How Can I Tell If My Chameleon Is Drinking?

[Reganold]

Hi guys. im am now the proud owner of a 6 month old male veiled chameleon. the pet store i got him at was taking great care of him and he drunk happily while being misted. now in my care I've never really seen him drinking so im kinda worried :/ i mist him 4 times a day for 7 minutes and he eats with a great appetite. i handle him once a day for about 5 minutes. is there anyway i can tell if he is drinking? also how can i tell if his eyes are sunken in.

 

[squeekz1992]

If part of his poop is bright white he's drinking enough. Also if you post a pic someone can tell you if her eyes are sunken or not.

 

[Kate]

Some chams are closet drinkers. If they see you looking they don't. The best way of telling is to check their poo. It should be white and brown. If the light part is yellow or orange, then they need more water. You seem to be spraying plenty and if you are soaking the leaves there will be lots of drips for him. I have automated misting but Popeye loves having warm water dribbled in front of him from hand mister. If you feed silkies, they are full of water.

 

[Reganold]

Some chams are closet drinkers. If they see you looking they don't. The best way of telling is to check their poo. It should be white and brown. If the light part is yellow or orange, then they need more water. You seem to be spraying plenty and if you are soaking the leaves there will be lots of drips for him. I have automated misting but Popeye loves having warm water dribbled in front of him from hand mister. If you feed silkies, they are full of water.

if i do something like 4 silkies per week would that help with water intake? also whats the best humidity for a veiled cham?

 

[Kate]

You can give more silkies than that as they are full of calcium and a very good feeder they are not fatty like waxworms. Personally I don't use supplements with silkies. When I spray the humidity goes up to about 80%. Before the next spray it's dropped to 40-50. Your cage needs to dry out between sprays so the humidity will drop. Live plants help with humidity. Hope that helps.

 

[Reganold]

here is the pic you requested. hope it good enough

 

[tenchijin]

How can you tell if he's drinking? I was going to suggest smelling his breath.

Thanks, and goodnight! I'll be here all week.

 

[Reganold]

How can you tell if he's drinking? I was going to suggest smelling his breath.

Thanks, and goodnight! I'll be here all week.

got anything better to do?

 

[tenchijin]

Of course I do! I just thought a really bad joke would be appreciated
Merry Christmas!

 

[Kate]

here is the pic you requested. hope it good enough

He is a cutie.

 

[Reganold]

thanks. lately he has been puffing out his throat at seemingly random times. should i be worried? the temp for basking is 89-93 degrees F. i know they do that sometimes when they are hot. is the temp to hot?

 

[Kate]

thanks. lately he has been puffing out his throat at seemingly random times. should i be worried? the temp for basking is 89-93 degrees F. i know they do that sometimes when they are hot. is the temp to hot?

If he is too hot he would gape, that's their way of cooling down. 90 is about average for an adult so I would drop it down a little. Puffing himself up could be him being boss. He is approaching his teenage years

 

[Reganold]

me and him at the same time lol (im 14. not my first reptile btw. leapord geckos and beardeds.)

 

[Kate]

Haha thats funny. Keep asking questions

 

[Reganold]

how can i lower the temp without buying a new bulb

 

[crocky]

how can i lower the temp without buying a new bulb

You can buy a dimmer or raise the heat lamp until you get the right temp

 

[Reganold]

alright thanks. his urates have a slight yellow hue around the edges (could just be how they get over night, as i have yet to catch him responding to natures call lol) how can i get him to drink? i mist quite often until all the leaves are dripping or atleast 10 minutes. ill be getting a hygrometer tomorrow with my Christmas money so ill be able to give you exact humidity. i received my cham and most of the setup as an early Christmas present. only thing missing was the gauges.

 

[Reganold]

You can give more silkies than that as they are full of calcium and a very good feeder they are not fatty like waxworms. Personally I don't use supplements with silkies. When I spray the humidity goes up to about 80%. Before the next spray it's dropped to 40-50. Your cage needs to dry out between sprays so the humidity will drop. Live plants help with humidity. Hope that helps.

a bit late but is there such thing as too much humidity?

 

[JenA]

I work at a pet store and we had a veiled who hated drinking water for a while. What we did was, when she was waiting to be fed, and we knew she was looking, we dropped her worms or crickets into her water dish. As she ate she had to get some of the water too. We saw her eyes less sunken within a few days.

 

[Reganold]

speaking of sunken eyes do my chameleons eyes look sunken?