Showers....er...

[PoshPenny]

Frita got her first shower on her pathos that grows up some wood. She has been rubbing up on her plants. I had to really work to get her out, she was practically running, then acted super stressed during her shower. Do I let her just shed on her own by rubbing on the plants from now on? I mist her well.
I had it bouncing off the wall. 15 mins in she stood on her hind legs and reached out to me, with her eyes closed as if she was going to jump, I picked her up and she clinged to my shirt.
I felt horrible, I feel horrible writing this this, it did not go as I thought it would. I thought she would love them. She shed the next day, I did it because she had poop on her tail. I had to rinse it prior to the shower in the sink to get it off. Her poop is getting harder to find lately. She is 5 months in a 18x18x36, when should I upgrade enclosures?
Her skin looked crackly, so her shed was close, I knew a good bath would help and it did. That morning the skin was sloughing off. But she is so pissed at me. She wont look at me unless I have food. I feel so horrible, was anyone's first cham shower went like this? Should I try again? Or just not push the envelope? I love my baby girl, she is so fragile. I feel horrible I stressed her. Iv never stressed her. ugh...

 

[djfishygillz]

I just mist with a large mister with hot water, by the time the water comes out in a mist and hits the chameleon the water is only warm instead of hot and my chams love it.

The entire shower thing in my opinion is a terrible idea. Every chameleon I have ever tried to put in the shower jumps off the plant, runs around freaking out... When I mist them in their enclosure with the warm water they just relax and drink like crazy and seem to love it. The shower is to traumatic for them.

 

[Lathis]

My Jax does not like the shower. He loves a nice, long misting, but I'm fooling myself if I think he's going to stay on a plant in the shower. I still do it when he's having trouble shedding... Like now (somebody's getting a bath tomorrow).



I have one of those handheld pressure sprayers from Lowes ($8 garden section). I fill it with hot water. He really loves a long session under the sprayer, so I do that about every other day. It's much easier on the hands than a trigger sprayer.

 

[Psychobunny]

I just mist with a large mister with hot water, by the time the water comes out in a mist and hits the chameleon the water is only warm instead of hot and my chams love it.

The entire shower thing in my opinion is a terrible idea. Every chameleon I have ever tried to put in the shower jumps off the plant, runs around freaking out... When I mist them in their enclosure with the warm water they just relax and drink like crazy and seem to love it. The shower is to traumatic for them.

I agree, and was hoping someone (besides myself) would mention it.

I know my chams would not like being moved to a strange little room (my bathroom) loaded with mirrors, gleeming white enamel and chrome surfaces,
put into a bathtube with a huge curtain, and seeing a turrant of water falling from the sky!!

I think your method is best, and that is what I do.
Sometimes I empty a whole quart bottle spraying them with warm water
(a quart for each cham, that is).
I adjust the nozzle thing to put out a coarse spray, not a mist, and I use short bursts, almost like it's spitting out, from above.
Not a hard spray right on them.
All my cham like it, even my veileds, who HATE being misted!!

This way, I do not have to take them from the security of their cages, and
product zero stress factor, on both of us

 

[TruBlu]

I agree, any panther that I have tried showering .. has hated it, freaked out and jumped off/fallen off its perch so now I personally wont use the method..

The prolonged misting gives the same affect with a lot less stress

 

[laurie]

Showers just don't work for all of us. I had a male quad that would get off the plants and walk out of the shower and just look at me like you must be kidding. I put him back in his free range and misted the heck out of him.

 

[Lathis]

I know my chams would not like being moved to a strange little room (my bathroom) loaded with mirrors, gleeming white enamel and chrome surfaces,


put into a bathtube with a huge curtain, and seeing a turrant of water falling from the sky!!

Gleaming white enamel? Chrome? Really? Well, lah dee dah! My cham gets a bathroom with dingy beige plastic!

 

[LLLReptile]

I use a reptarium or mesh cage in the shower, with only half of it actually in the flow. The steam and the bump in humidity seems much more helpful, and for larger chams they'll often drink from a stream or puddle just outside the direct stream of water.

I also don't run the chameleon showers as warm as I would for myself - a lukewarm shower seems to work better. I'll run it for about ten minutes, and it seems to work well.

Not all chameleons enjoy it as much as others, and they definitely aren't usually fans the first time, but for larger species or those having trouble shedding...it can be a sort of helpful evil.

-Jen

 

[pssh]

I have some that like showers, but most don't. I have a free range set up in an extra bathroom/shower, so I usually just move them to that and then either mist with hot water (that comes out slightly warm or Luke warm) or use the actual shower head for the ones that like it. Most of them prefer if they can't see me, so I sit behind the curtain and just keep an eye on them secretly.

Some chameleons that won't tolerate showers or long mistings will enjoy sitting above the shower so that they are over the steam. It's important that any water that hits them is not hot though. Even water that is warm to us can be near or over 100 degrees (skin temp is something like 89 or so.) if it is the same temp as your skin or just a tiny bit warmer, you are good to go!

 

[Iluvheidi]

I own four chameleons, two veiled and two panthers. My chams seem to enjoy the showers. I have fake vines set up in in the shower on the side and infront leading up under the shower head. This might be weird but I shower with them. Not all at one time. They all get a turn about once a month or when they need help using the bathroom or shedding. I let the shower warm up for about 3-5 minutes with them on the side "perch" with the water bouncing off the wall misting them. After I get in the shower they usually hang out for a little while then make their way up the top perch where they get all the warm air and fine mist rising up. Never do they "freak out"! they are calm and walk where they want. Drink from fake leaves and such. I didn't like the idea of wasting water so yea. I adapted! Haha I'm usually in the shower about 15 minutes. Mainly to let them get a nice soak.

Thanks just my routine and my chameleons love it or so I think

Sent from iPhone sorry for spelling errors and terrible grammar

 

[Boogiedog]

My panther really enjoys warm water mistings from a bottle. In addition to the automated misting system I have set up, every evening I fill the hand mister and give him a long shower. Now, he sees me coming with the bottle and "assumes the position". It is pretty funny.

 

[PoshPenny]

Iv got a plastic bin full of dubia roaches and 4000 crickets in my laundry room, with about 30ish escapees roaming the house, if my husband comes home and finds me showering with the Cham I think a clear preverbial line is going to be drawn in the sand.

She still won't look at me, but today she is drinking heavily, not eating much as usual, this shed is messy, its everywhere, her shed is almost gone, she had dead skin socks she had been trying to get off all day that she let me help with. They popped right off. She gave me the nod.

The " thank you but i still hate you unless you got a butter worm" nod.

Back to square one building trust.