So, first cham had him for 5 weeks now and all is well, growing shedding, good colours, friendly (comes running out of the cage everytime i am there) but worried about his uinate. Its getting more orange and i'm figuring he wasmt getting enough water....There is always white there but seems to be more and more orange. I replaced his umbrella with a fig tree and seen his urinate het whiter but now going back towards orange again. Although i have been feeding him a small waxworm everyday but the amount of urinate is getting less as well. I am rambling but he is in a mesh cage, basking spotlamp with uvb strip and dripper. Eating crickets locusts and has shed twice. Any thoughts on why his urinate isnt fully white. Thanks for any help you can provide.
How to him keep hydrated
- Thread starter dunks98
- Start date
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Describe your setup...temps, humidity levels, how you provide water and how often, etc.
If the air in the room is too dry, even a cham who drinks regularly will dehydrate fairly fast. They are not adapted to handle dry conditions well. But, we can't help unless we know just how dry it gets. If you are not monitoring the cage humidity now, you should.
If the air in the room is too dry, even a cham who drinks regularly will dehydrate fairly fast. They are not adapted to handle dry conditions well. But, we can't help unless we know just how dry it gets. If you are not monitoring the cage humidity now, you should.
is that enough?Elizadolots
New Member
Try misting longer. See if you can keep going until he starts to drink. Sometimes it seems like it takes them awhile to decide "okay, I guess it's raining".
You also want to have a dripper running at about 1 drop per 1-3 seconds, and a way to collect/drain water. Misting alone, if it's not an automatic mister running a few 5-10 minute long sessions per day, you'll need to drip. The dripper will be his main source of water, and the hand mistings will help the humidity. You also need a hydrometer, as was mentioned.
I've had the best drinking response from misting from the top of the cage down, creating a rain like effect. Start away from the chameleon, and let him see the drops and he should move toward it on his own. If not, don't worry. He's just not used to you yet and probably won't drink in front of you. The dripper will be your friend. Like I said, think of the dripper as his main source of drinking water and the hand mistings for humidifying the cage. Don't need to spray him directly.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
A wooden sided viv will have it's own set of problems but I don't think you need to go there. The problem is, we are faced with trying to maintain humidity in a cage with high air exchange (screen) most of the time. In the wild habitats chams are adapted to, the air is naturally humid due to dense vegetation, climate, and topography. Human houses are just not that wet (or if they are we go to a lot of effort to dry them out!). Maintaining a cham cage humidity level is a balancing act, but there are tricks including:
Fill the cage with live foliage. It provides more surface area for misting droplets to evaporate from. The plants' transpiration adds to the relative humidity too.
Hang plastic sheeting on cage sides or back to slow down the rate of evaporation and provide even more surface area to hold water droplets. This won't necessarily close in the entire cage, but will slow down air flow.
Provide moving water more of the time, either by hand or automatic misting cycles, using drippers, or an ultrasonic humidifier controlled by a lamp timer.
kirekameleon
New Member
I agree with that and it worked for me. I also introduced him to the spray bottle when he did come to drink and now it has become more commen to see him come to the misting and drink from the nozzle. I even got my green anole to do the same.
Elizadolots
New Member
Exactly. You need to make it "rain" in the cage and rain comes from above. I find that hitting the roof at an angle is the best approach.
I also think it's good to get the dripper going before misting so the drip is just a continuation of the "rain".
And it's absolutely true that some chameleons will not drink if they know they are being observed so it might be necessary to get the rain going then hightail it out of there.
Obviously, drainage is necessary with that much rain.
Rather than building a new cage, you might try wrapping 1 or 2 sides with plastic to help hold in the humidity. I say that only because you seem intent on raising humidity. I think your humidity is quite good for a veiled, but I just realized I don't know that. If you have a Jackson's or other small species, you might be a little low in the overall humidity (not much though).
Thanks for advice everyone. After a serious amount of spraying he is a little more hydrated today (whiter urinate). I ve also bought a fogger today which will hopefully help. He does drink when i'm around but the problem is that as soon as i open the door he comes running out. Will keep trying to find the best solution and having a fogger turn on in the middle of the day will defo help. BTW hes a 6 week old panther. Trying to add a photo....
Elizadolots
New Member
Oh, he's so cute! I'm glad he seems to be improving.
KatiLemons
Established Member
Try adding a dripper!!
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have had issues with getting my chameleon to drink also. What I figured out to do is this: I use a dripper and I took the tube off. Then I took the lid off the top of the dripper and I set the dripper on top of the lid so it elevates it off the screen(WATER DOES NOT POOL ON THE TOP THEN)and drips directly from the spicket. I drip the water this way. If I see my chameleon sitting on a branch in the morning I move the whole dripper over to him or follow him around and start dripping it on his nose. He usually will drink from the drops of his nose or sometimes he licks the leaves or branches that it splatters on. Works like a charm! I am thinking your cham could be a Nosey Be???
Hey, i was thinking Nosey B as he tends to go aqua blue sometimes but is developing some red on his belly and chin. As for the dripper i thought keepibg it in the same place was the best. Therefore he knows where to go to drink, but can see why u would do want to get the water as close to him as pos.
