Secret drinker???

Julirs

Julirs

New Member
I just still have not seen my Veiled cham drink anything to speak of. I have had him over a week. Today he did zap a cricket that was underwater in my shallow drip collector dish, so he did get some water there. He has a drip system 2x daily and I mist 3x-just don't see him really drinking. He is eating fine and active. :confused:
 
Well, at first- you don´t have to give him so much water! It´s a YEMEN chameleon, that means he came from a dry land! Misting once or twice a days is enough!
And then- he probably drinks when you are not watching him (and that´s really easy with all that water u give him!). So mist him twice a day and u´ll see him drink...
 
I disagree with limiting his water.
In Yemen the veileds primarily live in wadis which are basically rainforest environments. They are not desert creatures,Additionally, the thing we try to do when keeping them in captivity is create the best possible opportunity for them to have a great life.
I don't imagine wild veileds in Yemen live nearly as long as the ones kept under excellent husbandry in captivity.
My veiled's dripper goes all day long (10 to 12 hours) and a mist at least two times a day allowing the enclosure several hours of drying out time in between. I do not mist or drip at night and in the morning when I start the dripper again, the first thing he enjoys is a prolonged drinking session.
I'm sure your cham is drinking and I would encourage you to find a way of providing more water by increasing the size of your dripper or refilling it more often if possible.

-Brad
 
Julirs said:
...and I mist 3x-just don't see him really drinking....
Click to expand...
Howdy,

You didn't mention the length of time for each misting session.

A somewhat constant 20 minute misting session may produce a drinking response. Try one of those 1-2 quart hand pump-up units. Try using water around 90F-100F so that when misted, it won't be too cold. Work your way around him and then on him. He may like it right away or it may take minutes of misting for him to settle-down and drink if he wants to. It may also take days of this to get him used to it and drink. When I've worked with partially dehydrated chameleons, they usually will drink within the first 5-10 minutes. Some will then drink from a constant small stream of water until full.

The middle one in this photo is one of my favorites that used to be at Home Depot for $7:
http://rlflomaster.com/sprayers/hand.htm

This is why many of us us automated msit systems that run 2xday for 20 minutes. Whether they drink everytime or not, they have a better chance to kick-in their drinking response during a 20 minute mist/rain session.

PantherDrinking3.jpg
 
My house is soooo dry, I see my chams drink every time I mist them. I have those misters, Dave, but I feel like the droplets are too big for my brevs. I did use a Misty Mate, but it finally quit working...guess they're not designed for constant use! If I do a humidifier, will that keep the tanks a little more humid in between misting? Will it work as well as an automatic mister?
 
When you are misting them, they are absorbing the water right? is this somewhat a way of them taking a drink? When I am misting my veiled I do notice that she opens her mouth to drink, but this is the only time I ever see her drink... I mist her probably 2-3 times a day for a good 15 minutes with hot water, I do not have a dripping system, do you think this is providing her with enough water? She does not show any signs of dehydration. When I first got her, I set a fountain up in her cage, but I took it out as soon as I found out it wasn't safe, and then we spent a bunch of money on a Habba Mist mister, and it barely does anything... so we don't use that anymore, and I've looked for a dripper but I cant find one... is there maybe a way to rig one up myself? Sorry for the long post. Thanks.
 
jleahl said:
...I have those misters, Dave, but I feel like the droplets are too big for my brevs. ...If I do a humidifier, will that keep the tanks a little more humid in between misting? Will it work as well as an automatic mister?
Click to expand...
Howdy,

I will defer to the Brev specialists :rolleyes:.
 
I think that through some of the holes in the widely recommend husbandry attempts (I use too) that this makes veileds a little more skidish when it comes to drinking. With time and age they will become acustom to whatever means you deliver water and as long as it is enough on a daily basis they will be okay. I would recommend at the bare minimum 20+ minutes a day.

I use this for misting my veileds. Cheap, reiliable and it does most of the work for you.
www.chameleonforums.com/misting-system-1995/
 
Dave Weldon said:
Howdy,

I will defer to the Brev specialists :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call myself a brev specialist.. but I do use the same pump you are referring to, Dave. I even use it on newly hatched brev neonates. I am not sure if they are all adjustable, but mine's nozzle can be tightened down so that the mist is very, very fine. If it makes any difference, I bought mine at Fred Meyer's and it has a red top.

Heika
 
Heika said:
...I am not sure if they are all adjustable, but mine's nozzle can be tightened down so that the mist is very, very fine. If it makes any difference, I bought mine at Fred Meyer's and it has a red top...
Click to expand...
Howdy Heika,

I'd love to see a link and/or a photo of that nozzle! I haven't seen an adjustable one before.
 
Honestly, I've had my guy a year, I mist twice a day and leave my dripper running for a good 4 hours (after the first morning mist session) and I have only by my recollection seen him drink once, after I'd had him for 2 weeks! I don't think I've seen him drink since then! I know there's plenty of water going into his enclosure and he has fruit/veg growing in his enclosure (veg is mainly edible plants - everything I use is, and the fruit is mainly grapes but I add other fruits every now and then) so just because you don't see him drink, it doesn't mean that he isn't! As long as you provide a suitable level of hydration and means of getting hydrated he'll be fine.
 
SliK JiM said:
Honestly, I've had my guy a year, I mist twice a day and leave my dripper running for a good 4 hours (after the first morning mist session) and I have only by my recollection seen him drink once, after I'd had him for 2 weeks! I don't think I've seen him drink since then! I know there's plenty of water going into his enclosure and he has fruit/veg growing in his enclosure (veg is mainly edible plants - everything I use is, and the fruit is mainly grapes but I add other fruits every now and then) so just because you don't see him drink, it doesn't mean that he isn't! As long as you provide a suitable level of hydration and means of getting hydrated he'll be fine.
Click to expand...

You bumped a 3+ Year old thread? :confused:
 
wow! Didn't realise it was 3 years old! I saw it on something and thought it was a recent thing! :eek: Should really check the dates! Yeah, let this post die! :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
New panther chameleon owner
Replies
19
Views
651
ERKleRose
ERKleRose
F
Sudden health issues
Replies
9
Views
394
jannb
jannb
S
is my chameleon okay? what should i do?
Replies
14
Views
569
kinyonga
K
baldarthecham
New chameleon owner I rescued him in bad shape HELP ME!
5 6 7
Replies
137
Views
6K
baldarthecham
baldarthecham
gt4awd
Grim is growing quick
Replies
12
Views
470
ERKleRose
ERKleRose
Back
Top Bottom