My cham hates water!?!?!

[Dmcugy]

I got a new 3-4 month old veiled cham friday and he has ben eating great but he seems to hate being misted and hates his dripper. He seems to be afraid of them and i have yet to see him drink. Maby I'm just not seeing him drink? Any ideas?

 

[DeviousMike]

Don't spray directly at him. You will probably never see him drink if he hasn't done it in front of you already. If you see urate that is mostly white, he's drinking just fine.

 

[Dmcugy]

ok great i have seen some urate then i guess. So ill just make sure i keep seeing it. thx

 

[bimac6]

ok great i have seen some urate then i guess. So ill just make sure i keep seeing it. thx

He'll always have urate. You have to make sure it's white, not yellow/orange. White=hydrated
Yellow=dehydrated
Orange=very dehydrated

 

[Hoj]

my guy always hated misting before, but i got a mistking and he seems to really like the very fine mist it produces. what temp is the water you mist with, try using warm/hot water that way the mist will be warm jus test it out on your arm or something, to make sure its not to hot.

 

[hallenhe]

How long are you misting? - In a couple of my chams, I have observed the following sequence:
1-2 minutes: - Eww! What's this?!? I hate it! (Moves out of water; possible vigorous headshake)
2-3 minutes (I don't chase cham, but continue misting where he had been)
2-4 minutes - Wait a minute - could that be water?
3-5 minutes - (Chameleon opens mouth a couple times) - Yes, I think it is water!
5+ minutes - Water! Yay! (Slurp, slurp, slurp)
I use water that is hot to the touch/lukewarm to warm when it's been dispersed by spritzing over a distance. My current male panther will spend a solid thirty minutes after misting licking every last drop of water off the leaves.

 

[sdheli420]

if i dont see my chams drink from misting i use an eyedropper and give it to them by hand and make sure they drink a few refills of it..

 

[Hoj]

if i dont see my chams drink from misting i use an eyedropper and give it to them by hand and make sure they drink a few refills of it..

i also use a eyedropper in the evening its a great way to make sure your cham is getitng well hyrated

 

[Dmcugy]

How long are you misting? - In a couple of my chams, I have observed the following sequence:
1-2 minutes: - Eww! What's this?!? I hate it! (Moves out of water; possible vigorous headshake)
2-3 minutes (I don't chase cham, but continue misting where he had been)
2-4 minutes - Wait a minute - could that be water?
3-5 minutes - (Chameleon opens mouth a couple times) - Yes, I think it is water!
5+ minutes - Water! Yay! (Slurp, slurp, slurp)
I use water that is hot to the touch/lukewarm to warm when it's been dispersed by spritzing over a distance. My current male panther will spend a solid thirty minutes after misting licking every last drop of water off the leaves.

I usually only mist for like 1 min... i guess i need to mist for longer but my concern is the longer i mist the more water builds up at the base of the cage. Any tips on how to manage all the water run off from the plants?

 

[hallenhe]

When misting in a cage, I use paper towels to wipe up the excess water, either after the misting or lay them down before I start (ShamWow is said to be great for this). Every chameleon I've had has required something on the order of 3-5 minutes of misting just to figure out what's going on and be "primed" for drinking; I don't say that that's a Universal Chameleon Trait, but that's how mine have been.

 

[Dmcugy]

I just misted for atleast 3-4 mins and he finally stayed around the mist enough for me to see him lick his lips a few times and get water!! Man this is a great source for information!! Thx!!

 

[Monzon]

normal response to rain fall

1) Find a leaf or branch as cover from direct raindrop hits.
2) Give the rain about 3 to 5 minutes to wash the dust, insect feces, and plant defense chemicals out of the canopy.
3) begin drinking

 

[hallenhe]

I just misted for atleast 3-4 mins and he finally stayed around the mist enough for me to see him lick his lips a few times and get water!! Man this is a great source for information!! Thx!!

Congrats! Sometimes watching chameleons, I wonder, How do these things ever make it in the wild? - Guess rain/mist/dew must be consistant enough year round in such diverse habitats as Madagascar and Yemen to provide for them...