Looking for advice on drinking

[Ohhaiscarlett]

After researching into the chameleon world for a while, I purchased a male panther chameleon three weeks ago. He's 17 months old and so far I've only seen him drink once. I've noticed his urates were quite orangey today, and I mist his terrarium around 3 - 6 times a day. I've tried the ball baring bottle method, the syringe method And showering him and he just doesn't seem to be interested at all. I've got a dripper on order so I'm hoping he takes to that when it gets here. Does anyone have any advice as its my first chameleon and I just want to check that I am doing everything right, also I am worried about him as the people at the rep shop said that he drank from the misting bottle with them and he's only done that once with me?

 

[Carlton]

What's the humidity level in the cage and in the room? If its dry, the droplets you are providing through spraying are drying out more quickly and he may not be able to drink long enough. Also, cham's tend to get dehydrated in drier conditions as they are not super efficient in conserving body moisture. Are you measuring the cage humidity and if so, how? You may need to check how well this is working. How about a pic of your cage? It could need more foliage that he can get to more easily.

 

[AlfreB93]

Is that a torogoz in your picture?

 

[Ohhaiscarlett]

What's the humidity level in the cage and in the room? If its dry, the droplets you are providing through spraying are drying out more quickly and he may not be able to drink long enough. Also, cham's tend to get dehydrated in drier conditions as they are not super efficient in conserving body moisture. Are you measuring the cage humidity and if so, how? You may need to check how well this is working. How about a pic of your cage? It could need more foliage that he can get to more easily.

Humidity level is around 80 measured by Exo-terra hydrometer whilst his lights are off now. I do mist quite heavily, and surly he must be drinking a bit as I've had him for three weeks now, and if we wasn't he would have died? He has plenty of foliage as the place I bought him came and set up for me. You can kind of see it here...

 

[Ohhaiscarlett]

Thank you!

Is that a torogoz in your picture?

he knows he's beautiful!

 

[AlfreB93]

You should also try a dripper system or at least a plastic bottle with a couple holes , (i made mine of an Intravenous line )

 

[Ohhaiscarlett]

The dripper system Should be delivered tomorrow. Do his eyes look sunken to you?

 

[alphakenc]

I'm a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!

I'm a special teapot
Yes, it's true
Here's an example of what I can do
I can turn my handle into a spout
Just tip me over and pour me out!
Give him some AQUA should be fine....yup...yup

 

[jpowell86]

If I were you, I would have a fecal done. Just to rule out parasitic involvement that could be making him feel bad and uninterested in drinking. If you have presented him with ample opportunities to drink and nothing has worked, I think it's time to go to the vet. It may be that he is just dehydrated, but if he is at the point where he isn't trying to drink, the vet can help with this too by replenishing some of his fluids.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Yup, he looks a little dehydrated with them deep set eyes! Good looking kid though!

 

[BayChams]

I love the orange color!

 

[MissLissa]

Humidity level is around 80 measured by Exo-terra hydrometer whilst his lights are off now. I do mist quite heavily, and surly he must be drinking a bit as I've had him for three weeks now, and if we wasn't he would have died? He has plenty of foliage as the place I bought him came and set up for me. You can kind of see it here...

Is that the digital probe, or the analog dial? The dials are incredibly inaccurate: I've had them read up to 60% higher than my digital probe hygrometer!

You could definitely make a dripper until your new one arrives: a few small holes in a pop bottle will work fine, just make sure to leave the top off or poke a hole in it too or else it will quickly stop working. Your cham may be too shy to drink as much as he need in front of you as many chams are shy drinkers. A dripper will allow him to drink while you are not there staring at him Make sure you are using warm water: most chams hate cold dripper or misting water.

You could also try the shower method: put a plant (real with well-draining soil, or fake) that he can comfortably grip into your tub and run your shower head on warm- not hot! The shower stream should hit your shower fall, so only a fine mist falls on the leaves of the plant your chameleon is on. Place your chameleon onto the plant. You can leave him there for 30-40 minutes, checking on him frequently to make sure he's still okay. I bought my silk "shower free" from Ikea for $25.

A fecal check for parasites is also a good idea.

