Drinking

[melgrj7]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Flap Neck Chameleon, 4 to 5 inches long, male, have had him for 3 or 4 days
Handling - Held him once to take pictures
Feeding - So far he has only eaten crickets, ate 2 a day and the last 2 days (today and yesterday) has not eaten at all. Crickets are gutloaded with flukers gutload and dusted with pure calcium powder
Supplements - So far just pure calcium powder (Jurassic brand), once a month will do reptivite
Watering - There is a "little dripper" going constantly, a drip every 5/6 seconds or so onto a leaf that is next to a branch he normally hangs out on. I mist three times a day but only briefly as it seems to stress him out.
Fecal Description - I have yet to see any feces in the cage (there are a ton of live plants though so I may just not be seeing it). As far as I know a fecal has not been done ever. One will be done soon.
History - All I know is he originally came from a pet store, his previous owner had him for a few months and thought he was a veiled.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 16"X16"X20" zoomed screen enclosure
Lighting - Lights are on 12 hours a day, 75 watt basking light, a compact florescent 10.0 UVB bulb and a florescent plant bulb.
Temperature - Basking spot is 88-90*F (various depending on time of day), coolest part of the cage is about 77*F (again it various by a degree or two). At night it drops to about 66*F (varying by a degree or two). I have a digital readout thermometer.
Humidity - I still have to get a humidity gauge, getting one tomorrow
Plants - Live lilac bush, live pothos and some fake plants and a bendy vine thing
Placement - Low traffic area (my bedroom), the cage is on a stand, so the bottom of the cage is about 2 feet off the floor.
Location - Rochester, NY


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

I haven't seen Ivan drink since his first day home. I have a dripper going, and moved it to where he was hanging out the most (under the basking lamp). Its dripping onto a leaf, not directly onto where he was. He has now moved his hang out to the other side of the cage. When I mist him he does his best to get away from the water. So I have been misting all over the cage to create droplets on everything instead of spraying him directly. I haven't seen him drink either the droplets or when I have sprayed him directly. Should I put him in the shower? I don't want to stress him out, he has only been here a few days. He also hasn't eaten yesterday or today.

 

[natureboy86]

i'd keep the dripper away from his basking spot.. I usually try to keep my guy's basking spot the lone dry spot of his enclosure.. The fact you're not seeing him drink is ok. He could be a "shy drinker" and just drinks when you're gone. As far as him not liking misting, try using warm water.. I actually put hot water in my hand mister, and always test with my hand. even though I put in hot water, when it spreads out through misting, it's lukewarm.. My guy sometimes runs away from it, and sometimes he'll sit there and just let me mist him, all the while licking his lips and closing his eyes. Try that.. Mist around the cage, and also mist him, not at point blank range of course.. There fact that you're giving him two different sources to drink from (mister and dripper) is good. The best way to know how well hydrated he is staying is when he finally poops..Also, you may want to think about building or buying a larger enclosure.

 

[melgrj7]

Thanks for your quick reply, I will try not to freak out lol. He doesn't LOOK dehydrated to me, his eyes look good not sunken or anything so hopefully he is drinking when I am not around. A large enclosure is in the planning stages, in a month or two he will have a 24"X24"X48" enclosure. This is just the one he came with. I work at a petstore and someone showed up not wanting him anymore, it was $20 for him and the cage he was in.

-Melissa

 

[natureboy86]

Thanks for your quick reply, I will try not to freak out lol. He doesn't LOOK dehydrated to me, his eyes look good not sunken or anything so hopefully he is drinking when I am not around. A large enclosure is in the planning stages, in a month or two he will have a 24"X24"X48" enclosure. This is just the one he came with. I work at a petstore and someone showed up not wanting him anymore, it was $20 for him and the cage he was in.

-Melissa

Got ya. That's a really good deal!

I could tell you this, I've had Koop for about a year now, and lI've only seen him drink a handful of times. In the winter, the only time I see him "drink" is when he bites off chunks of his umbrella plant that has water droplets on the leaves.. In the summer, I mist him with warm water, and he's grown to love it (at times) lol i guess it depends on what mood he's in.. But 2 out of 3 times, he'll sit there and let me mist him, eyes closed, and licking his lips every so often.

have you tried misting him with warm water?

 

[Poptartjake]

I've only had my Jackson's home for a few days but I have caught her drinking 3-4 times off various items so just keep looking! It does happen eventually

 

[melgrj7]

Its only been with room temperature water, I will fill the spray bottle with hot water and see if he likes that better.

 

[natureboy86]

Its only been with room temperature water, I will fill the spray bottle with hot water and see if he likes that better.

Cool. Remember to test the spray on your hand first, but in my experience, when I fill the bottle with hot water, it actually comes out cool when I spray it in my hand.. SO i can only imagine that if you put room temperature or even cold water in the bottle, it would be FREEZING to the cham

 

[melgrj7]

I put him in the shower for about half an hour. He didn't really like it, but definitely seemed better afterwards. I also got a misting system from the pet store. A mist king is on the to buy list, but I was worried and wanted one today so just got one from the pet store. I also got a humidity gauge, its a digital one. It says the humidity is only at 18%, even after spraying it says that though so I don't know if it is wrong or the humidity is really that low. I am going to take it in the bathroom when I shower and see what it says. If it isn't misreading then I will buy a shower curtain to put around 3 sides of his cage.

 

[melgrj7]

I just saw him drink out of the "little dripper" YAY!

edit: AND HE JUST ATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! The few day hunger/drinking strike is over phew!