NOT DRINKING

C

Chameleon Crazy Chick

Established Member
Guys, I really need some advice here!

This is Chameleon Crazy Chick. I just got my first chameleon, Nikolai. I was gonna order him from a breeder,but my parents wanted me to try getting a "local" one from the Petco near my house. He's a little scrawny, but I'm working on that. :love: Our agreement was that, if Nikolai dies, THEN they will let me get a "foreign" one (from a breeder), but I've fallen in love with my little buddy. It would kill me to have him die.

The point of this thread is:
I have a mister/spritzer bottle (a pressurized one), and a dripper system.
HOWEVER.
At the Petco, they only had standing water with a dripper going into it. The humidity was 45 (shudder), and now Nikolai isn't drinking..... I hadn't seen him drink but was assuming he was. He pooped for the 1st time this morning, but I wasn't home. The part of his poop that is supposed to be white is ORANGE. :eek: I've heard that this is extremely bad. What do I do? My parents want me to get him his "normal surroundings" aka standing water, but that breeds bacteria. I'm backed into the corner of "lose or lose" and need advice QUICKLY. Any and all comments would be GREATLY appreciated!
 
Chameleon's do not drink from a bowl or any type of bucket of some sort you are correct with that. They drink off of leaves, I would make sure that your chams drip system is dripping onto leaves if it is not already. The orange in his poop simply means he is dehydrated. What you can do to help that temporary is to put him in your tub with some leave and have some of the water bouncing onto the leaves to create water droplets for your chams to drink. Keep em in there for 10 mins ish, but u have to make sure you at not really watching him. Chams are known to be "secretive drinkers" lol and do not really drink when people are around. I've had my Cham now for almost a year and I've seen Him drink maybe once or twice but I know he is hydrated because of his urine and his not sunken in eyes. I recomend getting a mist system, they work really well (especially when you are not home for most of the day) . I use the mist king and it works fabulous, maybe do some reaserch on it and look into getting one. Also defiantly work on getting that humidity up, should be around 75% ish
 
It also depends how long it had been since he last pooped. But I agree a long shower session will help for sure. I actually suggest keeping him the shower as long as he will drink but set timers for about 5-10minute increments to just sneak in and check. Make sure the water is always warm enough that it is just above Luke warm. The cold water will not prompt him to drink and hot water is severely uncomfortable for them. In my opinion a chameleon would always prefer to drink from moving/drops of water and will only drink from standing water if desperate. Humidity staying at 45% regularly is actually fine for veileds, however I know that Petco doesn't mist ona regular basis like chameleons need so the jump to 80% they do need almost never happens except maybe once a day.
 
Your parents do realize the "local" one from Petco isn't bred locally probably, is bred in much worse conditions and definitely isn't bred in the store. Anyway you need to be prepared for possible health conditions based on his poor care and probably poor genetics down the road if he hasn't already got the problems. Vet bills will happen no matter what your parents think, especially since you got a box store chameleon.
 
Alright, guys. I figured out the problem. Thank you all for your awesome advice, I will keep chameleon showers in mind. The problem was a mixture of things:
1. He couldn't reach the dripper ( i saw him try to drink, but he couldn't reach, even with his tongue) and
2. The basking spot is too cold. He's spending all of his time there, because it's the only warm spot in the cage. That will be fixed as soon as possible. Chameleon showers are in order!
 
What are you increasing your basking spot to? It might not be the basking spot, but the room temp in general? The basking spot for a young veiled should not go passed 85 f
 
I think my parents don't really understand chameleon genetics, and they think the chameleon in the pet store is just as good as the chameleon from a good, reputable breeder..... therefore they don't understand why you would spend more money on a chameleon from a breeder.
 
A lot of people don't in general, it can be a problem. As long as they are willing to take him to a vet and spend money on him it's fine. I mean I prefer supporting reputable breeders all the time. But right now that can't be helped and what you need to do is focusing on keeping your guy healthy and safe.
 
