I have done research, That's why I came on this to learn more. I feel very protective of her and want her to be happy. I'm curious as to why shes not drinking. I have one fake plant in there and a real one. The dirt doesn't have anything she can choke on. I just ordered a bigger cage.
I Need Help Please
- Thread starter Sundee
- Start date
Dumzy
Established Member
She doesent choke on it, if she accidently misses a cricket and eats dirt, it will get impacted inside of her and kill her.
ZacharyLeesWife
Avid Member
Some chams are sneaky about drinking, I very rarely actually see my boy drinking but he's well hydrated. I think it's more important that she has access to the right source of water and isn't showing symptoms of dehydration than actually seeing her drink. When she poops, the urate will tell you more about hydration than anything else.
Goose502
Chameleon Enthusiast
I wouldn't worry too much about ingesting some dirt. Chameleons in the wild aren't protected from this. Good hydration helps prevent this and aids in passing larger food items and dirt. Every time I hear people concerned with impaction, I remember Bill Strand's podcast where he interviews a reptile specific veterinarian. In the interview the vet states that he has never seen a death by impaction with chameleons. I feel if the animal would encounter the situation in the wild, then there's no reason to worry about it in captivity. Dirt should be safe, but avoid additives to soil such as perlite and vermiculite, both could be deadly if ingested.
Dumzy
Established Member
I stated it a little wrong in my post, a little bit of dirt is fine, but if they miss alot, or are just curious and seem to enjoy the taste of dirt and eat to much, then it gets impacted.
ZacharyLeesWife
Avid Member
Little foot intentionally ate the dirt! I had no choice but to cover it, but Dilly never paid it any mind at all. Most use a damp sand and soil mix for laying bins, so it can't be horrifically deadly but it's just a better safe than sorry thing. I have actually read more tongue injuries from substrate than impaction stories but since it's easily prevented it makes sense to prevent it.
Also, we haven't mentioned a laying bin yet! You will need one before too terribly long.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
In my opinion from the picture you posted where I see her colors clearly she doesn't have any weird colors. In fact they look normal to me. What I do notice is she is rather... Chubby. You are feeding rather a lot for a female of her age, even if you have her correct age. In my opinion she looks closer to 9-12+ months. She may very likely have eggs too. The reason she needs no lights at night is it will cause her sleep cycle to disrupt just like lights cause ours do. However with chameleons they have no idea why the lights are on so they just become sleep deprived and start falling asleep at random times due to exhaustion. I don't know if any of you have been truly sleep deprived, but I have gone literally two months without proper sleep cycles and was diagnosed with severe sleep deprivation... After experiencing that I would never wish it on any living creature. You can get "sleep" but still get sleep deprived. Your sleep cycles have to be uninterrupted to get successful sleep. With sleep deprivation, your body literally is in constant pain because during sleep your cells and muscles etc are actively healing themselves, your memory and brainwaves don't work right, which is why you act like someone who is severely drunk. Chameleons will eventually desperately search for sleep by taking insufficient naps during the day which doesn't work because if they anti-social and someone walks in, they immediately wake up.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Well, its going to keep happening until the corporate attitude these chain stores have about their livestock care changes. All we can do is keep up the work we do here....and try not to alienate the newbies who take the trouble to find out more about a new pet. I know its hard not to "yell" at them, but we have to realize that people who walk into a pet shop and end up buying a fascinating animal they've never seen in person before tend to trust the information the shop gives them. They don't even know enough NOT to trust what they hear and they don't have anything to compare it to. So, give newbies a chance to learn. If they choose not to learn, then all bets are off and they deserve the tongue-lashing they are going to get.
JamesB88
Established Member
This is an appropriate way to approach this instead of demeaning someone for asking questions. I've had reptiles all my life but there was still a lot I didn't know even after I purchased my Cham. But like you said if people don't take the info on here and apply it then yeah they deserve a tongue lashing lol
ZacharyLeesWife
Avid Member
I've kept reptiles for 15 years and these little guys were such a learning experience for me! I'm ashamed of how little I knew when I took them in, but I couldn't leave them at the Petco in the condition that they were in. Of the 4 that were on the cage together, one died of kidney failure a few days after I brought her home and there was one in the cage with Dilly at the store laying dead on the floor. I had to at least try, and I am so thoroughly glad that I did. I have learned SOOOO much here, it would be wrong to not be as helpful as possible to people that come here in the exact same position looking to help these little guys.This is an appropriate way to approach this instead of demeaning someone for asking questions. I've had reptiles all my life but there was still a lot I didn't know even after I purchased my Cham. But like you said if people don't take the info on here and apply it then yeah they deserve a tongue lashing lol
Dumzy
Established Member
What size cage did you get for her?
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
In my opinion you jumped to conclusions extremely quickly. I honestly think you need to breathe and not judge people before you realize what they are willing to do to make their chameleon healthy. Don't mean to offend.
Dumzy
Established Member
Yea, maybe. Hes obviously a younger kid judging by his username, he just needs to fix alot of stuff..
Dumzy
Established Member
Dude chill its just a prank, its just a prank bro.
Similar threads
