Hydration

[andy27012]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Panther Chameleon, 3.5 months old, in my care 1 week
Handling - Once a week briefly
Feeding -Alternating a dozen crickets a day and 30 fruit flies the other day, Crickets are fed flukers orange cube
Supplements - Alternating reptivite with calcium d3, herptivite and sticky tongues bare minerals. rotate Monday reptivite, Tuesday herptivite wends day stickytongue, and repeat, no supplements on sunday.
Watering - Pro Mist, 4 x a day 2 minutes each time. Run dripper 2x a week about 20 minutes each time.
Fecal Description - Consistency seems normal, poop has ting of orange.
History - none, new purchase
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Open air screen cage 24x12x24 inches
Lighting - 75 Watt heat lamp, 18 inch reptisun 5.0 linear tube. Runs 8 am to 8 pm on timer.
Temperature - Basking temp is 85-90, it drops to 70 at night
Humidity - Humidity varies between 40-60 percent, maintained by Pro mist automated mister
Plants - One hibiscus plant
Placement - It is located in my bedroom, there is a fan running 24 hours a day but otherwise there are no drafts or vents of any kinds.
Location - North Carolina

Current Problem - The orange in his feces, I know this can be indicative of dehydration, he otherwise seems very healthy and is eating very well. I am trying to decide if I should mist longer or more frequently or do nothing, currently the water pours off many of the leaves in little streams by the time it is done. Didn't know if this was possibly still dehydration from shipping. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Jamelon]

since you have only had him for 1 week i wouldnt worry about it too much just keep misting the way you are. Have you ever seen him drink after or during your misting? If not then id try to wait and see if he drinks.

 

[andy27012]

No, I've never seen him drink, that was why I wasn't certain if I should change anything.

 

[carol5208]

Andy, I did not mean to get down on you about the Kammers. Its just that you have to watch what you post and be somewhat respectful. So let's start fresh ok? And I will say "welcome" officially to the forum. Now to address your question about hydration. I would run the dripper all day long if possible. If you are worried that the mistings are not enough(which they might not be) then run a dripper more often.Make sure the dripper is dripping on a branch or vine so they can go right up to it and lick it. that was the only way my chameleon would drink for a long time was off a branch. Also when you mist, are you misting with warm water instead of cold?. My cham seems to tolerate the mistings way more when the water is warm. Actually I put hot water in the bottle but is sprays out warm. I would give your chameleon sometime to adjust also. Some chams just don't drink in front of people. I think everything will be fine and you should be very happy with a Kammerflage chameleon. Best of Luck to you with your new cham!!!

 

[andy27012]

I apologize if I offended anyone, I was not trying to be disrespectful towards the kammers, I was just stating my experiences with them thus far. Thank you for the excellent advice and I will definently start running the dripper all day.

 

[carol5208]

No problem Andy, we are all here to help one another because of our love for chameleons. I also sent you a private message to read. I am sure your cham will start drinking. He probably has already and you just haven't seen him!!! It is very nerve racking in the beginning because you want to make sure you are doing everything right. You have come to the right place by joining the forum!

 

[sandrachameleon]

I wouldnt worry yet. It can take a bit for them to fully settle in and drink enough after shipping. Increase misting and/or dripping cant hurt. Improving your cricket gutload with appropriate fruit and veg will help hydrate the prey, and thereby hydrate the chameleon too.

 

[Ace]

hey Andy,

i agree with carol with the watering but what i see people did not mention were the temps , you said between 85-90... that might be too hot and can "dry out the chameleon very qhickly, or if this sounds wrong someone please correct me... But you should keep the high bask temp 85 max... and everywhere 70-75...and at night should drop 65-70 ... this way he should be less dehydrated and what you are doing so far is great!!! keep up the good work and post pics as he matures...

any decisions on a name???

 

[sandrachameleon]

what i see people did not mention were the temps , you said between 85-90... that might be too hot

good catch - that is too hot for a little chameleon.

 

[summoner12]

I would mist for at least 5-10 minutes in the morning about an hour after lights on. my 5 month old veiled and 6 month old melleri get 20 minutes in the morning... they seem to not mind and either stand in the mist or they stand out of it.

I would mist 5-10 minutes in the AM then later in the morning mist for maybe 5 minutes and then the same early afternoon and then about 2-3 hours before lights out mist again for 5-10 minutes. I would encourage 10-15 minutes if you feel comfy having that much mist on the guy. I am not sure how heavily planted your cage is... so if it isn't heavily planted misting for a long time with nowhere to hide, the cham could get into trouble.

 

[andy27012]

Got my first normal colored droppings today. Figures, he hid it on a leaf, all the others have been out in the open. Thanks for all the help and am planning on keeping a week to week log with pictures/weights. This was something I was looking for when I initially got my animal and found plenty of sites with weights but no pictures. It helps me to see what they should look like in theory.

 

[carol5208]

yay! Who ever thought you'd be happy to find poop! I thought my cham had not pooped for days and I was so worried and there it was hiding in the back of a branch! You gotta look real good! So he is drinking, and life is good!!!