Andee said:
A lot of people don't in general, it can be a problem. As long as they are willing to take him to a vet and spend money on him it's fine. I mean I prefer supporting reputable breeders all the time. But right now that can't be helped and what you need to do is focusing on keeping your guy healthy and safe.
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Amen to this.
 
Andee said:
What are you increasing your basking spot to? It might not be the basking spot, but the room temp in general? The basking spot for a young veiled should not go passed 85 f
Click to expand...
Well, you see, I was using the daylight blue bulbs, so the basking spot was in the low 70s. Not good. I got a better bulb from my house, which got it to the upper 70s, but still need more warmth for my little guy. The room temperature is around 70, does that impact anything?
 
Yes, room temp of too low can cause them to spend more time in the basking light. However there should be gradients of heat. Usually the lowest gradient (preferably around the lower part of the cage) should go no lower than 65 f during day time. However during night you are fine as long as it doesn't go preferably below 55 f though 50 is doable with a good basking source. I do agree your basking heat was far too low and your room temp sound fine. Make sure he can't burn himself with the basking light. Preferably keep it elevated a few inches off the screen
 
No that should be fine, the problem is that chameleons are known (especially when younger and lighter) to climb screening and burn their skin before they realize they are doing so enough to move. They can also burn their skin by basking too long/being in too strong of a basking area, so it's a careful balance. They aren't like geckos who move when they are warm enough and move faster. Geckos are much less likely to get burned because chameleons have bad heat sensors in their skin and are more interested about warming up their internal organs. It's weird keeping chameleons. Always learning. So it's fun no matter what, though can destroy you sometimes. My first chameleon is still with me but definitely shows the fact that he was my first. Even though I did tons of research before getting him he was still a general guinea pig in a lot of ways. Now I am known for rescuing a lot of chameleons who need a lot of intensive care. My old man is getting into his senior years.
 
Andee said:
No that should be fine, the problem is that chameleons are known (especially when younger and lighter) to climb screening and burn their skin before they realize they are doing so enough to move. They can also burn their skin by basking too long/being in too strong of a basking area, so it's a careful balance. They aren't like geckos who move when they are warm enough and move faster. Geckos are much less likely to get burned because chameleons have bad heat sensors in their skin and are more interested about warming up their internal organs. It's weird keeping chameleons. Always learning. So it's fun no matter what, though can destroy you sometimes. My first chameleon is still with me but definitely shows the fact that he was my first. Even though I did tons of research before getting him he was still a general guinea pig in a lot of ways. Now I am known for rescuing a lot of chameleons who need a lot of intensive care. My old man is getting into his senior years.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're right. My parents are telling me that this is "no longer fun" to them but I'm over here tweaking with the dripper and ordering insects online while arguing with them over starting a dubia colony..... just like "this is GREAT!! I need more ZIPTIES! AND STICKS! AND FOLIAGE!!"
 
Chameleon Crazy Chick said:
Yeah, you're right. My parents are telling me that this is "no longer fun" to them but I'm over here tweaking with the dripper and ordering insects online while arguing with them over starting a dubia colony..... just like "this is GREAT!! I need more ZIPTIES! AND STICKS! AND FOLIAGE!!"
Click to expand...
They didnt know what they were getting themselves into, lol, chameleons are more expensive than most people think..
 
Yes and they aren't easy care like most people think. I mean they are definitely easier than. The people who say "they are too complicated to leave on a timer system or blah". I have met tons of reptile people who refuse to touch chameleons because of the stigma that they will drop dead within days. If you don't do your set up right or take time to research/care properly, or course they'll die... But so will anything else. Lol chameleons just tend to be less forgiving in that realm. But fish can be bad like that too and for some reason people think fish are great pets for 5 year olds who are meant to be the sole care taker.
 
Yeah. That's true. And the five year old weeps when it dies, and doesn't understand WHY the fish died when the sprayed "water cleaner" in the bowl..... my parents are starting to regret it. I tried to put Nik in the shower on a stick (not in the spray) and he REFUSED and was waving his arms wildly the entire time. Didn't drink a drop. What now?
 
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