My Chameleon won't drink! Please Help!

W

wUnderbaum

New Member
Please Help!

My veiled chameleon is 5 months old, i just got him 4 days ago, but he refuses to drink. Sadly I don't have a dripping system, but if you could show me a DIY dripping system, i would thank that. What are the signs of deshydration?
Somebody told me he is severly deshydrated, somebody said that i have to just give him time, because it's in a totally new enviroment. I Shower him 4-5, even 6 times a day, but he won't drink from the leaves. He won't open his mouth either, cuz as I know, that's a sign of getting water. Please Help!!!
 
You shower him as in mist his cage? Signs of dehydration are sunken in eyes, as well as his urates not being white. Do you have a picture of him to post? If it's only been five days id say he's still trying to settle in for sure, but sometimes you just don't see them drink. I've heard of them not eating at first, but never not drinking. It could happen, I just haven't read it anywhere. Mine rarely drink in front of me. An easy way to make a dripper until you buy one or make a better one, take a Dixie cup, or any cup, the larger the better, and put a hole in it with a tac and sit it on top of the cage where it can cascade down leaves. Hope I was a little helpful, again, a picture would be great of him, as well as one of his bm's. This could help others weigh in on whether he is in fact dehydrated.
 
A deli cup with a pin hole in the bottom works well. Make the hole as small as possible. The bigger the hole the faster the water will drip. You want a nice slow drip.

Carl
 
CarlC said:
A deli cup with a pin hole in the bottom works well. Make the hole as small as possible. The bigger the hole the faster the water will drip. You want a nice slow drip.

Carl
Click to expand...

Ya I said use a tac, but I actually used a sewing needle. A tac will do alright if it's not pushed all the way in
 
http://instagram.com/p/m295YfLdJb/

I don't know if this link is okay, but if not, i'll try something else. (or you can see the picture, if you open instagram on your phone, and search my name: hunore)

Thanks for the tip, i'll try it right now, and let him alone for a while, is that okay?
 
I don't think his eyes are sunken, but he has a very brown color, and won't change...He started shredding on his head and back, how many days until he is totally past the shredding?
 
Veileds often don't drink very much. They are a desert chameleon, so they don't need a whole lot. As long as he has water available, his eyes are not sunken, and his urate is white, you don't have anything to worry about. My buddy has had his veiled for 3 years and has never witnessed him drinking.
 
Thank you for the informations! I love him already and I don't want to miscare him (sorry for english), I want him to be happy!
 
I have had four chameleons for two years and I have only seen two of them drink. Only one of those two will drink in front of me if they know I am there.

As said before, as long as the urate is white, the chameleon is hydrated. :D
 
Another queetion. How can I examine the urinate? And is his color gonna change? 2 days now that he is brownish with a little green:(
 
As a matter of fact, I'm new to chameleon keeping. I did researches for what is best to chameleons, but i don't know everything about them. How can i examinate the urinate? How much the shredding lasts? My cham is very brownish, and won't change his colour very much. Is he healthy enough?
 
The poop should have two parts, one should look like, well, poop (brown, a little slimy) and the other part should be white (that is the urate). If the urate is not white, mostly orange, it is dehydrated.

Here is a great thread to learn all about poop.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/poop-101-a-120171/

Your chameleon is likely brown due to two things:

1.) Just settling in to the new environment.
2.) there is something wrong with your setup. To get advice on your setup, post some pics and fill out the how to ask for help form.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
 
Veileds get most of their water from the fruit and green veggies they eat, so be sure to offer stuff like Romain, blueberries, strawberries, melon, etc.
I never see either of mine drink water.
 
How can I examine the urate? I have coco soil on the bottom from exo terra. Is that good/bad? Should i put anything on the floor or not?
 
wUnderbaum said:
How can I examine the urate? I have coco soil on the bottom from exo terra. Is that good/bad? Should i put anything on the floor or not?
Click to expand...
No, there should be nothing on the floor.
The Exo Terra coco soil should be removed for 2 reasons: It can encourage the growth of harmful bacteria and molds. AND It can be accidentally eaten and create a blockage in the cham's digestive system.

In case you have not seen them, here are 2 excellent forum pages about caring for your cham:
This one tells you much that you need to know about Panther chams https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

This one tells you which things should and which things should not be in the cage https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/
 
I give my Cham water with a medicine syringe, and add diluted liquid calcium. The water drop stays on her mouth and she opens a little and drinks it
 
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