Not the sharpest Tack...

[Ceycham]

So Norman is notorious for being difficult to hydrate. He has his mister and he may take a couple drops from that where I can see it happen, but if you watch him with a dripper you can see the trouble. I have it set to drop once every second, maybe a bit faster. Its tip is at mouth level when he's at his basking branch. All he has to do is walk up to it and open wide to get a nice long drink. But no. Norman insists upon shooting his water drops, and it's painful to watch. As the drop formulates his eye are on it....it grows. He takes aim. He's not sure...he takes aim again...DRIP. the next drop grows, he takes aim. aiming. aiming DRIP. maybe the next one. aiming..this goes on while half the dripper drips out. He may catch a drop. I've tried slowing it down, he just a aims longer. Speed it up he doesn't even have time to aim. I'm starting to seriously consider a fountain so he can have a continuous flow, though I am loathe to want to clean that thing every day. Is this normal?

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

My chameleon did this when she was figuring everything out in her cage. She still does it, but not as often. Also, do NOT get a fountain. I think all cham owners consider it at one point, but it is a big no. They breed bacteria, even if you do clean it quite a bit. The chameleon will not drink from it unless it is awful desperate, it is against their instinct. I would stick with the dripper and possible a frequent mist. They lick the plants after a misting, so you may just need a little more water coverage. May I ask, how old is your cham and how long have you owned him? Has he ever gotten severely dehydrated?

 

[Fiona's Mom]

I have artificial leaves situated under my dripper so the cham can lick the drops off of the leaves like they do in the wild.

 

[Ceycham]

My chameleon did this when she was figuring everything out in her cage. She still does it, but not as often. Also, do NOT get a fountain. I think all cham owners consider it at one point, but it is a big no. They breed bacteria, even if you do clean it quite a bit. The chameleon will not drink from it unless it is awful desperate, it is against their instinct. I would stick with the dripper and possible a frequent mist. They lick the plants after a misting, so you may just need a little more water coverage. May I ask, how old is your cham and how long have you owned him? Has he ever gotten severely dehydrated?

I think he's between 8-10 months old. I've had him since June and I believe he was about 3-4 month old. I really don't think he's ever been severely dehydrated, but I have seen a few chomps out of his pothos. His urates are white about 80% of the time. They get a little orange tinged on occasion. I pay very close attention and offer fluids longer and more often when I notice it. Or more juicy worms. When I start the dripper and he immediately goes for it I make the assumption he's pretty thirsty, so it's really frustrating to watch him not getting decent drink when he wants one.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I was looking at my girl today, who is about 1 year old, and she was aiming for a little drop of water on a branch after her mister went off. When I saw this, I gave her an extra mist. Also, I have a screen cage, so I took a cup and poked a hole in the bottom to act as a dripper/plant waterer. If you think that your little guy is thirsty and not getting the drink he wants, see if he will take water from a syringe. If you do try to water him from a syringe, make sure that it is lukewarm, filtered water. Make sure to space out the watering by a few drops per minute. My cham got very dehydrated once and the syringe water for a few days saved her. She kept drinking almost an entire syringe and then she proceeded to throw it up, either because she drank too fast or the water was too cold. If he doesn't take the syringe, just make sure there is always water available. The good part about misting is that it makes the drips move very slowly, so he will have more time to aim and drink. Keep me updated!

 

[Ceycham]

I have artificial leaves situated under my dripper so the cham can lick the drops off of the leaves like they do in the wild.

Norman doesn't seem to take pooled water in, I've only seen him go after dripping droplets. I used to aim the misters to the top of his screen and the droplets would hang there off the screen for a long time before they evaporated, and yet he rarely went for those. He's rigged by actively moving water, but he's too slow to catch falling droplets.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Chameleons drink, by instinct, from rainwater (mist/dripping). You should be worried if he is drinking from pooled water or a fountain. It means he is either so dehydrated that he goes against his instinct, or he has some internal problem. So it is good that he doesn't take pooled water. The dripper should work fine as long as it is dripping onto something like @Fiona's Mom said.

 

[Ceycham]

Chameleons drink, by instinct, from rainwater (mist/dripping). You should be worried if he is drinking from pooled water or a fountain. It means he is either so dehydrated that he goes against his instinct, or he has some internal problem. So it is good that he doesn't take pooled water. The dripper should work fine as long as it is dripping onto something like @Fiona's Mom said.

Hi, I'm sorry I was referring not to actual pooled water like in a container but to water that landed on a leaf and pooled there, which probably isn't what you thought I meant (it was a bad description on my part). Normans dripper waters his plants so no pooling there, but if he doesn't get better at it I'm going to drown them, lol

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Oh yeah now I get it I am sorry I can over analyze sometimes. Just keep trying him with the dripper and if you see signs of dehydration (weakness, bleak colors, sunken eyes, lethargy) try watering him from a syringe/eyedropper/spoon. If doesn't show these signs, then he is probably getting his water one way or another. I don't usually see my female drink, it is a rare sight. But she is very healthy, so I know she drinks quite a bit. Norman may just be this way.