Half Water ?

[Menton]

I live in chicago, and I recently went to the shedd aquarium here where they had two amazing chameleon's.
In both the chameleon habitats the flooring was half are mostly water, with sticks etc going in and out of the water. So half was rocks and half was water.
Both panther chameleon's were looked VERY well taken care of and VERY healthy. One even had his tail in the water.
Another thing is they had fish in the water that was in there with with.

Any thoughts on doing this ? Half water half rock ? I mean there are a ton of various turtle water filters out there , could you not do something like this ? Just filter the water that is in there really well ?

What fliter would be the best ? What rocks with you use ? etc ? Or is this something that should never be done ?


Here is an image of one of the chameleon's at the Shedd, with her tail in the water.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I wouldn't recommend this at all.

I don't think that is a good idea. Chams can fall and would drown in that situation. It would be really tuff to keep bacteria from forming on the sticks touching the water. Glass enclosure with such high humidity may present increased risk of URI.

I think most will agree with me that this type of configuration should be avoided.

As a rule you should always try to match the native environment as close as possible.

 

[Kat77]

I am definitely with Ryan. There is a reason that chameleons are kept in the manner that they are in captivity.
The fact of the matter is, most places (yes, even zoos and aquariums) don't have a clue how to care for chameleons and this is an example of that. Drowning and bacteria are both huge drawbacks to that situation.

Chameleons, for the most part, are arboreal animals and do not come into contact with bodies of water like that in the wild (or, hopefully, in captivity!). Please don't try that!

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Sometimes zoos are the most uninformed of all. That cant be a healthy situation and most chameleons don't live that way.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

is this mucky waters? lol jk...

 

[hawaiianice99]

is this mucky waters? lol jk...

hahaha, i thought that too when i read the headline.

i would venture a thought as to why the cham is at the bottom the enclosure? chams like high places.

 

[Menton]

Thank you for your input, I will not be doing this at all.

Sorry I am new to cham care, and I wanted to ask , but I am glad I did.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we are glad you asked. You never have to apologize for that on this forum.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Chameleons and this forum! and please never hesitate to ask any question here. We are all very friendly and love to hear our selves talk.

 

[desultadox]

The aquarium must be going by those old Budweiser commercials where the chameleons lived in swamp alongside the bullfrogs!

 

[Kat77]

Ryan is 100% correct, and I second everything he said. Ryan, you shall be my lips from now on.

 

[Kat77]

The aquarium must be going by those old Budweiser commercials where the chameleons lived in swamp alongside the bullfrogs!

"We did everything right. We did the tongue thing..."

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

LOL, Bud - Wize - er

 

[hawaiianice99]

can we post vids on this forum?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6u0U6CvD-g

 

[summoner12]

I am gonna have to check this out next time I am home!

 

[FooL111394]

Dude i remember him The Shed aquarium chameleons especially the one in that pic It did look very healthy.

 

[Kent67]

I have seen an Oustalet's chameleon hanging out in some low branches directly over water like that in the wild. It probably happens a lot more frequently than anyone would think. Don't forget the swimming panther chameleon videos we've seen recently also.

 

[ColorCham427]

It might look healthy, but how long would that last? Dean, you're absolutely right. So are museums, and I recently took a trip to NYC to check out this little reptile exibit at the Museum of Natural History, they had a Veiled chameleon, in a glass tank..with a leaf tail gecko...uuuuuugh.....

 

[summoner12]

I have seen an Oustalet's chameleon hanging out in some low branches directly over water like that in the wild. It probably happens a lot more frequently than anyone would think. Don't forget the swimming panther chameleon videos we've seen recently also.

got a link?

 

[ColorCham427]

You can see how a chameleon is hanging over water on a tree branch on Bill Love's web page...

http://www.bluechameleon.org/Past Tour Members, Pics & Comments.htm

It's the pic with the description of the Louis Family - Dec. 2000

Notice how he's way, way up above from the water... maybe they also get closer to the water to catch a dragon fly? but i've never seen a picture of that..so im not so certain.

 

[Jordan]

A chameleon like that staying low to the ground all the time I would doubt. Them frequenting a place that had standing water is a good possability. A lot of insects use water to breed and this would be a good place to hunt.