Having trouble getting my Cham to drink
- Thread starter Jay ray
- Start date
nightanole
Chameleon Enthusiast
Most chams are closet drinkers. Just do a poop test, if the white part is all white, or maybe a hair orange where it hits the brown part, you are good. If the white part is 1/8 orange or more they are dehydrated.
bad poop:
good poop:
bad poop:
good poop:
natureboy86
New Member
Those pictures actually just created a question of my own: What if the white urate is more liquid than that picture? My cham's poop is solid and brown, but the white urate is more of a liquid and runny. Is that abnormal or reason for concern?
SoCaliSon
Avid Member
Drinking.
I have found that different Chams have different drinking habits...(just like people) It is all about finding what stimulates your cham to drink. Most often just the presence of mist will trigger it... But I have had some chams that are more tricky. The full proof rule of the thumb that can never fail is to just mist until you see your cham start to drink, and sometimes it may take patience. If poo looks good most likely you have a closet drinker and all is well, except you may need an intervention.
Checking the poop for yellow urate, like was said, is how you want to check for dehydration. Other than that I always recommend reliable drainage... This way you can make it rain as much as you would like until the chameleon is stimulated to drink. Stimulation is the key. It's like the drips on their face (specifically from above) flip a switch in them that says "Time to drink", and you can almost watch this happen. I have had some chams who seem more visually stimulated; where it seems the reflection of light through a water droplet stimulates their desire to drink and if they don't see water accumulate they wont. I have had some chams who simply need it to rain for 20 mins before they even think of drinking. Just make sure you are checking the poo! Good Luck!
~Joe
I have found that different Chams have different drinking habits...(just like people
) It is all about finding what stimulates your cham to drink. Most often just the presence of mist will trigger it... But I have had some chams that are more tricky. The full proof rule of the thumb that can never fail is to just mist until you see your cham start to drink, and sometimes it may take patience. If poo looks good most likely you have a closet drinker and all is well, except you may need an intervention.Checking the poop for yellow urate, like was said, is how you want to check for dehydration. Other than that I always recommend reliable drainage... This way you can make it rain as much as you would like until the chameleon is stimulated to drink. Stimulation is the key. It's like the drips on their face (specifically from above) flip a switch in them that says "Time to drink", and you can almost watch this happen. I have had some chams who seem more visually stimulated; where it seems the reflection of light through a water droplet stimulates their desire to drink and if they don't see water accumulate they wont. I have had some chams who simply need it to rain for 20 mins before they even think of drinking. Just make sure you are checking the poo! Good Luck!
~Joe
natureboy86
New Member
Can anybody address the above?
Kate
Avid Member
What are you feeding? Silkworms although full of calcium are quite liquid and poos and urates can be more runny.
natureboy86
New Member
What are you feeding? Silkworms although full of calcium are quite liquid and poos and urates can be more runny.
I feed him crickets, dubias, and phoenix worms. Crickets in am, dubias in pm, and I replace the dubias with phoenix's every few days.
Kate
Avid Member
Have you been misting more? Has he been drinking more? If he keeps on having runny poo you could bag it up and have it tested for parasites. One of our members says that every Cham is entitled to one bad poo. Keep an eye on him.
natureboy86
New Member
Well, I installed a Mist King system about 3 weeks ago, and since then, he's getting a lot of mist. Approximately 4-5 times a day. Three 5 minute sessions, and two 30 second sessions in between. Things do dry up in between sessions. His appetite is great.
So, would you say the runny urate is considered bad? Again, the brown part is always solid, just the white urate is typically runny.
ataraxia
Avid Member
I dont think you have a runny urate. Need pics to confirm.
The white chunk called a "Urate" is waste produced by the kidneys. It is mainly formed of uric acid along with other waste. Urine but different.
The liquid around is urine/waste.
To the op: Mist from the top of the cage. Try misting for a mintue or so. Leave for a few minutes then come back for the real deal. Give him a misting for 3-5 minutes from this point and see what happens.
The white chunk called a "Urate" is waste produced by the kidneys. It is mainly formed of uric acid along with other waste. Urine but different.
The liquid around is urine/waste.
To the op: Mist from the top of the cage. Try misting for a mintue or so. Leave for a few minutes then come back for the real deal. Give him a misting for 3-5 minutes from this point and see what happens.
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