Adult pooping schedules and hydration

[tdotcham]

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male ambilobe, 1.5 years old, in my care for 1 week from chromachameleons
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I've held him periodically maybe 3 times, he is very chill and doesnt fire or get upset when I grab him and even came voluntarily from the bottom of the cage onto my hand
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? feeding around 6 crickets daily, one day of 4 superworms so far. crickets are gutloaded with lettuce, red pepper, carrot, and potato so far.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? monday-friday repcal calcium w/o d3. zoomeds reptivite and repcal calcium with d3 twice a month rotated on sundays.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I mist 2-3 times a day, and fill a dripper which drips for approx 20 minutes after misting. I mist for about a minute or two until his foilage is dripping constantly. I try and give him space when i drip and not watch him but I have seen him on occasion drink
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He hasnt been tested, I have only found one dropping over the period of a week and the urate was dark which concerned me.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Purchased from Harry at chromachameleons


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x4 cage, wood back and bottom (both sealed and water proofed) the rest is all screen.
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 15" repti glo 5.0, 60w basking bulb. Lights on at 8am, lights off at 9pm
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Digital thermometor/humidity gauge. room temp of about 75, basking around 90 on basking vine.
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
W/O misting humidity around 50%, after misting as high as 90%... digital guage placed on top of screen
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
3ft umbrella tree, and a hibiscus plant on the bottom.
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? In my gf's bedroom. air conditioner is on the other side of the room however there are no drafts near the cage. the cage is 4ft tall, ontop of a 2.5 foot stand. his basking area is about 6ft high relative to standing height
* Location - Where are you geographically located?
Toronto, Canada


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

A general critique would be awesome if anyone see's any issues, I have done my research but am always looking to improve!!! It will only benefit my chameleon.

I have only seen one dropping over the period of a week of having him. the urate was dark, so it had me concerned about the frequency of his pooping, and his hydration. If there are better ways for me to setup his dripper, or mistings then I would appreciate ways to do those better.

I am not very sure of exactly how to mist, I try to not spray my chameleon as he doesn't seem to like it, and the breeder I recieved him from informed me that he was only dripped previously to me getting him.

his setup

him!

 

[tdotcham]

up.. would like some help here please

 

[carol5208]

It sounds like you have everything set up nicely. You could maybe mist for longer periods of time. Just mist the whole cage and if he wants to get wet, then we will, if not then he will get out of the way. Maybe he is just settling in, as you have only had him a week.. When you say dark, you mean his urate was dark? It should be white with maybe a tinge of orange is ok. You have the dripper going so he is getting a constant source of water if he is thirsty. sounds like you got it covered to me!!

 

[Thompson]

When chameleons are older than don't poop as often, and since your cham is 1.5 years old then that is normal. Setup looks good but I would add a branch or two in the middle Btw I would cut his feeding down to about 3-5 food items since he's an older cham. You can even feed him every other day if you want or if he is starting to slow down.

 

[tdotcham]

okay so I can slow down on the feeding... harry told me 3-5 a day but he was destroying 6 no problem so I just thought he had a good appetite.

his urate was dark orange. definately not white... which is why it concerns me as even when i have the dripper going he doesnt seem to drink from it. i tried spraying him gently directly at his body about a foot away today and he started licking his lips... however i still don't think that the mist hitting his tongue is adequate.

 

[sandrachameleon]

refill the dripper, so that it drips longer than just 20 minutes. Can he reach the end of the dripper and drink directly from the end of the hose or how is the water entering that cage? is it easy for him to get to the water from the dripper?

Consider adding in some juicy silkworms or hornworms to its diet.

Instead of potatoe, try dandelion greens, oranges, papaya for cricket gutload.

I think you may find next time the urate is less dark. The first week he will have been stressed and not yet sure about all the changes, and probably just wasnt yet drinking well.

Maybe add a few more branches or vines mid cage. If relying on misting more than the dripper, you'll need more leaves for him to drink drips off of.

 

[tdotcham]

thanks sandra. so i can just pick dandelions and let the crickets eat the stems?? ill definately add in a variety of things but im working with whatever was in the fridge at the time... so carrots, potatoes, lettuce and red pepper. would banana be any good??

what fruits would u recommend i try hand feeding to him??

as for the dripper, its just a tupperware container with a pin prick through it. i was however thinking of building something with a fish tube and have it hang into the cage. right now the dripper was just repositioned to be above one of the tall vines at the top. its about a 6 inch drop and hits that vine. my gf said that he was drinking from there last night but im going to see how it goes tonight when im over at her house.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

if your dripper allows it, have it running all day if possible. a drip each second is a great rate, allows water to go all day or for extensive periods of time. you could also give him a hydration shower in your home shower, or in a portable cage outside with the sprinkler going. at least an hour if his urates are that dark. that is a pretty alarming dehydration colour. also, i dont think i got it before i made this post, but how much have you supplimented with calcium d3 and the multi vitamin. i would switch to herptivite by rep cal, it seems to the best and one of the saffest multivitamins, it has beta carotene instead of pre formed vitamin a in which can utilise your chams liver.

 

[Goggles]

what fruits would u recommend i try hand feeding to him??

.

Being a Panther it is unlikely he will eat fruit. That dosen't mean he won't, but it is Veileds that will eat fruits or greens.

 

[tdotcham]

the supplementation schedule which i was given from chromachameleons was alternating between calcium w/o d3, and the zoo meds reptivite. he was fairly keen on telling me how the rep cal herptivite had an excessive amount of vitamin a. and judging from the success he has had with chameleons and the amount he breeds, ill take his word for it... he knows what hes doing.

the urate itself was not black. it was an orange. however i might try and put him in the shower and see how he likes it

 

[tdotcham]

Being a Panther it is unlikely he will eat fruit. That dosen't mean he won't, but it is Veileds that will eat fruits or greens.

oh fair enough.. Maybe its still worth a shot

 

[Thompson]

if your dripper allows it, have it running all day if possible. a drip each second is a great rate, allows water to go all day or for extensive periods of time. you could also give him a hydration shower in your home shower, or in a portable cage outside with the sprinkler going. at least an hour if his urates are that dark. that is a pretty alarming dehydration colour. also, i dont think i got it before i made this post, but how much have you supplimented with calcium d3 and the multi vitamin. i would switch to herptivite by rep cal, it seems to the best and one of the saffest multivitamins, it has beta carotene instead of pre formed vitamin a in which can utilise your chams liver.

Don't let the dripper drip all day. The cage needs to be able to dry out and to much humidity for long periods of time can result in your Cham getting a URI.

 

[Goggles]

Like Sandra said the best thing to help with hydration is some juicy silk worms or hornworms.

 

[tdotcham]

well good news, i looked in the cage today and saw that my lil guy left a nice poop that fell down a leaf. it wasnt all in one, but theres a huge white streak on the leaves where it fell.