I'm scared my Cham is dehydrated!!

[Danicuteeyes]

I got my male veiled cham from BocaJan this sunday and he's been eating great...always hungry. Thing is, he's never thirsty!! Yesterday, my boyfriend and I tricked Donnie into drinking by holding a worm in front of him and dripping water onto his mouth...instantly sucking it in. I did the same thing this morning.

I tried installing a dripper to see if he drinks...i know you guys say some chams dont drink around us...but how will i know he's drinking if i'm not there?

I'm just super worried...I know my bf's senegal drinks water like crazy. Or maybe he's just still adjusting??



ORRR I'm being super paranoid...what do you guys think about his eyes?

 

[Sang]

what do his urates look like?

for some reason veileds, when ever i take photos of them, suck their eyes in a little, and always have this odd look.

so really urates will tell you if he is or not, the poop should be two parts, a 1 piece and a black/greyish brown piece.


if the white peice is yellow/orange then he is a little dehydrated orange would be really dehydrated.

 

[jannb]

You need to have a dripper even if it's just a cup or bowl with a few small holes in the bottom. If his urates it white he's fine.

 

[Danicuteeyes]

he's been pooping like crazy tho lol

so what should i do?? it's a little frustrating because I'm new to caring for a cham...but i want to really help donnie out :'(

 

[Sang]

hmm, it looks like he is dehydrated, make sure you have a dripper available all day, if you can.


also the food does not look entirely digested, what are your temps lookin like?

 

[Danicuteeyes]

You need to have a dripper even if it's just a cup or bowl with a few small holes in the bottom. If his urates it white he's fine.

i made a dripper...i put it on the top of cage and let the tube down at top...the one sandrachameleon made

 

[jannb]

Extra long very warm mistings and very warm water in the drip cup,

 

[Danicuteeyes]

hmm, it looks like he is dehydrated, make sure you have a dripper available all day, if you can.


also the food does not look entirely digested, what are your temps lookin like?

it's about 80-85 Fahrenheit outside and inside my house is 70-80 Fahrenheit (thought it would be cold inside...and not enough humidity)

should i have him inside from now on??

I usually leave him outside since it's sunny BUT under shade...like a patio roof

 

[jannb]

I would keep him inside. Also a juicy hornworm or silkworm will also help to keep him hydrated.

 

[Danicuteeyes]

I would keep him inside. Also a juicy hornworm or silkworm will also help to keep him hydrated.

ok thank you...I'll see if the transition works...

 

[Carlton]

You can check him for these signs of dehydration...if they aren't there, he's drinking.

Casque is full and plump looking, not concave.
Skin does not "tent". To test this, take a fold of skin along his side gently between your fingers. Pull it and release. If the skin stays folded for a few seconds after you release it he's dehydrated.
Eyes look full and rounded.
If you do catch him drinking, look for stringy clear saliva hanging from his lip. Chams who are dehydrated tend to salivate more in response to the water.
Tongue is "sticky" and moist.

 

[xanthoman]

hydration

the thing with a cham is , by the time you start seeing its dehydrated, its already a problem. the only solution is to try not to let it happen in the first place. im not trying to say i have all of the answers, but i did explain to you in yesterdays post , a simple, easy, cheap, way to heat your spray water (even in a spray bottle), hydration is basically an issue of how wet/humid your enviroment is, and how willing your cham is to accept it. sure you can try the shower thing, but that doesnt really change any of the conditions in his cage, which is why he is underhydrated in the first place. for many chams heated misting water is the key to how accepting they are of it. if you try to mist, with mist that is 20* colder than his body tempurature , he is going to be freaked out by it , that is the cham equivalent of somebody pushing you into a cold shower. the key to getting your cham to accept mistings , be more comfortable around water, wet folige ,wet branches, is to heat your misting water, and improve your spraying routine, this is why auto misting systems are strongly reccomended, but, there is no reason a simple spray bottle and heated misting water cant work just as good. just up your (heated) mistings, and try to refine your spray technique so that he doesnt panic every time he sees the spray bottle, start with a few little spritzes and do it from behind when easy to do, and always try to avoid letting him get freaked out by it. if hes less freaked out during his mistings , the more likely he is to drink , and eat and so on. i'd be willing to bet that if you just keep your enviro a little wetter, by means of a dripper like the one sandra chameleon posted , upped your mistings (and used heated misting water) that your cham would be rehydrated in no time, and stay that way. and when manually misting you have to stay on top of it , every time you miss a misting , his cage is drying out further, the humidity is going lower , its one less time that he may have drank , hes getting dehydrated again and the cycle continues. (thats why auto misters are so recomended) you can also up the raise and stabilize the humidity in your cage by simply hanging a trash bag (or attatching a frosted acrylic panel). the more humid you keep your enviroment , and the more your cham is accepting of water, the more hydrated he will be. this is why many of the more experienced keepers on the forum heat their misting water (even automisters) its easy and cheap to do

 

[xanthoman]

my apologies i missed the post yesterday wher eyou said you use luke warm water, i wasnt trying to lecture you today , but you didnt mention how you heat your water? , i would recomend against using warm water from the tap , unless you have an on demand type water heater

 

[BocaJan]

You usually have to mist for at least a minute to get a veiled to start licking his lips. Try spraying longer. Keep watching his urates and keep the dripper going besides the spraying.

 

[Danicuteeyes]

im going to leave him be for awhile...until he gets used to his environment...
(besides the spraying and dripper)
does his eyes look sunken to you guys??
will silkworms hydrate him ??


i was going to ask you guys if i should get the hubba mist($49)? I know it just sprays but i wanna have something for when im not home....

and for the mistking($130 for standard) do i have to have a hose connected? how does that work?