Dehydration

[litahudak]

Okay. So I'm running to class right now and I have some ideas from reading on here what I need to do but if someone more experienced has any advice, I'd appreciate it. I have what we've guessed on here to be a 4 month old chameleon. He bounced back from parasites about a month ago and has been doing fantastic. Well.. until the cold weather hit. I've had to move him outside but because he has a screen cage it's been really hard to keep his humidity up. That and my apartment is kept at around 80*. He has been dehydrating for the last couple days despite spraying and today he's been gaaping, so I know it's getting too warm. (Our apartment is the top apartment so it's this warm without running the heat.) Days like today I can take him outside but generally I can't.

I've read some people do showers.. but I think mine may be too tiny for that. (He's about 3.5" long. He's a little one, I know lol.) I'd be game to do it but I don't know if it won't be too much for him. Well, going to take him outside now (it's 73 at least). Any help to get my little guy back to being normal is appreciated!

 

[Pilotman800]

He is not too young to shower. Just make sure the water doesn't directly hit him. Have the shower head aiming at the wall, so the mist reflects off onto his plant.

Do you have a dripper running?

I'd also recommend upping the misting even more.

 

[carol5208]

Can you handle him easily or get close to him? If so, get a cup of water and an eye dropper and drop water droplets on his nose. That should stimulate him to drink. Why do you think he is dehydrated? I know you are in FLA. What is the humidity up there in Pensacola?. He should not be gaping at 80 degrees. There might be something else going on there. Get a dripper going in the cage also. Run it constantly. Try that before the eye dropper. That would be a last resort if you cannot get him to drink. 73 degrees is fine as long as you have somewhere for him to get warm like under a basking light.

 

[Elizadolots]

When the temperature in your apartment goes up, turn off the basking light. He'll do better without any additional heat. Also, the eye dropper idea is very, very good. Jut make sure you use a plastic eye dropper. There have been stories of thirsty chameleons grabbing the dropper and biting down on it.

Even if you can't get into the cage with him to drip water on his nose, watch for times when he's climbing on the screen. Slip up next to him and gently push a couple of drops of water through the screen just above his head. I've had great success getting a chameleon to drink that way.

 

[Carlton]

That and my apartment is kept at around 80*. He has been dehydrating for the last couple days despite spraying and today he's been gaaping, so I know it's getting too warm. (Our apartment is the top apartment so it's this warm without running the heat.)

You really need the basking light on the cage so he can warm up in the am. But, once the apartment is warm you don't need the basking light, just the UV. Get a lamp timer and set it so the basking spot shuts off at about the time your room gets too warm. This will help keep the cage from drying out as much too.

 

[Olimpia]

I do showers like this. Any water/pesticide pump will work, I use a 5 gal one that sprays out about 20 minutes worth of water when it's full.

 

[SilverDragoness]

Is his saliva thick and ropey? Any wheezing? He may have an upper respiratory infection.

 

[litahudak]

Hey guys, figured I'd update. No wheezing, nothing to show of a sign of a resp infection. He was on his pothos so I just grabbed the entire plant and put him in the shower. Can't say he was a huge fan, but he didn't hiss at the water or anything. Towards the end he had moved a little closer towards where the water was bouncing off the wall. He seems to be doing better. Unfortunately here we'll drop 20* in one night so it's a little hard to keep up with the changing weather. Little man seems to be doing all better, though! Chowed down on a dozen crickets today (the joys of having a baby! lol.)

 

[Elizadolots]

Can't say he was a huge fan

LOL!!! Welcome to the Wicked Witch of the West Club...."I'm MELTING!!!"

They can actually benefit from a 20 degree drop in temperature at night. Don't worry about that at all. The way I think of it is, if I can get up and go downstairs without pulling extra clothes on, then it's warm enough for my chameleon. If I take the time to pull on socks and a robe, then it's too cold. I'm lucky, it's rarely too cold here and if it were, our heater would kick in, which I bet is the case in your house: your heater would kick in. So, you don't really need to worry overly.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I've had to move him outside but because he has a screen cage it's been really hard to keep his humidity up"...and you said the temp. outside is only 73...that's not warm enough to keep the chameleon at all day IMHO. Usually the lack of humidity can be compensated for to some extent by watering/misting the chameleon more often. If your apartment is only at 80F that's not too warm.