panther chameleon urate question ?

[luckyy15]

I have a 9 month old male red bar ambilobe panther chameleon he is very lively and alert. His eyes are round and full not showing any signs of being sunken but is urate has a tint of orange in it. i also gently did the skin test and it goes back straight away. I mist his cage in the morning, when i get in from work and again a hour or so later for 5 mins each time. He drinks from the leaves when i mist and he also has a dripper running through the day. i feed him 5-7 feeders every other day and he is eating well normally eating at least 4. these are a variety of locusts, dubias crickets, superworms and im also going to start trying silkworms these are all gutloaded with a variety of potatoe, carrot, apple, greens and a pre prepared bug grub. He doesnt defeacate every day and i had read they can sometimes not go to toilet everyday and the urate can dry out there for looking a tint of orange in colour.

He is currently in a 24x24x36, has a 60w heat bulb and 5.0 linear uvb bulb His temps are 85-88 at basking spot and between 70-75 in the middle of the cage. The humdity is between 50-60 raising to 80 when misted. he is also has a fogger that runs in the morning and evening for a couple hours.

Could he still be dedhyrated ? ive started giving him showers every other day as a precaution but he isnt to keen at the moment he wont stay on the plant and keeps wanting to climb the side of the bath.

Any advice much appreciated
Thanks

 

[reptoman]

Silkworms and hornworms can both help with hydration. I have the same situation with my male panther. He does not drink as much as he used to from the leaves so I keep him hydrated by gutloading with fresh fruit and veggies and giving worms a couple times a week.

 

[luckyy15]

Good to know I'm not the only one I'm going to try silkworms I had some arrive today. What's the best fruit and veggies to use for hydration ?

 

[reptoman]

I use squash, carrots, pears, apple, collards, and really anything else I have around. Just avoid broccoli and spinach

 

[luckyy15]

cool thanks how old is your panther ? mine is 9 months old and was thinking maybe thing they go through while there growing ?

 

[Killjoy]

whats up lucky!!
i have some experience here. A slight tint of orange shouldnt be too big of a concern. I have many chams and they are well hydrated and still have slightly orange urates. Chams get alot of there hydration in the food they eat. in my opinion i think you need to feed him a little more. i have a 6 month old and he is at about 8-12 large crickets every day. And the very best thing to feed them when trying to hydrate is oranges. they LOVE it and its a good way to help introduce natural calcium. Also, the only reason he is not pooing every day is cause he will only poo as often as his intake....feed every other day = poo every other day..... feed every day = poo every day. so in short gutload the night before with oranges. feed 8 crickets every morning. this increase in food items will induce a better appitite, lighter urates and faster growth. hope that was helpful

 

[luckyy15]

Hi thank you for your reply much appreciated. We were feeding him everyday up to about 7 months then he started to slow down on the amount he was eating and there was still crickets etc left in the cage in the evening. I spoke to some people on here and they said around 7-8 months their growth slows down and therefore they don't eat as much so feeding every other day is recommended however I don't want to be under feeding him i'll try everyday aswell as gutloading with oranges and see how he gets on. I've got some silkworms that I'm going to try tomorrow for the first time see if he likes them.

 

[Killjoy]

gotcha, didnt realize you had him on that regimen. They do level off a little bit. if you got him eating well then leave it alone. there is a slightly more extreme measure you can take if you really want to hydrate more. Buy a couple Goliath worms. inject them with a small syringe of water. They can hold quite a bit and this will really hydrate him. This will be a protein packed water balloon. just beware, the worms will only live for about 15 minutes once injected so be sure to feed right away. My guys LOVE IT!!

 

[luckyy15]

not sure if u can get them
in the uk but I'll Definantly have a look.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I have a 9 month old male red bar ambilobe panther chameleon he is very lively and alert. His eyes are round and full not showing any signs of being sunken but is urate has a tint of orange in it.

It is not unusual for one end /tip of the urate to be slightly orange or yellow.
ensuring his food is gutloaded with wet stuff like fruit and veg will help, as would using juicy feeders like silkworms and hornworms (no real need to inject them with extra water).

Do you rely on misting, or do you also use a dripper? A dripper is an excellent way of providing water

 

[Killjoy]

like i said, that is an "extreme measure". it was something a vet told me to do when i adopted a severely dehydrated panther with a respiratory infection. he recommended this 2-3 times a week. for 2 weeks. It really helped to hydrate. this is just my experience......good luck

 

[luckyy15]

Hi thanks for your reply yea we use a dripper during the day while I'm at work I've got some silkworms that arrived yesterday i've put some of them in today for the first time hopefully my little man will like them and going to try gutloading other feeders with oranges as been using mainly apple carrots and potatoe and greens so far