New Jackson Chameleon not drinking

sleestack

New Member
I've had Sleestack(Juvinile Jackson Chameleon) for about 1 week now. He is eating 2 - 3 crickets per day but I have not seen him drink any water yet and getting a little concerned. I am misting hit cage 2 - 3 times a day, I have a drip system setup that provides 4 different drip locations. Any help would be appreciated.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Exo-Terra® Glass Terrarium(Largest one)
Lighting - 75 Watt Basking / UVAB Strip Light
Temperature - 85 Degree Basking Spot, 75 Degree Cool Spot , 65 Degrees at night
Humidity - Drip system over leaves, misting 2 - 3 times daily
Plants - Fake plants
Location - Living Room near window. Medium/Low traffic.

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Jackson Chameleon, maybe 3 months old?
Feeding - Crickets gut loaded with Fluker Farms, dusted with Reptical
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - Drip and Mist, never seen him drink
Fecal Description - White, Yellow, brown chunk
History - Only owned him for a week
Current Problem - Seems to be healthy but I havent seen him drink for a week now.
 
I would agree with Chameleon Tree. Use hot water too. When water passes through the air it cools off dramatically. He looks great in the picture, he is hydrated. He maybe getting his water from the drippers. With my experiences with Jacksons they love water. I am a bit suprised he is not drinking during mistings even if they are quick. Mine would sit there with his mouth open and let me spray him directly in the mouth.
 
I'm brand new to this forum and probably should mind my ps & qs for a while but ... I see you have him in a glass terrarium. I'll just share that I did the same thing when I bought my Jax, on the advice of a pet store employee. Within 10 days I was running up my first vet bills to treat a respiratory infection and the herp vet gave my little guy less than 50-50 odds. You might want to seriously consider a screen cage to help evaporate all the necessary water. (People here can direct you to many sources of good screened cages -- I'm not sure yet what's PC here for referrals). Also, I know others have had different experiences but I found that plastic plants don't hold water droplets very well; silk creates enough surface tension, and real ones are best (though mold in the soil can be a challenge when you're running that much water). Lastly, if you spray water that feels too hot in the spritzer bottle, it will probably be just perfect when the small droplets reach your chameleon's skin and/or mouth. When my jax saw the spritzer coming, he'd go under his basking light and lay along his perch, let a fine mist fall on him, wash his eyes, relax every muscle in his body as if he were at a day spa. I'd stop for a minute or two, at which point he'd get up and come to the middle of his branch to drink directly from the nozzle (more of a dribble than a spray). The start-stop-start thing seems to work for a lot of people/lizards -- just takes a while to get their drinking impulse revved up. My jax would also take water from a small veterinary syringe, which made giving meds much easier/less traumatic. You guys will get your routine down -- but please do consider well ventilated caging.
 
Oh yea i missed the terrrarium comment...big no no...they need freash airflow. If you need to get a humidifier and pipe it in there. Jacksons need higher humidity. I find that the shefflera plants have a leaf that seems to hold droplets for a while after misting. A lot of people set their screen cage over a laundry tub so they can collect water in a bucket under them. The laundry tubs arent too expensive 20-30 bucks
 
Thanks

Thanks! I had a feeling the guy at PetSmart was not very educated in caring for Chameleons. I'm going to order a new enclosure for him pronto! I will let you know if he starts drinking regularly.

Thanks!

Matt
 
Pygmy chams are a whole different ball of wax.
They are doing the right thing for those guys, not for your jackson's though.

-Brad
 
Is it both the size and the ventilation? If its just ventilation, I can probably get a glass cutter and cut some large holes in the sides. If its the size.... well, I'm screwed and need a new enclosure.
 
I wouldn't recommend cutting holes in the glass.
If you haven't had the enclosure that long and still have the receipt, I would return it.
It's their fault they recommended an inappropriate enclosure.

You could probably get a reptarium or similar screen enclosure in the same price range.
An exchange is always more appealing to a retailer.
-Brad
 
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