Misting schedule/hydration?

[MplsCham]

So, I'm just trying to err on the side of caution as I know it's better to catch things sooner rather than later. I've had my male 4 month old Ambilobe for a few weeks now and he seems to be doing great eating, drinking, and growing like crazy, but the other day I noticed his urates were yellow, slightly orange, so that concerned me. I watched him after his mister went off and he didn't start drinking until after it had stopped and a lot of the water had dripped off of the leaves. I turned the mister back in and he drank from his lips and off of the leaves/vines for about 5-10 mins. I initially started with a dripper going as well, but stopped because it seemed like the Mist King was doing the job. I decided to start using the dripper again, as well as upping the misting schedule, so tell me what you think...

Initial misting schedule:

10am- 3 mins
12pm- 1 min
2pm- 3 mins
4pm- 1 min
6pm- 3 mins

New misting schedule:

8am 1 min, to up humidity slightly
10am 5 mins
12pm 1 min
2pm 8 mins
4pm 1 min
6pm 5 mins

There is adequate drainage to dry out between misting, and a cool mist humidifier running at 55-70% humidity. I also have the dripper running again down exo terra plastic leaves, but he doesn't seem to drink from it that I've seen, and I observe him when possible. I feel like the dripper is just wasting water and filling up the drainage tray for no reason? He had gotten much bigger over the last few weeks, so I'm assuming his hydration needs are greater? He is very active and alert, eyes look full and round. I'm probably just being paranoid, and I'm sure he's fine. I've done extensive research, and this is probably just a small tweak in his misting schedule to meet his individual habits? Also, does anyone else's cham shoot their tongue out at dripping water droplets? I've never seen any of the chams I've had in the past do that before?!

 

[MplsCham]

Awe, come on... someone put my mind at ease, or correct me if I'm doing something wrong here?

 

[MplsCham]

No one has any advice?

 

[frankpayne32]

That should be fine. He definitely won't dehydrate with that schedule. I prefer less frequent and longer misting sessions. For screen cages I like to do 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5-10 minutes in the afternoon, allowing the cage to dry out between mistings and over night.

 

[Rufi0]

Lol firstly my chameleon would randomly shoot droplets, don't think he's doing it for hydration, maybe he thinks its prey, but hey your chameleon is not alone.


In terms of misting I don't think there is a one size fits all schedule. Also your chameleon can be drinking properly, just not in front of you which won't ease your concerns, but from your schedule your chameleon has good access to water.

For peace of mind, maybe switch out one automated misting for a manual spray. When I first started and was also paranoid about whether he was getting enough water, I would manually mist every morning. That way I knew he had drunk some water and was less paranoid about if he drank from the automated systems while I was at work.

 

[SycoSquirl]

The schedule looks good to me, I have mine start at 8 and do 3 min sessions all day until lights off. I go early in the day every hour for 3 min but around 2 it switches to every other hour until lights off at 7:30 pm to watch the last of the sunset before closing the blinds at night. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but my drain holes occasionally get clogged with dirt from the plethora of plants in the cage (6 total for now) so i have to constantly check and stab the holes to clear them. Just something to keep an eye on also haha

 

[mav805]

I prefer my waterings to be longer, I have them from 10 - 20 minutes 4 times a day.

I find that it takes my chameleons several minutes to meander on over to the droplets and start drinking so I like giving them plenty of time to fill up.

 

[Frigman]

Drinking water

My chamelian (Neon) at first i didnt see him drink any water so i got kinda worried. But then i figured out how to get him to drink, I would spray his fake leaf plant a few times a day and he would go up to it and drink the water droplets off of the plant. Also he likes to drink the water droplets on the side of the screened cage. If your having trouble getting him/her to drink, try this

 

[calvin]

So, I'm just trying to err on the side of caution as I know it's better to catch things sooner rather than later. I've had my male 4 month old Ambilobe for a few weeks now and he seems to be doing great eating, drinking, and growing like crazy, but the other day I noticed his urates were yellow, slightly orange, so that concerned me. I watched him after his mister went off and he didn't start drinking until after it had stopped and a lot of the water had dripped off of the leaves. I turned the mister back in and he drank from his lips and off of the leaves/vines for about 5-10 mins. I initially started with a dripper going as well, but stopped because it seemed like the Mist King was doing the job. I decided to start using the dripper again, as well as upping the misting schedule, so tell me what you think...

