Keeping Cham hydrated but flooding viv

[Burge124]

Hi first post on forum I've had my chameleon for just over a week he's my first reptile pet.

I'm a little worried about how much water he's taking onboard. I've been told to spray viv a couple of times a day but not to spray him directly as that can cause eye infection. But someone else told me he absorbs water through his skin? He is eating a couple of crickets a day, does he get much hydration from them?

I go to work and leave a dripper on but what intensity and for how long should I leave it on for? I'm getting back from work and there's standing water in wood chips (so drain it out straight away).

Ian

 

[bradley]

Chameleons as far as I am aware do not absorb water through thei skin.

You need to remove the wood chips and replace it with paper towel. It is easier to clean and there is no chance of the animal eating it.

Really if you give th chameleon enough water you will beg excess on the cage floor. A drainage system usually needs to be made to drain excess off. Screen cages are better for this. I use them in the uk and have no trouble with heat or humidity. You could try a cat litter tray in the bottom of the cage to catch excess water.

I mist three times a day and have a 4 litre dripper run once a day. Remember the cage needs to dry out completely between mistings.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

I dont use a dripper. I just pack the enclosure with plenty of leaves and greenery. I mist when Im home and I have a mister setup ( which I hardly ever use). If you have enough plants in the enclosure. Mist and humidity will go a long way. My chams are never dehydrated, in fact most chams will only drink once a day. I sometimes feel drippers are overkill and are really only needed if you are going to take a long trip and need to leave the cham alone for a few days.

 

[Psychobunny]

I dont use a dripper. I just pack the enclosure with plenty of leaves and greenery. I mist when Im home and I have a mister setup ( which I hardly ever use). If you have enough plants in the enclosure. Mist and humidity will go a long way. My chams are never dehydrated, in fact most chams will only drink once a day. I sometimes feel drippers are overkill and are really only needed if you are going to take a long trip and need to leave the cham alone for a few days.

Yeah, I wounder about that too. I already have a Mistking on my montanes,
and I mist my other guyz manualy, but they all have drippers, with I never see them use (except Noogie).
Smidget has no dripper or Mistking, just hand mist twice a day and he has the whitest urates of all.
Also, since he doesnt see flowing water all day long, when he does see it, he takes advantage of it and drinks every time.

This makes me wonder if I am just wasting gallons of water every day!!!

 

[SteelHeadStalker]

ever try making ice cubes from filtered water and putting them ontop of the cage and letting them melt ? i do this along with misting even though my panther doesnt really care for it , seems to like the " rain " from the ice cubes

 

[gemsss]

ever try making ice cubes from filtered water and putting them ontop of the cage and letting them melt ? i do this along with misting even though my panther doesnt really care for it , seems to like the " rain " from the ice cubes

that's such a good idea! i'm gonna try it although i thought i was suppose to give ziggie warm water...

 

[TheOrangeTreefrog]

I've been stalking these forums for months now trying to gather as much information as I can. I've been too afraid to post anything for fear of sounding stupid or ridiculed. But I've decided that with as much info as I have accumulated from these forums I can safely say, ice cubes are not really a good thing. They don't encounter cold water like that in the areas they are from, therefore they don't know how to react to it and most don't like the shockingly cold water. Some however may get used to it, but it isn't usually advised. There are better methods of delivering water to your cham. Even a simple butter container or cup with a pin hole it in filled with room temp water would suffice.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

I've been stalking these forums for months now trying to gather as much information as I can. I've been too afraid to post anything for fear of sounding stupid or ridiculed. But I've decided that with as much info as I have accumulated from these forums I can safely say, ice cubes are not really a good thing. They don't encounter cold water like that in the areas they are from, therefore they don't know how to react to it and most don't like the shockingly cold water. Some however may get used to it, but it isn't usually advised. There are better methods of delivering water to your cham. Even a simple butter container or cup with a pin hole it in filled with room temp water would suffice.

I have used the ice cube method before and its alright. You need to consider that it is a single drop of water that might be at 10-15F when it drops and hits a leaf. With an ambient of 70-75F in most cases, the drop quickly hits ambient temp. I have used ice cubes with no ill-effects. Still, a regular misting session is preferred in my opinion.

 

[Hawaiian style]

The cloud forest rain they encounter in the wild is very chilly! I don't think the cold would be a problem at all.

 

[vgaines]

I work at a high school so during the school year I leave at 6am and don't get home until 4pm I fill my dripper with ice and put in on Rebels cage at 6 when I leave. It is just finishing when I get home. I have not noticed any problems with cold water. It drips so slow when the ice is melting that isn't ice cold when it hit the leaves.