Poop input please!

[PantherYemen]

Hi!
My female 1,5 year old Yemen simply won't drink. I've tried every possible way, guided by advice on this forum. The only time she has sipped water was right before and right after she layed eggs a few months ago.
She only poops about once every 2 weeks. This pile she made today. Her urine is hard as rock and "breaks" into little pieces when you stab it with something sharp. The only soft part of the urine is in the top that comes out first. The orange stuff around is like gel. The orange piece in the middle is rock hard and came out second. After that the poo came. The urine should be soft and white, right? How does this pile look to you?

 

[camimom]

How do you water her>

can you get access to hornworms and silkworms? these can often provide extra hydration.

have you tried a shower yet?

 

[PantherYemen]

I've tried misting like, forever. I have tried dripping water on her mouth, and spraying gently right in front of her face, I've tried misting her body. The only thing I haven't tried is showering her (or beside her) while sitting in a plant in the bathtub as someone recommended.
Don't have access to hornworms and silkworms, unfortunately. Her diet is dusted cockroaches, crickets and zophobas once in a while. Sometimes locust as treats.

Do you need me to fill in the "ask form"?

 

[camimom]

How often do yo umist her?

sometimes they need frequent mistings.

I had a female that drank most of the time, but still had times where she wanted to be a brat.

I suggest the shower method, and do it at least once a day (if not twice) and do it for 20 minutes at a time, and see how she does.. on top of her regular mistings.

 

[CLP]

You might also try a dripper if you're not using one. I have three veileds. Two of them (1 male, 1 female) will drink very readily when I start misting them, but my other male will not. It takes at least 60 seconds of misting to get him showing the drinking response, and even then he won't drink from the mist that has pooled on the plants. The only thing he drinks from is the drops of water landing on the plants from the dripper!

Try the shower method perhaps for immediate rehydration, as it does seem as though your cham is likely dehydrated, but I would also suggest a dripper if you don't have one. Also, make sure you've got a way for the water from the dripper to drain or put a container in to catch it so there isn't a pool of water on the bottom of the enclosure. If you go with the container to catch the water, cover the top with window screen so feeders and/or your cham can't potentially drown.

Good luck!

 

[Seiryu]

Does she chew with her mouth open long enough where you could fill a syringe and squirt a few drops in as she eats?

I did this with my Jacksons chameleon when he was on meds and needed to be kept hydrated. Basically he would eat a bug (off of my hand) and I would squirt drops into his mouth near the front. You don't want to squirt it down his throat.

 

[PantherYemen]

I mist 3-4 times a day for at least a minute. I've always had a dripper going several times during the day. She drank from the dripper, from the leaves and directly from the spraybottle when around the egg laying time. But before and after that she has no interest. The only thing she does do when I mist is that she sometimes open her mouth to sort of inhale a few drops.

I guess I have to dry the shower then... but I know she will absolutely hate it. Thanks for the tips!

 

[CLP]

It is also possible that she was constipated - see this thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/bizzare-question-115164/. If it was that long since the last poop, it may be dried out just because it was inside her for so long and her body would have continued to absorb water from it and could be why its so dry too.

Keep in mind that just because you haven't seen her drink, doesn't mean she isn't. Sometimes they don't like to drink in front of their humans

Good luck with her. I'm sure she'll be fine.

 

[PantherYemen]

Constipated? Hm.. yes could be. But if so she has been constipated for a long long time. She's been pooping with 2 weeks or more apart for over 6 months now.

 

[PantherYemen]

Seiryu! This was a great idea! Gonna try this for sure! I'll let you know how it goes!

Does she chew with her mouth open long enough where you could fill a syringe and squirt a few drops in as she eats?

I did this with my Jacksons chameleon when he was on meds and needed to be kept hydrated. Basically he would eat a bug (off of my hand) and I would squirt drops into his mouth near the front. You don't want to squirt it down his throat.

 

[Seiryu]

Seiryu! This was a great idea! Gonna try this for sure! I'll let you know how it goes!

No problem! It can be tricky if she doesn't like to eat in front of you. Most of my chameleons can hand feed though, so it makes this easy.

I do have a female I usually have to spray for a good 10+ minutes before she drinks, but then she does eventually drink a decent amount. Good luck!

 

[Enzo Veiled]

For water I strongly recommend the little dripped! My Yemen loves it!!

 

[Haze1981]

I mist 3-4 times a day for at least a minute.

I am not sure if you are misting long enough. It takes my guy 2 minutes before he will even start to drink (my personal experience). I normally mist him for 5 minutes at a time or 10 minutes if he is looking like he needs a bit of extra water.

I use a pressurised garden sprayer (I think it is a 2 litre one) which is easier to do longer mists and saves cramping up your hands

 

[Decadancin]

You can offer some greens such as kale, baby spinach, romaine lettuce or collard greens. Not sure if she will eat them, but my veiled loves to munch on these as a treat and it can help with hydration as well. This is one way veileds can hydrate in the wild during drier times.