Pedialyte vs Gatorade

[serenitystarlite]

So my senegal chameleon, Kami, always seems like she's a little dehydrated. She drinks a lot but her urates are slightly on the orangish side about half the time. I know Pedialyte can be given so I bought some (unflavored). I was talking to the guy that works at the herp store and he said to give her some gatorade. I know gatorade has a ton of sugar in it, so I didn't know if it was a good idea but I always have gatorade on hand. She's not sick or acting weird or anything, I just kinda feel like she needs a little boost. I could put her in the shower but I feel like our tap water is filthy, like it's never clear so I'm scared to give it to my chams. Currently I use distilled water in her dripper and spring water in the spray bottle. Should I try giving her some pedialyte? If so, should I dilute it since she's not sick? What are your thoughts on gatorade?

 

[AJA]

Without knowing the full history of your chameleon, my first thoughts are the following: If her urates are "slightly on the orangish side about half the time." My initial thinking is that she could have something going on with her kidneys. She won't look off until she is really sick. I don't know if the vets can tell if there is kidney damage by a urate, some of the more experienced people can answer that. If you have a rep vet, you might want to ask.

My second thought is to stay with the pedialyte. Gatorade is crap with all the corn syrup in it. However, I don't know if the pedialyte will sting her eyes if you should mist her with it. There is also rept-aid if you have some. That can perk up your chameleon too. You could use a syringe to water her with the pedialyte.

Chams will mask their symptoms for a very long time in order to prevent any predator thinking them weak and an easy meal.

 

[justjumpit621]

they will need to draw blood to check her kidney values. Nothing can be seen in her urate except parasites and possibly infection.

 

[serenitystarlite]

Well when I say sick, I meant her eyes aren't sunken and she's not lethargic or anything like that. I may be over-reacting. She drinks a lot when I give her water from the spray bottle, but I rarely see her drinking from the dripper. She used to when it dripped onto her hibiscus, but the hibiscus is pretty much dead (and had bugs) so I took it out. Her dripper drips onto one of the pothos in her cage but I've never seen her drink from it. I feel like she isn't drinking enough. I'll give her some pedialyte tomorrow and try to get her to drink more and see if her urates turn white. They are white some of the time, but I see orange here and there so I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid. I don't want to waste money on a vet visit if it's simply that I'm just not giving her enough water. I hope it's not her kidneys.

 

[tkilgour]

Just continue to give your chameleon plenty of water. From time to time they will have an orangish urate depending on how much H2O intake. I would avoid gatorade and just go with pedialite. Also, you can buy zoomed reptisafe water conditioner or exoterra aquatize both these products help hydrate. I would not worry about kidney issues just yet. I have had chams that had orange urate, then I would notice them drinking far more and their urates would look normal again and be pearly white. I would say if the urate is dark orange all the time or pinkish then there is a problem. Best of Luck!!!

 

[panthercham]

Something to try.....take her off distilled water and just use spring water for a while and see if there is an improvement. You are talking about using pedialyte or Gatorade to rehydrate her and they are both an electrolyte drink. Stay away from Gatorade as others have said its full of sugar, chemicals and is just bad.

Distilled water is a dead water, it basically has no minerals left in it and it has been known to actually pull electrolytes and trace minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium etc) from the body leading to mineral deficiencies which maybe what is giving your cham slight dehydration if she is using her dripper and drinking from it. Might be a long shot but worth a try

 

[serenitystarlite]

You know I had that same thought about the distilled water. I was using it in the dripper because I read on here somewhere that it won't clog it. Sometimes I was using it in the spray bottle when I was out of spring water. Once in awhile the grocery store will be out of one or the other so I grab whatever they have at the time. I'll switch to spring water in the dripper and see if that makes a difference.

Kami kind of seems like a little princess. She drinks from the spray bottle and usually only eats if I hand feed her, it's like she wants to be waited on lol. She won't cup feed and she usually ignores loose crickets but will eat whatever I give her if I'm physically holding it with tweezers. I wonder if it's the same for the water, she expects me to give her water all the time and doesn't like to drink on her own because she's spoiled? Lol I might be imagining all this but I think she likes being waited on

 

[Carlton]

What's the humidity level in her cage? If it is on the dry side she will be thirstier when you do mist her. My chams don't drink as much if their humidity is higher and they have good body reserves. As she's most likely wc (and probably suffered some dehydration damage as a result) she might just be more sensitive now. I don't give chams either product if they are drinking and eating on their own. Both can upset electrolyte balance if given too much.

 

[Carlton]

I could put her in the shower but I feel like our tap water is filthy, like it's never clear so I'm scared to give it to my chams.

Are you on municipal or city water or well water? Do you have a softener? Sometimes heated water picks up stuff from the water heater tank and cold water doesn't. If it is city water it must be basically safe or YOU couldn't use it without health problems. To find out what's in it (minerals, organics, heavy metals, rust, etc) you can ask your utility that it be tested or you can get a kit and send it to an independent lab yourself. At least you'll know what it contains. Another option is installing a water filter on one faucet and use that to fill your misters, drippers, and spray bottles. After all, you'll be using a lot of water for a cham so that might be your best bet. Find out what's in the tap water and get the appropriate filter.

 

[serenitystarlite]

It's city water. Not sure if it's actually Pittsburgh city water or outside of the city, but there's stuff floating in it, even in cold water and even if I get it from the brita filter. I don't even use it for my bettas Pittsburgh city water is gross, no one drinks it unless you want to get sick, esp in old buildings. Not sure if it's the same water in my current apartment or what the deal is with the water here. I buy water anyway, so it's no big deal to buy for my chams.

The humidity is really low. It's so dry here now. I'm thinking of buying a humidifier for my room. That could definitely be part of it too.

 

[serenitystarlite]

Just to give a little update on this situation, I bought a humidifier for my room and it raised the humidity a lot. I gave Kami pedialyte a couple times a week for the past couple weeks and increased misting her cage. It really seemed to help. When I cleaned out her cage last weekend, her urates were all mostly white and only found yellow urates a couple times when I was spot cleaning before that. I've also noticed she's a lot more active and has been eating more than she was, so I really think the humidity had a lot to do with it. I know I was feeling absolutely awful with 30% humidity in here