Was misting my new cham [Senegal] and as soon as the water hit him he ran [well moved at a snails pace away from me]. Are most chams afraid of getting wet? My anoles run like hell when i mist so it may be a lizard thing, I thought on a hot day [96 in the GH] water would welcome.
Cham behaviour
- Thread starter jpm995
- Start date
Steve A
Chameleon Enthusiast
My male panther absolutely 100% hates being touched by water with a fiery passion. He sleeps in an area where the water doesn't reach (but still get's the humidity he needs at night). I've seen some chams on here seem to maybe even like getting hit by the mister.
I wouldn't worry about it. But I also would not specifically mist your chameleon. Mist the plants. This to me is a large part of why it's so important to use live plants (aside from the dangers of plastic being eaten). The plants are what's going to keep that humidity where it needs to be. Keep the plants misted/fogged(if necessary) at night correctly and your chameleon should get the hydration he needs. The only reason you should ever do this during the day, is it the humidity is actually too low. Please make sure you check humidity guidelines for your specific chameleon to be sure.
I personally would never try to "cool" my chameleon on a hot day. Remember, your enclosure should be put together by you in a way where your chameleon can retreat to the middle/lower portions of it so he can cool down/semi-hydrate (the lower/cooler sections will have higher humidity, or at least should, with live plants). If the temps are getting too hot for him in general, then you should consider either relocating the enclosure to a cooler part of your home, or find a way to cool it better (maybe a window AC unit or something).
This is just my opinion from my personal experience/observations. My chameleon is a little over a year old and doing very well. But hopefully a more experienced keeper can give you better insight/info.
at 96 I would be more concerned about him overheating. They can become sick and pass away from intense heat levels especially when there is no way for them to get into cooler areas.
Per the misting most do not like hand spray bottles if that is what you were using these have a very hard spray pattern vs something like a mistking that does a very fine mist.
Per the misting most do not like hand spray bottles if that is what you were using these have a very hard spray pattern vs something like a mistking that does a very fine mist.
Wouldn't 96 degrees be almost a normal temp for chams from east Africa?
I would think it would cool them off like kids running under a sprinkler on a hot day.
They go into the trees where it is most dense during hot parts of the day. They do not tend to just hang out where the heat is most extreme or they dehydrate. You have yours in a green house I believe so this will make it much harder for it to escape the heat because the entire ambient temp is going to be extremely high. This is pretty common behavior for all cham species even Veileds and Panthers. Basking in the sun during the coolest part of the day then retreating into the dense foliage where the temps are cooler.
Similar threads
