problems with drinking

[karolina]

hia everybody.

Im just gonna start that i have new cham,he's 4 months old now.
and i have him since he was few weeks, i bought from breeder,and he's said my cham parents never drink water from droplet or pipette. But once i gave my cham water from small droplet he enjoyed and he drank a lot!
but after that he keeps his mouth open for long time! sometimes when he drinks he does weird moves, like he cant swallow! is it possible he can't drink?cous nothing else i can think of?!
water it's mineral or cooked, usually like room temp.,not cold!
so what maybe the problem? should i stop giving him water this way?
before he usually licked from walls and plants.
thank you for all answers

 

[OOOst16]

Is he only leaving his mouth open when your watering him? Or is it when he's basking ?....giving water from a dripper is ok....but I'm not quit sure what your describing with the weird swallow. A high detail description will help....drinking off the leaves is most natural....but a lot of people saringe and drip water.

 

[nosytrish]

Hey
Congrats on your new little one! I have a little guy myself but I can offer you some of my "experience-so-far" advice, as well as relay some of the things that I have read online.

First, your cham my not be drinking for many reasons. As he gets settled in, you will be able to recognize his patterns of eating, drinking, pooping...much easier. Also, putting in the effort to research proper care on the forums, in books, and asking questions, you will feel more confident as an owner and may prevent any other things from happening.

Keeping ideal conditions in the tank will minimalize stress on the little one, encouraging healthly activity. Knowing how cham's intake water with their food (some cham's eat plants) also helps to make sure that he/she is drinking enough. Misting schedules will also affect the intake of water, as chams can absorb moisture through the air.

One thing to pay close attention to is the heat/humidity levels in his tank, that will affect the amount that he/she drinks. Make sure that you are using the right lighting as well. See what other cham members use, (ie: reptisun 5.0) Also, based on the appetite, your cham will also get some of their water from their food source (crickets), so that also varies the amount of water that will be consumed.

My little Nosy Be panther (Zephyr, who is just over four months as well) hardly ever drinks/eats in front of us. The reason for this, as I have seen on the posts, is that if they have company, they feel threatened and will not let their guard down to go for food or water (in fear of being eaten).

Seeing your cham's poop colouration, you will have a better idea if he is taking in enough water based on colour, size etc. Also, research photos of cham's who are dehydrated to give you a better idea of what "sunken eyes" look like.

You said that your cham has it's mouth open. This is definately not a good sign. It may be too hot in your tank for the little guy. What kind of tank are you using? Although I have not experienced this, I have come accross Upper-respitory infections being related to your cham keeping their mouth open. (Again, I am no expert, but it is something that I suggest you look into)

Ultimately, if your cham is looking/acting ill, take him to a vet. And if he is not ill, make sure that you make sure that you have a vet in the area who is familiar with herps. Chams show their distress at the very last minute, often when it is too late. These little guys just hate to let their guard down, prideful bunch.

I hope that I helped a little, not seeing your cham drink is not necessarily a horrible thing but the mouth open is something that you should monitor and research more. Good luck!

Trish

 

[Psychotic4mb3r]

My little girl cham (skittles) loves licking up the water droplets from me spraying her. But the way you explain how yours acts, she dosnt do that. She seems to lick up and drink the water just fine.

 

[karolina]

hi,little update,
i have exo-terra viv. 3 walls glas and one mesh. UVB lamp 10.0 and heating lamp white 250Watt exo-terra. i spray viv 2 or 3 times a day.temp. at basking point 35C.humity <30%. Junior eats well, about 5 crickets and 3 waxworms a day.
he's keeping his mouth open usually hour after drinking, but today he' was basking with mouth open as well, so im confused now. he likes drinking and he never refused when im offering him a water, but i think he don't know how to swallow when im giving him water from pipette. i had cham befoe and he was drinking from pipette as well. but it was normal.
So im just wonder why my Junior can't swallow, is it possible he dont know how to swallow water drops? it's hard to describe. but, when im holding pipette with drop of water on the end Junior open his mouth and lick and for few seconds he keep water in his mouth and than he swallow and he's stretching his throat. I just started giving him water this way, so i just wonder should i continue,or is it enough spray hs viv.and let him lick water from plants?
thank you

 

[jojothefirst]

Hi, I have sent you a pm but will post here too.

Was he ever opening his mouth before you were giving him water this way. If he wasnt' although I cant see how it could be a problem, I would stop giving water this way as long as he is drinking fine from the leaves when you spray.

Opening the mouth is normaly a sign of it being to hot in his viv so maybe try reducing the temp abit, 35c might be a little to high when he is this age.

What is the size of the viv? has he got enough space to get out of the heat if he wants to?

 

[OOOst16]

Yeah mouth open while basking is a signe of to much heat. Lowerd your temps. Babys need lowe basking temps around 83 for vield babys...and 90-95 for adults

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

It can also be a URI if they have to lift there head up to swallow and seem to take very long swallowing water. look for bubble in the corners of the mouth or throat or extra saliva and a decrease in appetite. When I notice my big male was taking forever to drink and lifting his head he had a URI. Also if the water is dripping directly into the back of the throat he could be inhaling it which means he could be getting liquid in the lungs an could possibly contract pneumonia. Just try to drip the water onto a leaf and not directly into his mouth and see what happens. I'm thinking the water could have just went down the wrong pipe so to speak. Has this happened more than once?


Justin

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

Also when they get a big mouthful of water they often take a minute to get it dow their throat. You'll see them swallowing it just like they are swallowing a bug. I'd just let the dripper drip onto a leaf. It's more natural for them tat ways anyways. In addition to misting you should have a dripper anyways so he can stay well hydrated.

 

[jojothefirst]

It can also be a URI if they have to lift there head up to swallow and seem to take very long swallowing water. look for bubble in the corners of the mouth or throat or extra saliva and a decrease in appetite. When I notice my big male was taking forever to drink and lifting his head he had a URI. Also if the water is dripping directly into the back of the throat he could be inhaling it which means he could be getting liquid in the lungs an could possibly contract pneumonia. Just try to drip the water onto a leaf and not directly into his mouth and see what happens. I'm thinking the water could have just went down the wrong pipe so to speak. Has this happened more than once?


Justin

can i ask, what is a URI? is this a american term?

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

I just sent you a pm Jojo.

 

[Chamster]

how do sunken eyes look like....how sunken are we talking about until they are considered to be really sunken????