Cham not drinking- what am I doing wrong?

[KyloVeiled]

HI guys,
I know you've probably heard this a thousand times before but my 6 month old veiled chameleon won't drink.
I've had him for a month and hes been great, eats really well, explores, basks, sleeps and is gradually getting to know me. But he won't drink.

He's in a 4ft viv with live plants and humidity of 60-70. He has a dripper on all day that drips about every second and he is sprayed 2 to 3 times a day with warm water. He used to HATE the spray, no matter how strong or weak, hot or cold, but now he just strongly dislikes it! He still runs away from it most often though.

I know he isn't drinking when I'm not watching because his urate has now gone orange.

He isn't super confident with me yet so I don't really want to take him out of the cage and into the shower to try and spray him there, (if he'll even let me!), until there's no other option.
What am I doing wrong? Please help!

Thanks so much for reading all this.

G and Kylo

 

[Decadancin]

You may want to try feeding some silk worms or horn worms. They contain more moisture and can help. Also, you can offer some fruits and veggies that could also be a source of hydration.

 

[Peachypink]

How long are you misting for? Sometimes you need to mist for at least 3 minutes to stimulate them to drink. I have at least 2 longer misting sessions a day of at least 4 minutes mixed with some shorter times to keep the humidity up.

 

[KyloVeiled]

I usually mist for about a minute so I'll definitely increase that. Thanks!

 

[Andreab102]

Do you have access to hornworms? I like to get a couple week since they are very hydrating. This may help.

 

[Kclarke02]

My female veiled used to lick water drops from the side of my all glass terrarium before I got an all screened one. I have a dripper that drips onto leaves and she loves that. I agree, hornworms are a treat and have lots of moisture in them. Maybe find a particular spot or plant for your dripper to drip on? @jannb and @jajeanpierre what are your thoughts??

 

[jannb]

My female veiled used to lick water drops from the side of my all glass terrarium before I got an all screened one. I have a dripper that drips onto leaves and she loves that. I agree, hornworms are a treat and have lots of moisture in them. Maybe find a particular spot or plant for your dripper to drip on? @jannb and @jajeanpierre what are your thoughts??

All of my chameleons drink from the dripper. Misting gets them in the mood to drink and then they will drink from the dripper long after the misting is over.

 

[Rayzilla]

All of my chameleons drink from the dripper. Misting gets them in the mood to drink and then they will drink from the dripper long after the misting is over.

Could I trouble you for a picture of how you have your plants arranged under the dripper? I would like to see good ways of plant arrangements and giving the cham a good drinking places would be an important part of the arrangement. Thanks.

 

[KyloVeiled]

@Rayzilla it's currently night time here in the UK so his dripper isn't on but the drops fall from the top circle to the bottom circle and then down into a little drip bucket. It's near his basking spot if that makes a difference.

This isn't the first place I've had the dripper set up. After a few weeks I found he wasn't paying any attention to it, so I moved it closer to where he spends most of his time.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Rayzilla]

@Rayzilla it's currently night time here in the UK so his dripper isn't on but the drops fall from the top circle to the bottom circle and then down into a little drip bucket. It's near his basking spot if that makes a difference.

This isn't the first place I've had the dripper set up. After a few weeks I found he wasn't paying any attention to it, so I moved it closer to where he spends most of his time.

Ok, I see. So any water that does not dry along the way or is drunk (or is drank?) by the cham will be collected in the little drip bucket so that it doesn't create a puddle on the floor base. I guess it is ok to have a little bucket of water at the bottom if it is going to be emptied and cleaned on a regular basis.

My plan for setting up the cage is described in this post and this post. This way I may not need to add a little drip bucket.

Thanks for your detailed picture and comments.

 

[jannb]

Ok, I see. So any water that does not dry along the way or is drunk (or is drank?) by the cham will be collected in the little drip bucket so that it doesn't create a puddle on the floor base. I guess it is ok to have a little bucket of water at the bottom if it is going to be emptied and cleaned on a regular basis.

My plan for setting up the cage is described in this post and this post. This way I may not need to add a little drip bucket.

Thanks for your detailed picture and comments.

If you use a catch pan/bucket to catch the water be sure to cover it with screen so you chameleon can't get in it and drown.

 

[Rayzilla]

If you use a catch pan/bucket to catch the water be sure to cover it with screen so you chameleon can't get in it and drown.

Ok thanks. That's what I thought. I remember reading that it is not good to keep water at the bottom that is over a certain height because of potential drowning and perhaps growth of bacteria too. That's a good idea with the screen if you do keep a little container/bucket for collecting the drip water.

 

[KyloVeiled]

I cover it with a type of mesh/screen so that he, as well as any food, won't fall in.

Thank you for all your help

 

[Andie]

You may want to try feeding some silk worms or horn worms. They contain more moisture and can help. Also, you can offer some fruits and veggies that could also be a source of hydration.

I agree. When I feed my panther horn worms, he doesn't seem to drink the rest of the day, no matter how long I mist.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I usually mist for about a minute so I'll definitely increase that. Thanks!

Get a MistKing. It produces a fine foggy mist. Most hand sprayers don't produce a fine enough spray and many chameleons don't like being hit by droplets of water, even warm droplets. I honestly believe an automatic mister is a necessary piece of equipment.

Often they need long misting sessions before they will drink. I rarely see my chameleons drinking. Sometimes I think they just almost breath in the water they drink. Standing in front of them with a spray bottle is often very scary for them. A mist that appears without your presence is by far the best way to deliver water to them. A shower, although a decent compromise, is very wasteful of water and energy.

Orange urates is not good and needs something done immediately. Put him on his plant--putting his whole cage in the shower is by far the best as he won't be stressed by being in a scary place--in the shower and aim the shower against the wall so their is a fine mist of (human) body temperature water bouncing off the walls onto his plant.

Chronic dehydration of captive pet chameleons is a huge problem that can cause kidney damage.

 

[Bush baby]

I had a Veiled Cham for 7 years and in those 7 years I saw him drink water TWICE! Yours maybe like my previous cham where I would make sure he had access to veggies all the time. He seemed to love bell pepper, blueberries, etc and seemed to get his moisture requirements met through eating those food items. He hated hornworms, silks, etc too.