I have a 9 month old male Jackson. Everything is great except he won't drink in his cage. Not that I've seen and he starts to look dehydrated so I give him a shower. 30 minutes and he's back to normal. I see him drink in the shower right away. He has a dripper that runs all day and he has a mistking that goes off every two hours for two minutes. Starting 8:30am and last one at 6:30pm. I've had other chameleons and haven't had this problem. Any tips on what to do?
Healthy Jackson only drinking in the shower
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@JacksJill might be able to help you. 
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
You may not be seeing him drink if his cage is full of foliage and lots of droplets available much of the time. That's how it should be. What is the range in humidity in his cage during the day/night? If it is correct he may not be drinking because he's hydrated enough. Some chams drink in response to the "rainstorm" others not so much.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Jacksons should be getting longer than 2 minute mistings. I would have it mist heavy once in the morning for about 10 minutes each day. Have it mist before the lights come on, or what I like to do is have only 1 dim light on, like the UVB while it's misting. Then let it dry out through the day and at the end of the day once the lights go out, with maybe 1 dim light on again, mist for another 7-10min. Following all lights should go out. This will raise humidity at night for added hydration.
If you want to go a step further, have a fogger go off a couple hours later, for a few hours through the night. Make sure to use distilled water with frequent cleanings though.
If you do all this you shouldn't need to put your cham in the shower at all. Aim for high humidity at night with cool temperatures, lower humidity through the day.
If you want to go a step further, have a fogger go off a couple hours later, for a few hours through the night. Make sure to use distilled water with frequent cleanings though.
If you do all this you shouldn't need to put your cham in the shower at all. Aim for high humidity at night with cool temperatures, lower humidity through the day.
Thehippie
Chameleon Enthusiast
jacksons require a more humid environment so i would recommend 7 min mistings regularly with a 10 min every day. this is what i did with my jacksons. as @jamest0o0 said also you can use a fogger at night.
Some of my Jackson's are shy drinkers others will shoot the drops of the leaves right in front of my face. You can mist longer in the mornings or evenings to get a drinking response or do a short misting 15-30 seconds and then do a longer misting. It gives them a chance to get used to the water. If your schedule allows there is nothing wrong with showering them a couple times a week.
The think you really need to look for is the color of their urates. If they are staying mostly white you are in good shape if they are more yellow or orange then changes will need to be made.
The think you really need to look for is the color of their urates. If they are staying mostly white you are in good shape if they are more yellow or orange then changes will need to be made.
Thank you all so much. I changed his timers to 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes before bed. I also changed it to 7 minute sprays throughout the day. Should the cage get wet all over? I don't have it mist the left side of his cage because of his basking spot and there's a live plant I don't want to get flooded. I'll also get a fogger for night time. His urates are white.
