disruption.

 

[rachelk]

Oh no, thats not good, maybe i should take a pic of his poo for ya, hah, his poop looks normal and solid, looks like his worms he eats only covered in poop, and the urate is all white it just looks.."watery" if that makes sense?

 

[rachelk]

...and no I have not had him checked for parasites,

 

[kenya]

If he has been eating a lot of silkworms or hornworms, it can be watery as a result. A fecal float and smear every six months is a good standard practice.

 

[rachelk]

Oh ok I did not know that I should get him checked out every 6 months like that, thank you so much for your help kenya!

 

[kenya]

No problem. He should be fine, but it is a good precautionary practice, especially if you have never had a smear and float done for him.

 

[rachelk]

one more question, if he does have parasites, could i easily catch them by just handling him occasionally for check ups and cleaning his cage and by cleaning his poop up every day? i do wash hands after every time i clean his cage, but when i first got him and i would handle him to make sure everything was good i didn't really wash my hands...this was before i had posted about the salmonella...i know now to wash my hands before and after. i guess what i am asking is, is it pretty easy to catch the parasites from him? that really freaks me out...

 

[kenya]

You should clean up poos as soon as you can, wash the cage bottom or any surfaces poo has touched at least weekly. A mild ammonia solution works well but make sure everything is well ventilated and the cham is out of the room. And don't get bleach anywhere near! It will create lethal gases if they mix. Let it sit for a bit (I like putting the chams outside or giving them a shower during this) and then rinse well and make sure it all dries out before putting the cham back. There are plenty of threads about how to clean a cage during or after a parasite infection. Washing your hands well before and after handling is a big step to preventing cross-contamination or re contamination.

Also, a lot of people talk about reptiles and salmonella, and I honestly think it is a bunch of anti-reptile propaganda. Of course, reptiles can carry and potentially transmit salmonella, but you are more likely to get it from a food source and an animal with it is usually very obviously ill. You don't have to worry about it unless you are very old, very young, have an ill animal or are habitually sticking your pet into your mouth.

 

[rachelk]

i've always been afraid of using an ammonia solution or mixing water with a little bit of bleach, i use vinigar to clean his stuff/cage and i do put him in the shower while i do this, do u think vinigar is enough to disinfect?

 

[kenya]

Vinegar is fine for a general cleaning, but if he ends up having parasites, I wouldn't mess around. Coccidia can only be killed by hot, hot steam, ammonia or 12% (or was it 6%?) hydrogen peroxide. Re infection from an environment is very possible if it isn't kept properly sterilized during and after treatment.

 

[rachelk]

awesome! I am so glad you told me all this, thanks a bunch!

 

[Julirs]

Rachelk, several people that purchased chams from me did test them for parasites, and all came back clean. However, parasites can come from feeders, etc... so it is a good idea to get them tested if you think something could be wrong. I never drip any of my chams-it is just messy and I never did see any of the Veileds using the dripper. As long as poops are white you are good to go!