Jackson Chameleon NOT drinking, please help!

[SilverWolf]

My 4 month old Jackson Chameleon isn't drinking. I haven't seen him drink for two days. This morning when I set his dripper up, I noticed he got interesting and was getting ready to shoot his tongue at the drops but didn't. I thought maybe the water was just dripping too quickly so I turned the nozzle and it drips at a pretty steady rate now. Still nothing, so I moved the dripper to different locations, and while he definitely seems interested, he never actually goes for it. I keep misting the cage making sure there are plenty of drops of water on the leaves and I can only hope that he is drinking while I am not in the room, but I am still worried. I tried holding the spray bottle in the cage so he can see it dripping. He has took water from it only once or twice, the first day I got him so he must have been very thirsty. The only thing I can think to do now is to set some ice cubes on top of the enclosure so that there are multiple areas he can go to that are dripping.

He is eating fine although hasn't eaten today. Would he at least get SOME moisture and water from eating the crickets? I'd type out the "how to ask for help" thing but I don't really have much time to do that right now but when I do I will. I assure anyone who is reading, I believe I'm doing just about everything right from supplements, to lighting and temperatures. The only thing I can think of that I haven't done good enough and am working on it now, is gut loading the crickets. I am not sure how that would have an affect on my friend though. Also, his urates as far as I can tell ARE a very clear white. So I guess there's not too much to be concerned about?

 

[Cait0420]

If his urates are white he's probably drinking when you're not around, and if they're white I wouldn't worry about it cuz he must be getting water somehow. Ice cubes aren't really good cuz the drips are freezing and they prefer warmer water.

 

[Bush baby]

Yeah, if his urates are white, he's fine.

The ice cube thing is debatable; i have used it in the past with no ill effect on my cham and seeing as how Jackson's like their temps cool, cool water hasn't been an issue for my past Jacksons..but, to each his/her own.

 

[kplatvoet]

Jackson's will make you crazy worrying especially when they are young- I think your alright as long as the urates are white -

 

[Psychobunny]

Getting jax to drink can be a nightmare.
They are soooooo slow to start drinking.

I use my home made Rain Ring and also a spray bottle with the nozzle adjusted to a coarse spray. It's a quart bottle, and I spay him directly from above, on top of his head.
His first reaction is to slowly move away, then he stops, closes his eyes, and I finally see his mouth working, all the while, I keep up the spraying.
I go through a quart bottle just to get him to drink.
It takes them a while, even with the water falling on their heads, before they finally start drinking.

If you think about it, in the wild, when it rains, they have plenty of time to slowly lumber over and get under the falling rain.

I have to set my rain ring to rain at least 6 minutes, 3 times a day (lots of water!!).

BTW, here is a link for my rain ring:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-rain-attachment-128607/

 

[Enzo Veiled]

I have a very small dish in my chams cage where I let my "little dripper" drip into so my tree doesn't drown? And he actually drinks from the dish. He finds it easier than waiting for each drip. (he is way to big to drown in it. Maybe you can try that