New Cham owner - is my cham dehydrated?

[Pisca]

Hi, First of all I would like to say that I've learned so much from this forum already and everyone's knowledge and opinion is greatly appreciated. I got my cham, Pisca about a week ago from a pet store. She is a Jackson female about 20 weeks old I believe. My setup is a exoterra glass terrarium but I have a hibiscus, a pothos and umbrella plant planted on organic topsoil and hydroton for drainage, the substrate I covered with acrylic mesh so she would accidently ingest it. I have a fogger and a very quiet small fan for ventilation. The viv has both the uvb tube and a regular bulb for a basking spot. She eats very well about 7 to 10 small to medium size crickets, which I gutload with kelp, collard greens, and an orange slice. I usually mist 2 to three times a day with warm water for about 5 minutes each session, i also have a homemade dripper that i fill about three times a day and lasts for about 2 hours. The temp is usually between 71 and 75 degrees and about 80 in the basking spot, at night it goes down to the low 70s high 60s. My main concern is that she is no well hydrated, I have never seen her drink unless I sneak a drop or two of water when she eats, and in the petstore ( I know, I just didnt know any better) They had a dish with a bubbler, hopefully only for humidity, and who knows if she got misted or not. I will post pics of her so you can see if she has any signs of dehydration or not, she could just be sneaky. I will also post pics of the viv, any help is greatly appreciated, I am very new to this but I am trying my best, it has definitely become a good obsession haha!

 

[Ulrich]

Welcome to the forum. What are the humidity levels? Jacksons need high humidity of around 80% together with the lower temperature. As chameleons absorb water also through the skin it is important to keep the humidity levels right.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

She looks pretty good to me. Just give her time, some cham owners never see their animals drink.

 

[carol5208]

Welcome to the forum. What are the humidity levels? Jacksons need high humidity of around 80% together with the lower temperature. As chameleons absorb water also through the skin it is important to keep the humidity levels right.

I did not know they absorb water through their skin????

 

[Ulrich]

I did not know they absorb water through their skin????

Well, I have read this before somewhere several times. I am not sure to which percentage they absorb, but ambient humidity is as important to them as drinking itself. I think Laurie started a thread on this before also.

 

[Pisca]

Thank You so much for all your replies! I am glad she looks good, I usually keep the humidity at 80% a little bit lower at night, and the temp in the 70s, with the basking spot at 80, and a bit lower at night. Im trying to find some of her urates to make sure, one a saw a few days ago had a very bright white portion and a yellowish portion too.

 

[Pisca]

Silkworm issue

Hello I am asking for all your valuable knowledge again. So Pisca got over her dehydration by eating silk worms. I still give her water with an eye dropper and she will drink some once in a while, I have never seen her drink from the dripping water cup or by spraying but i continuously do so. The problem is that she is not eating silkworms any more and just after a few days her urates are back to be partially orange. Other than that she loves her crickets and I also feed her phoenix worms and the occasional meal worm. I will attach some pictures! She has grown so much!