Drinking questions???

[Redspacecase]

Hi again guys. A couple of questions about my cham (still no name)! Just wondering how much panther Chams drink? He doesn't seem to drink in the morning when I mist him down but in the afternoon hes been coming down the cage about 10 mins after spraying whilst I'm wiping the floor and starts drinking off the same leaf all three times, so i spray the the leaf n he drinks off it again. Is he winding me up? Lol. But if I get him with the water by accident he runs back up top!
I also have a dripper but he doesn't seem to notice/use it. So should they drink each time i spray through out the day?sorry its a bit long but here's a pic i just took looks like he's chillin nicely!! Thanks all

 

[chameleonfan101]

They don't drink at all times. So no worries. But make sure he is drinking! If you said you see him drink then keep spraying until he stops drinking. As long as you see him drink from some where you are fine. I would let the dripper fall into the leaf he seems to like!

 

[chamguy]

A lot of keepers never really see their chameleons. A good indicator is looking at fresh droppings. There are 2 parts. The feces ( brown) and urates ( yellow-white) If the urates are white then he is well hydrated.

I never see my chameleons drink. When i first got them they did as they were slightly dehydrated from the trip over here.

 

[Redspacecase]

Ok thanks for that. The only problem is the leaf he likes is one of the bottom ones so I can't drip onto that one, I have it dripping to a leaf about 8 inches across from his basking spot, so maybe he is using it I'm just not seeing it like you said chamguy! Thanks for the help you two

 

[ChameleonFan1989]

Just look for the urate, if its nice and white, he's drinking, better than standing there and worrying if he's drinking but I know how much it can make you worry

Sebastian my panther cham only drank a little today even though he got misted 3 times and some days he may drink alot every time he gets misted.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

A lot of keepers never really see their chameleons. A good indicator is looking at fresh droppings. There are 2 parts. The feces ( brown) and urates ( yellow-white) If the urates are white then he is well hydrated.

I never see my chameleons drink. When i first got them they did as they were slightly dehydrated from the trip over here.

I rarely see either of my veils drink, My male who is by my estimates about 5 months older, i have seen drink once. but everything checks out, the urates on both are fine. I never see my female drink but on that note, her urates are also in good order.

i believe that drinking is as much of a safety level with chams as eating is ( makes perfect sense).

As long as everything is in proper order, i would say your cham is healthy.

 

[tipposan]

I got my first cham about 3 months ago and about 1 month ago I started to introduce a drip for the same concerns about drinking.

Prior to that I almost always saw my cham drink from the leaves and even from the back of the tank as the water ran down the back from misting. There were days that he would seem to lick the back wall for a while so I would mist there but that would scare him away and that was it for the day.

This is why I went to try the drip. Here is what I did and hopefully this works for you.

#1. I rearranged his tank so that I had somewhere to put the drip up high and arranged it so that it drips onto a leaf or set of leaves that are angled towards a branch (so he can reach the drip comfortably). Of course with a drip you have to have the catch bowl or some other drainage in place.

#2. Play it by ear...Before I fill the container for the drip, I just see where he is. If he is close to the drip, I fill the drip. If he is closer to the back or elsewhere away from the drip, I just use the mist for that time.

#3. Watch from a distance...my cham does not like to be watched while drinking...eating is fine...but if you watch him too close, he won't drink

Here is what my tank set up looks like tight now.


IMG_4067 by closhusan, on Flickr

The little white cup is the drip and while it is a bit hard to see, there is a set of green leaves that it drips onto.

The problem that I have now is that sometimes he grabs the leaves that the drip goes onto and moves them out of the way....

Anyway, the amount he drinks also seems dependent on the humidity in his cage. He seems to go about 2-3 times per week with the white urate and the brown feces. Hopefully this helps

 

[rhenry2424]

My Jackson Cham would walk over to me while I sprayed and would want me to spray in his mouth... Yah, he taught me very well.... Now we just have a drip, and he will stand uinder it so it drips off his head onto the leaf below and licks it up or does what I call a sun salute and stick his head all the way up and catch the drips in his mouth.

I do 1/2 a bottle of water twice a day, whether he drinks it or not. Most of the time he starts drinking when I start the drip. It also helps to water the live plants in the cage.

 

[Redspacecase]

Thanks for the replys people, I think Im doing basically what you all say! I'm just not seeing him drink but his urates seem pretty white so all must be good. But does anyone have any idea why he only seems to drink off one leaf? It's the third time I've seen him do it