Initial misting schedule:

10am- 3 mins
12pm- 1 min
2pm- 3 mins
4pm- 1 min
6pm- 3 mins

New misting schedule:

8am 1 min, to up humidity slightly
10am 5 mins
12pm 1 min
2pm 8 mins
4pm 1 min
6pm 5 mins

There is adequate drainage to dry out between misting, and a cool mist humidifier running at 55-70% humidity. I also have the dripper running again down exo terra plastic leaves, but he doesn't seem to drink from it that I've seen, and I observe him when possible. I feel like the dripper is just wasting water and filling up the drainage tray for no reason? He had gotten much bigger over the last few weeks, so I'm assuming his hydration needs are greater? He is very active and alert, eyes look full and round. I'm probably just being paranoid, and I'm sure he's fine. I've done extensive research, and this is probably just a small tweak in his misting schedule to meet his individual habits? Also, does anyone else's cham shoot their tongue out at dripping water droplets? I've never seen any of the chams I've had in the past do that before?!

I would say that schedule is fairly good and should keep your friend well hydrated. I am curious for what you have for drainage. Would u mind posting a picture? Thanks I need ideas for my drainage on my cage.

 

[RobSquared]

For my jackson which in my opinion requires the most humidity of all the chameleons I own (jacksons, viel, panthers) I have them on 4 times a day for 2 minutes a piece in the winter and 5 times a day for 2 minutes and I maintain high humidity with that. Average of 75-80%.

 

[addicks]

So, I'm just trying to err on the side of caution as I know it's better to catch things sooner rather than later. I've had my male 4 month old Ambilobe for a few weeks now and he seems to be doing great eating, drinking, and growing like crazy, but the other day I noticed his urates were yellow, slightly orange, so that concerned me. I watched him after his mister went off and he didn't start drinking until after it had stopped and a lot of the water had dripped off of the leaves. I turned the mister back in and he drank from his lips and off of the leaves/vines for about 5-10 mins. I initially started with a dripper going as well, but stopped because it seemed like the Mist King was doing the job. I decided to start using the dripper again, as well as upping the misting schedule, so tell me what you think...

Initial misting schedule:

10am- 3 mins
12pm- 1 min
2pm- 3 mins
4pm- 1 min
6pm- 3 mins

New misting schedule:

8am 1 min, to up humidity slightly
10am 5 mins
12pm 1 min
2pm 8 mins
4pm 1 min
6pm 5 mins

There is adequate drainage to dry out between misting, and a cool mist humidifier running at 55-70% humidity. I also have the dripper running again down exo terra plastic leaves, but he doesn't seem to drink from it that I've seen, and I observe him when possible. I feel like the dripper is just wasting water and filling up the drainage tray for no reason? He had gotten much bigger over the last few weeks, so I'm assuming his hydration needs are greater? He is very active and alert, eyes look full and round. I'm probably just being paranoid, and I'm sure he's fine. I've done extensive research, and this is probably just a small tweak in his misting schedule to meet his individual habits? Also, does anyone else's cham shoot their tongue out at dripping water droplets? I've never seen any of the chams I've had in the past do that before?!

How many gallons of water are you using in a week?

My cham shot water droplets when he was younger. He's 7 months old and now just drinks off the screen.

 

[MplsCham]

I'm just using a drainage tray I bought with the cage at lllreptile, drilled small holes in the middle of the floor to drain into the tray, there's a pothos on top on the holes for weight to pool the water through the holes. I got a wet/dry vac that attaches to the top of a home depot bucket to get the water out (best $20 I ever spent!!). It's only 16"x16"x30" for right now, and I'm planning on building a large drainage system for his big cage that will drain into a bucket when he's large enough to move in. The Mist King is only a single nozzle, so with the Little Dripper going too, I'd say I go through 2-3 gallons of distilled water a week?

 

[addicks]

I'm just using a drainage tray I bought with the cage at lllreptile, drilled small holes in the middle of the floor to drain into the tray, there's a pothos on top on the holes for weight to pool the water through the holes. I got a wet/dry vac that attaches to the top of a home depot bucket to get the water out (best $20 I ever spent!!). It's only 16"x16"x30" for right now, and I'm planning on building a large drainage system for his big cage that will drain into a bucket when he's large enough to move in. The Mist King is only a single nozzle, so with the Little Dripper going too, I'd say I go through 2-3 gallons of distilled water a week?

I bought a sheet of perforated pvc on amazon. I cut it to size and water can drain into my dragon stand drain pan. I put a 1" inch bulkhead in which drains into a bucket. I'll put pictures of the cage when I'm done.

thanks