A few notes on that enclosure:

• The waterbowl is basically worse than useless: they will often just poop in it, and even if they did drink from it (which they generally will not) by that point it would be pretty fouled with bacteria, etc. I'd just take it out as it only offers a false sense of security.
• I'd also take out all that substrate. Chameleons are notorious for eating it, which can definitely cause an impaction or blockage. Also, it tends to get waterlogged and mold, what with the amount of water that you have to run through it for a cham unless you have an additional drainage layer and some kind of collection/disposal system beneath. The vast majority of people here use a bare bottom, and just wipe up any feces or water spots with a papertowel, etc.
• And, honestly, he could probably use more foliage and branches. You want their enclosure (hopefully at least 24"x24"x48") stuffed FULL of leaves and vines and (mostly horizontal) branches. You really shouldn't be able to see your cham most of the time! When you think: "That is too much foliage", it's probably just right.

 

[Ohhaiscarlett]

Is that the digital probe, or the analog dial? The dials are incredibly inaccurate: I've had them read up to 60% higher than my digital probe hygrometer!

You could definitely make a dripper until your new one arrives: a few small holes in a pop bottle will work fine, just make sure to leave the top off or poke a hole in it too or else it will quickly stop working. Your cham may be too shy to drink as much as he need in front of you as many chams are shy drinkers. A dripper will allow him to drink while you are not there staring at him Make sure you are using warm water: most chams hate cold dripper or misting water.

You could also try the shower method: put a plant (real with well-draining soil, or fake) that he can comfortably grip into your tub and run your shower head on warm- not hot! The shower stream should hit your shower fall, so only a fine mist falls on the leaves of the plant your chameleon is on. Place your chameleon onto the plant. You can leave him there for 30-40 minutes, checking on him frequently to make sure he's still okay. I bought my silk "shower free" from Ikea for $25.

A fecal check for parasites is also a good idea.

A few notes on that enclosure:

• The waterbowl is basically worse than useless: they will often just poop in it, and even if they did drink from it (which they generally will not) by that point it would be pretty fouled with bacteria, etc. I'd just take it out as it only offers a false sense of security.
• I'd also take out all that substrate. Chameleons are notorious for eating it, which can definitely cause an impaction or blockage. Also, it tends to get waterlogged and mold, what with the amount of water that you have to run through it for a cham unless you have an additional drainage layer and some kind of collection/disposal system beneath. The vast majority of people here use a bare bottom, and just wipe up any feces or water spots with a papertowel, etc.
• And, honestly, he could probably use more foliage and branches. You want their enclosure (hopefully at least 24"x24"x48") stuffed FULL of leaves and vines and (mostly horizontal) branches. You really shouldn't be able to see your cham most of the time! When you think: "That is too much foliage", it's probably just right.

I've taken the water bowl out and am going to get him more foliage now. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Ohhaiscarlett]

Also, I have tried the shower method and he just tries to climb up the water and so I stopped that as I didn't want it to damage his eyes

 

[Trace]

Looking for advice on drinking

Well I always recommend a good single malt scotch. Its sunlight held together by water.

 

[guanagator]

If he's not drinking in the shower or during extended misting sessions may be time to see a vet. I would try to mist him for 5 mins at a time twice a day and watch his urates. You may not see him drink, I rarely see mine actually drinking.

 

[MissLissa]

How is he doing? And more recent pictures? How are his urates now?

 

[wodesorel]

Is that the digital probe, or the analog dial? The dials are incredibly inaccurate: I've had them read up to 60% higher than my digital probe hygrometer!

Out of curiosity, does this community recommend calibrating all gauges out of the box? I never trust any hygrometer until it's had the salt test.

 

[LindsayG]

Out of curiosity, does this community recommend calibrating all gauges out of the box? I never trust any hygrometer until it's had the salt test.

What's the salt test?

 

[wodesorel]

You take a Tablespoon of table salt, add a few drops of water to make it sticky, and put it in a sealed bag or container with the hygrometer. In six hours it should read 75% or the gauge is off. Salt likes to be at 75%, so it makes the sealed area that humid. If it's an adjustable gauge it can be set at 75%, and if it's not and it's reading close you can do mental adjustments instead. Something way off should be exchanged or replaced.