Put my mind to ease

[Shenanigans043]

So as stated in a previous post, this is my first chameleon ever. And I am just trying to stay ahead of any issues I see posted here continuously(been creeping in the background awhile). This little dude whom my 3yr old decided to name Bug has been awesome so far. First shed went smoothly, I see him eating quite often with the free rang crickets. And pick the supers off occasionally out of the bowl. I saw him drink the first day, but that was the only time I witnessed it. I have an appointment next week for his first fecal, which seems to be consistent and normal. So now that I've rambled enough I just wanted the opinion of some of the experienced cham keepers in judging if he looks to be on the dehydrated side, or if I'm just over worrying.

 

[jpowell86]

By appearance, no...Bug is not dehydrated.

But, urates are a great tale tell of what is going on. Has Bug had nice white urates?

 

[Shenanigans043]

Yes. Nice and white urates.

 

[jpowell86]

Then Bug is fine as far as hydration is concerned!!

 

[Shenanigans043]

Awesome. I have a colony of isopods from a previous bioactive substrate from about two years back. I haven't really seen these talked about as feeders much on here. Would there be an issue with a Vieled snacking on these also?

 

[jpowell86]

They are perfectly fine as a feeder. They don't make a great staple feeder, but as a part of a chameleon's diet, they are great. They are very highly enriched with calcium.

 

[Shenanigans043]

Definitely not a staple. I'll stick with properly gutloaded crickets for that. But I have them on hand, and figured it'd be a nice addition to his diet if there were no issues with them as feeders. Thanks for the responses @jpowell86 take it easy, and have a great night/day.

 

[jpowell86]

Same to you!