My cham won’t drink, please help

[Nicholashubbs410]

I’ve had my ambilobe for about 3 weeks. He eats like a champ (today he ate 4 medium Hornworms) but he loathes water. I haven’t seen him drink since the day we purchased him from the breeder. I took him and my tamatave in for a check up last week and the doc said that he was fine. He still closes his eyes a lot though and doesn’t drink. Sometimes I have to shake him awake when he’s out free roaming. Could it be a vitamin deficiency?

 

[JacksJill]

He's probably not getting enough heat or light during his free roam or he is stressing out and shutting down.

 

[Nicholashubbs410]

He does seem to be a lot more active in his enclosure. Should I be worried? I’m considering driving him to Seattle, the vets in eastern Washington don’t seem to know much about chameleons. That’s going to be about a $400.00 trip though, so I want to make sure that it’s absolutely necessary. Do certain chams just not like water and sleep a lot? Again he eats great and adventures quite a bit

 

[JacksJill]

How does his poop look is the white portion mostly white?
If he's active in his enclosure then I would stop the free ranging for now and see how he does. If he's sleeping during the day in his enclosure and he's getting 12 hrs of light and 12 hrs of dark then I would see a vet.

 

[JacksJill]

How does his poop look is the white portion mostly white?
If he's active in his enclosure then I would stop the free ranging for now and see how he does. If he's sleeping during the day in his enclosure and he's getting 12 hrs of light and 12 hrs of dark then I would see a vet.

 

[Nicholashubbs410]

The brown portion looks normal, the urate is white with tints of yellow but mostly white. It’s very runny though, the urate splats when it hits the ground. My tamatave’s poo comes out in a nice secure package and doesn’t splat. He also has clear liquid that he pushes out as well, which from what I’ve read is a sign of good hydration. The only thing he’s eaten since I’ve owned him is Hornworms. I don’t know if he sleeps because his eyes move around in their sockets, but sometimes I have to give him a little wiggle to get him to open his eyes.

 

[kinyonga]

Is this the same chameleon that had the hemipene hanging out and the tongue issue?

 

[Nicholashubbs410]

Yes but he can project several inches, he just chooses not to most the time. His tongue is very sticky, more so than my tamatave. I’ve been speaking with the breeder today and apparently he used to drink during every misting.

 

[kinyonga]

If he's choosing not to use the tongue then there is something wrong with it.

 

[jannb]

Sleeping in the daytime is a sign that he has a health issue.

Here’s a really good vet in Washington state that one of our senior members has used for many years.

• Dr. Adolf K. Maas

• The center for bird and exotic animal medicine
  11401 Ne 195th St
  Bothell, WA 98011
  (425) 486-9000