How does your chameleon drink?

[Balien]

So this is kind of a weird/dumb question, but how does your chameleon drink?

I recently got a panther, and the only way I’ve gotten him to drink anything is by putting a cup of water in his enclosure and he “eats” it the same way he would eat a bug

I’ve looked up a bunch of videos on chameleons drinking on YouTube and so far he’s the only one I’ve seen drink like that lol. So just wondering if that’s normal or if my little guy doesn’t know how to drink like a proper chameleon?

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Are you giving him the ability to be a proper chameleon? Meaning do you have live plants and misting the plants with water and or using a driper to drop water droplets on real plants?

 

[Rlc1994]

Chameleons get their hydration from rain and dew on the leaves and moisture in the air. They also get it from the insects they eat. We hydrate our chameleons by using mist systems, spray bottles and ultrasonic humidifiers. Chameleons naturally don’t drink from standing water dishes so yes it’s not normal.

 

[teen]

Yea you basically want to simulate a brief rainstorm a few times a day. Chams should be drinking water droplets off of leaves. Not drinking from a bowl like a dog.

 

[Lunatuck]

When I need to make Cosmic drink, I take him out of his enclosure and put him in his tree. Then I get the spritzer and spray the heck out of the tree. After a while, he gets the clue and starts lapping it up. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced he drinks a lot inside his cage.

 

[Balien]

I mist his enclosure 2-3 times a day and he also has the big dripper that goes all day that he ignores. He just seems to love his cup of water and runs over to it and “eats” from it as soon as I put it in..I don’t get it!

He also has live plants

 

[Balien]

I’ve also tried only misting with warm water so it wasn’t uncomfortable for him, but still nothing.

But if I’m changing the cup daily and it’s up high where he can’t poo on it I’m thinking it’s alright as long as he’s getting his hydration somehow?

 

[teen]

Pic of enclosure? He may be drinking while you're not watching.

 

[Rlc1994]

I mist him 2-3 times a day and he also has the big dripper that goes all day that he ignores. He just seems to love his cup of water and runs over to it and “eats” from it as soon as I put it in..I don’t get it!

He also has live plants

That’s strange maybe he’s drinking after you spray but your just not seeing him do it? It’s not the first time I’ve heard of chameleons drinking from water dishes though it’s a rarity.

 

[Balien]

Pic of enclosure? He may be drinking while you're not watching.

Here you go! I have a t5 ho on the way, and that poor hibiscus is getting rotated out within the next day or two. I got him about a week ago and everything except the live plants came with him, so I’m still learning about his quirks and personality!

 

[teen]

I would say swap out the plant and get some more climbing branches in the mid to low area of the cage. I was never a fan of the dripping systems. Id look into a pump with spray nozzles and get it hooked up to a timer. 2 sprays in the morning and 2 in the evening and all you have to do now is remember to keep the reservoir full.

 

[Balien]

His urates are all white and he doesn’t show any signs of dehydration, I was more just wondering if anyone else’s chameleon drinks with their tongue like they are eating a bug lol

 

[teen]

Get a video id like to see it. My chams drink off of leaves lol

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Its in both of your best interests to get him off the bowl.

 

[JacksJill]

That might be the way his previous owner gave him water and now that is what he knows. We see some of that on the IG posts. You can probably convert him to drinking off of leaves but you will still have to give him daily access to the water bowl or risk losing him.

 

[Pistachiochameleon]

Sometimes my Cham will open his mouth when I bring the spray bottle in. I will pour just a little in his mouth. He liked that

 

[Highway61]

I don't have a drip or mistking system so I manually spray the viv twice a day. This will usually stimulate my cham's desire open his mouth and drink but usually I have to spray for a few minutes before he opens his mouth. I've also used a small plastic syringe (was for my wife's cat) and the cham will open up and drink from it as I push the water in. He won't do this unless I spray the viv first, which seems to trigger the routine.

 

[Balien]

Get a video id like to see it. My chams drink off of leaves lol

So I know it’s super late lol, but I was finally able to get a video of Nelson drinking! Sorry it’s so blurry, but I didn’t want to distract him.

I noticed that when I took his cup out, he would go to drink from the bucket that I used to catch the water from his dripper instead of licking it off of the leaves or licking the droplets from misting.

I figured having a bowl of water up high where he can’t poo in it is better than the dirty water from that bucket, and I change it every morning so it’s fresh

 

[JoshD49]

Water bowls and fountains can be dangerous since chams like to poop in them. Make sure you are cleaning this out as often as possible.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Water bowls and fountains can be dangerous since chams like to poop in them. Make sure you are cleaning this out as often as possible.

No, remove it completely. It has no place in a Cham viv.