Panther behavior and hydration

[spearsre]

I am wondering if any of you have had a chameleon that cannot seem to figure out how to drink water. For example, I mist twice a day and then drip at least twice a day. He sits there and stares. Then an hour later when everything is dry he starts licking the leaves. Now I do not believe he is stupid but wondering why he does this. He definately is a tiger when it comes to food but when water hits he shows little interest.

 

[Sang]

you might not be misting him long enough, and then his will to drink starts up after you have finished.

how long are the sessions in which you are misting him?

 

[panthercham]

I agree...how long are you misting for?

I use drippers and mist and 3 of my chams drink from both the dripper and from misting but I have 1 that justs watches the dripper just like tv.....just stares at it.

How old is he? My male chams started licking their vines, leaves, branches and my arm when the were around 10 months old and they got a bit older and reaching adulthood.

He may not be licking but actually 'tasting' his environment as panthers do that. Panthers use their tongues to detect the scent left by other chameleons.

How are his poops? Any sign of dehydration? He maybe a closet drinker. If he is dehydrated you could try silk and hornworms as they have a higher water content than crickets but should never replace misting.

 

[spearsre]

I mist and drip for about 30 minutes at a time. During that time he will close his eyes or just sit there. He does show interest on occassion but only when he seems to be very thirsty. His age is about 7 months but he is very large. Just curious. Maybe I should drop the misting time to 15 and do it more often during the day.

 

[hallenhe]

They can require a bit of patience. I echo the sentiments to try misting longer, maybe get an automated system (e.g. site sponsors MistKing or HerpMist), which will provide a reliable steady misting without your having to stand there thirty minutes.
Our routine: I start spritzing Thaxter (panther) with lukewarm water. He immediately walks away. I do not chase him, but continue spritzing where he was. After one or two minutes, one or two neurons fire in his brain: "You know, that just may have been water! Maybe I can drink it!" He turns around and walks back into the spray. I continue spritzing. He thinks about it. After another minute or two, he tentatively opens his mouth and extends his tongue just a bit. In another minute, he starts drinking with gusto, sometimes shooting a particularly attractive drop, sometimes licking leaves repeatedly. He will continue this until I empty the spritzer, and keep licking leaves for up to an additional twenty minutes.
He also has a dripper set up to drip throughout the day; he will drink from that, but often prefers the spritzing.
Occasionally he gets so caught up in the excitement that he forgets to swallow, and the water drips back out the other side of his mouth. You do sometimes wonder how these things ever make it in nature, especially since Madagascar has a dry season.

 

[MWheelock]

I actually like to mist fairly warm water. Misting really cools off the water anyway and so some chams find it a little startling. I also found that my cham when he was younger wouldn't drink while I was watching, but only ate reluctantly when I watched. Since he was pooping normally and shed well, I just didn't stress too much.

I have my misting system go for 8 minutes 3 times a day. I still rarely see him drink. An yes, he goes and tastes different plants (a panther that does not eat foilage) while it is dry in the cage occassionally.

 

[spearsre]

Thanks for the responses folks. I got free veterinary consultation to... my wife is a veterinarian with NO reptile experience. I am going to buy misting system and try it out. I have found that the warm water misting works the best as well echoing Dr. Wheelock's experience. Not too hot just warm to the touch. I have heard of this behavior before but just curious cause I had the same interests in how the heck they made it when it takes a while for the neurons to fire... Plus my guy is sick at the moment as you may have seen my additional posting concerning a sudden downturn in his health.