New Cham Not Drinking

[BabyDucklyn]

I got a veild chameleon a few weeks ago at my local reptile show. His name is Mordecai and he is about 11 months old and eating well, but he isn't drinking as much as he should be. He is kept in a wire mesh cage 1.25'W x 1.25'L x 2.5'H, humidity averages around 55%, basking spot averages around 82°, ambient temperature is about 78°. I mist him multiple times a day as well as having a cup of water dripping in his enclosure, but he seems to only drink a few sips whenever I mist him before trying to run away from the water. I noticed within the past couple days his eyes look sunken in. Does anyone have any tips to encourage drinking?


This is what he looked like when I first got him:

This is him now within the past couple days:

Any help would be greatly appreciated! If I can't get him drinking regularly on his own soon I'm going to have take him to the vet

 

[Alycia]

Just an idea I put my guys in the shower once to twice a week

 

[BabyDucklyn]

Just an idea I put my guys in the shower once to twice a week

I'll try that. Thanks!

 

[Melodie21]

Hes a cute veiled chameleon are you sure he doesnt drink when your not watching and have you tried holding water towards him to see if he will drink it is it normal for veiled chameleons to be stubborn when it comes to drinking do you think.

 

[hopps31]

My veiled never drinks in front of me, what does his fecal look like? His is urates white, that would be the part attached to his fecal. How are you measuring his temps? His basking temp should be right around 90 to 95 degrees at his age. If you can fill the information out in this link with as much detail as possible we can help you to see if something needs to be tweaked: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[kinyonga]

Is he sleeping during the day? Do you have lights on the cage at night? Is the cage near a vent or window?
You can bump the basking temperature up a couple of degrees to see if that helps.

 

[BabyDucklyn]

His urates were yellowish but now they are whiter so I guess he is drinking when I'm not looking. I'll bump up his basking temp too, I was just using the lights that they had on him at the show: a 75 watt heat bulb and a uvb. And he hasn't been sleeping during the day in the picture above he was still asleep when I first turned on his light in the morning. Thanks for all the input! I'll let you know how he's doing.

 

[hopps31]

His urates were yellowish but now they are whiter so I guess he is drinking when I'm not looking. I'll bump up his basking temp too, I was just using the lights that they had on him at the show: a 75 watt heat bulb and a uvb. And he hasn't been sleeping during the day in the picture above he was still asleep when I first turned on his light in the morning. Thanks for all the input! I'll let you know how he's doing.

White is great!! He may be still adjusting/acclimating too, he sounds like he has found a great new home Veileds have the greatest personalities

 

[BabyDucklyn]

Just a quick update. Mordecai is adjusting very well and doing great! He is still eating great, his urates are white, and he's even drinking in front of me now. I bumped up his basking temp to 95, and added a small water fountain decoration to his cage so he can drink whenever he wants. He's also learning to trust me more and doesn't get scared when I try to pick him up. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[GreenChameleons]

It’s a growing trend I’m seeing more issues with veiled than other species lately...good looking chameleon you got there. Shower works great like someone else stated.