Jackson Chameleon not sure if...

[ThoughtPirate]

I'm not sure if he is drinking water at all. I have a drip system and it falls on the leaves into a bowl and when i mist his cage he doesn't seem very interested. Hes eating ok, hes about 4-5 months old. About a week ago he was eating/drinking just fine and was a nice light green color. But since the move hes not his pretty green color but hes not a dark brown. Idk if hes still stress, i mean its been a week. I'm just worried that hes not getting enough water. :/ Any suggestions?

 

[okiroo]

I'm not sure if he is drinking water at all. I have a drip system and it falls on the leaves into a bowl and when i mist his cage he doesn't seem very interested. Hes eating ok, hes about 4-5 months old. About a week ago he was eating/drinking just fine and was a nice light green color. But since the move hes not his pretty green color but hes not a dark brown. Idk if hes still stress, i mean its been a week. I'm just worried that hes not getting enough water. :/ Any suggestions?

are his eys sunk in or nice and full? them being sunk in means hes dehydrated.


why would he suddenly not be getting enough water. are you not misting?

 

[melonman]

Hmm

I have a jackson but am not an expert but if he looks dehydrated then mist shower can get him to start drinking but if not maybe hes not comfortable still some may take longer than others to get comfortable.

But just a reply ..im not an expert its things ive read around the forums

 

[ThoughtPirate]

Well i use to mist him a lot but he would get very cranky with me :/ I mist about 2 times a day i use to mist a lot more but then my cage started leaking every where and made a mess. But i'll try misting more and see what happens.

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi!
They often display displeasure when misted...but they need it and ultimately they appreciate it. Do you have a dripper? I really think a dripper combined with a mister is the best of all worlds.

 

[Chris Jury]

I'd try setting him up on a plant either outdoors or in the shower and gently misting him (ideally mist/small droplets directed upward that can fall onto him) for a period of about 10-15 min or so. Sometimes it take a few min to get over the initial shock and discomfort of the water, even if they are thirsty. If he is thirsty, he should start to drink and I'd mist until he stops, then try again in 5 min, repeat. Ten to 15 min is enough time to determine if he's thirsty and if he remains relatively uninterested, he's fine.

FWIW, my Jackson's here on windward Oahu don't drink everyday and drink less than I recall as typical for my Veileds when I lived in MI. My feeling is that this is largely related to humidity--RH rarely drops to 50% here, and only on the hottest days does it dip lower, and is typically >80% at night. Having kept chameleons here in a semi-humid, semi-rainy climate and in MI where humidity is generally low indoors for half the year due to heating, I am acutely more aware of the importance of appropriate humidity for these animals. When humidity is typical of their natural environment (for most chameleons that means quite high) they only need to drink small amounts here and there. Desicating environments (e.g., screen cage indoors with home heating or air conditioning) require them to drink large amounts of water, frequently. I think the hobby has, at least in the US, focused too little on providing appropriate humidity (while avoiding mildew!) and too much on providing drinking water, which becomes a requirement to make up for the low humidity.

cj

 

[DiF0r]

Try to drip some water onto his mouth with a syringe, he'll automatically start to drink it

 

[AllFallDown]

Is he showing signs of dehydration? I know with my Veiled, I never see him drink water. Very rarely. I know he is drinking it. He shows no signs of dehydration as far as I can see. He's just shy.

 

[laurie]

Did you try to get a look at his poop? If the urate part is still white, he is drinking. If it is orangeish he needs to drink more. If you post a picture of your cage set up then we can offer some help with drainage so it doesn't get to be a mess when you spray.