Hydration Worries

mrpgateway

New Member
I'm a new Cham owner. Recently adopted a 5 month old Ambilobe Panther chameleon. I did as much research as I could before purchasing and read as many books as were available and searched the web for tons of info.
I see him drinking when I mist 3X daily for 10 min. I fill a dripper bottle several times a day so that's in use for prob. 2 or so hours a day. He only "hunts" for water droplets and I see him drink 4-5 drops at a time. Is this sufficient? The urine component in his waste is ivory colored. Not bright white. But not orange, either. Is there cause for worry? He is active, eats well, and his eyes are def. not sunken. Any words of advice/comfort?

Thanks!

Mike
 
Hello Mike, welcome to the Chameleon Forums :) :D

I can't say for sure if your cham is getting enough water or not. Checking its fecal is a great idea though. From my experience, an off white color is ok. Any yellow or orange coloration may be a sign the cham is not getting enough water. The consistency of the urates is another thing to look at. Try cutting into it with a plastic knife. The urates should be a semi-solid and not require a lot of force to cut through. My experience is limited compared to many others on this forum, so you may get some better advice.

It would not hurt to have the water dropping for a longer period during the day. The solution is a larger water container. It is not easy to manually mist every day for that amount of time; sometimes you may need to hand mist even more to get a response. An automated misting system with some adequate drainage would make daily care a lot easier.
 
Thanks for the responses. The next time he "goes" I'll take a picture...:)
He's friendly, alert and has quite an appetite. I'm sure he's fine, but I'm just a little neurotic being a new owner.

Mike
 
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