I'm looking into making a dripper like you showed in your link. How much water should it hold, and how long should it drip until it runs dry?
Well, it depends somewhat on your chameleons drinking habits, how well you hydrate the prey insects, the level of humidity in the room, etc.
I use a variety of well hydrated prey, have a fairly humid room...
But I'll tell you what I do, and then you can obviously adjust according to your situation. So, I fill my dripper in the morning before I do anything else. My chameleons are habituated to this routine and are often waiting at the hose for me, or wander over to it when I arrive as they know what's coming. There are several cups of water in the dripper. It dripps at a rate of two or three drips a second. After I take care of my own morning needs (wash, brush, cup of tea etc) I feed the chameleons their breakfast and refill/top-up the dripper and adjust the drip rate to be much slower. I believe it lasts this way for a couple hours. Later in the day I mist the cages and refill the drippers again.
When you find some poop, check the colour of the urate - the white part. It should be white, perhaps with a tiny bit of orange or yellow. It should not be mostly yellow or anything other than mostly white. If the urate is not white, it is likely the chameleon is not getting sufficient water.
I'm only feeding superworms right now, I have some phoenix worms on order from a friend of mine. Another owner told me that the superworms and crickets would be just fine as long as I dusted them twice a week. His logic makes sense...the worms and crickets are fine because he's getting the nutrients through the supplements and the lighting, but just because it sounds logical doesn't mean it's correct. So I'm trying to sort it all out. I've only had the guy for a week. You won't offend me by asking questions, I feel priviledged to be here in a place where you guys can relate your knowledge and experience so I can make sure I'm giving him everything he needs!
Well, I advocate for as wide a variety of prey insects as possible. Superworms (Zophobas) and crickets are a good place to start. But you must gutload them and dust lightly with calcium. You will want to use a calcium powder that does NOT contain D3 pretty much every time you offer crickets or superworms. Use a powder that does have D3 up to once a week (depends on the brand). Use a vitamin supplement powder once ever other week or so also (rely more on your gutloading than on supplements). Other good feeder options are roaches (no need to dust these), silkworms (I dont bother to dust these either), Butterworms (no need for calcium on these a they are naturally higher in it), isopods (again no need to dust), hornworms, etc. Check my blog for more info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/useful-links/
I personally dont think phoenix worms are worthwhile for a chameleon that is over six months of age, just because of the size.
He is housed in a 2x2x4 screened cage, I've made sure his basking bulb his 6 inches from the closest branch and it keeps that area pretty warm--I need to get a thermometer to check the temp.
Yes, get a digital thermometre and humidity metre. Its important to ensure you are providing both the correct ambient and basking temps and humidity within correct ranges.
In addition to the basking/heat bulb, Do you have a tube style UVB bulb? ReptiSUN 5.0 is the best, ReptiGLO is second best.
How can you tell if a cham is stressed? I keep reading that they're more of a display animal, but I get him out daily for free ranging and he likes to just sit on my shoulder if I'm standing up or he sits on my back if I'm laying down on my stomach. He doesn't blow up or change color or open his mouth unless I walk past a mirror and he sees himself. To me, he seems totally relaxed and content to just hang out. I love holding him, but I don't want to keep getting him out if it's not good for him.
Frequent holding/handling is
not recommended. Signs of stress can vary and its not always obvoius, but can include: Dark vertical bars, open mouth, hissing, moving upwards (incluing to your shoulder or head), jumping/running away, holding itself very still, front arm(s) raised up and bent, ....
