showering helps chameleons shed?!

[DavidL]

I have had a panther for about 10 months. I don’t consider that in my time with him that he has had a tough shed. I have never put my guy in the shower but I do put his mister on longer when shedding. I have a climist system for misting and in his cage there are both wetter and dryer zones. My observation is that when he is shedding that he spends a much greater time in the wetter areas. There are many conditions that are out of his control but I find it interesting that if drier conditions are more helpful for completing a shed that my guy has a distinct pattern of just getting soaked when shedding.

I’m not sure of what all of the health problems Petr is believing may happen by misting during shedding but I did a brief search of the health section of this forum (which is not necessarily representative of what’s happening out there) for fungal infections and did not find any discernable pattern traced back to misting sessions. Given the conventional recommendations for misting when shedding I would think we would see quite a bit more problems.

 

[jamest0o0]

@todd2010 I totally get that and agree, i don't mean it as I was attacking you for saying that. But as @JacksJill mentioned, successful people here have chameleons that outlive wild chams by many years. Listening to them is a great place to start. Then there is always room for adjustment.

 

[jamest0o0]

@DavidL Petr is bringing this up assuming people's humidity is correct(low daytime, high night) and offer proper nutrition. With these things in place, shedding should not be an issue.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

While I do appreciate others with experience and insight, historically (frequently) we are wrong about a subject for a very long time and science disproves the assumptions and anecdotal information. Medicine is full of snake oil anecdotal information and still thrives as each generation chooses to believe something works when not scientifically proven. We have an industry that makes an incredible amount of profit from unproven remedies. I completely hear you with regard to lack of research and the need to listen to others with experience with regard to chameleons however. That's why I'm here on the forums after all! This forum is an amazing resource, I was just looking to educate myself even more.

Love this. I truly think people need to be a little more skeptical nowadays, especially since it's so easy to both obtain and spread information without proper foundation. It's a big responsibility and nowadays a lot of people aren't taking that very seriously. There's a lot of bigger and delicate topics that I won't get into that have people blindly following advice that may endanger them, their kids, and even the world's population. I too am a firm believer in peer reviewed research, and I love running into people that think the same way If I could like this comment a hundred times, I probably would

 

[jamest0o0]

@andrearamirezo91 so someone that has kept animals far past their expected life in the wild, gotten them to breed, and are maybe the only pioneers on the subject have no credibility because they aren't formally researching? I've said it before, there's a difference between doing things that could possibly be harming animals(like using a fogger during the day) and doing things that don't necessarily need to be questioned *as much* because they are proven to work for the vast amount of people

I'm getting a little off subject with this as my post doesnt have much to do with showering. But the peer reviewed research with chameleons isn't going to come by often. Like it or not, the best people to take advice from are the people that have been doing it for awhile. Scientist or not

 

[JacksJill]

If there was a peer reviewed study I'd go with that info but you will rarely find much. What little is done is usually on small numbers of animals.
Scientifically we have barely scratched the surface on these guys and that's on the top 3 species.

 

[jamest0o0]

I really like science and can appreciate someone studying these things. Dont get me wrong! I just don't think it's realistic to expect so much research in a chameleon hobby.

 

[todd2010]

Honestly I don't give a lot of credibility to pioneers in certain fields because if they are not using controls and being peer reviewed, how does anyone know if they are accurate in their information or is their sample size just too small to be significant? The process helps prove theories, otherwise they are just theories. That being said, I'm absolutely going to listen to others who have done well with husbandry because I'd be an absolute fool not too given my level of knowledge regarding care for these incredible creatures. I'd love to see studies on James biosetup as well. I'm watching intently on how that evolves. I think if you could create a healthy biomass you should have a healthier, more natural environment. I just don't have enough information to give it a shot at the risk of the health of the critter in my care. I am learning though!! Keep the information coming!

 

[jamest0o0]

@JacksJill 100% my thoughts

 

[andrearamirezo91]

@andrearamirezo91 so someone that has kept animals far past their expected life in the wild, gotten them to breed, and are maybe the only pioneers on the subject have no credibility because they aren't formally researching? I've said it before, there's a difference between doing things that could possibly be harming animals(like using a fogger during the day) and doing things that don't necessarily need to be questioned *as much* because they are proven to work for the vast amount of people

I'm getting a little off subject with this as my post doesnt have much to do with showering. But the peer reviewed research with chameleons isn't going to come by often. Like it or not, the best people to take advice from are the people that have been doing it for awhile. Scientist or not

Nowhere on my post did I say or imply any of that. I merely just mentioned that I too am a big fan of the scientific method and peer reviewed research, and then went on to mention bigger and more delicate subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with chameleon care. I have owned fish tanks for many years and if it wasn't for the people on my fish forum, I would have lost all of my fish and plants on many different occasions. Literally everything I know about fishkeeping was taught to me by very knowledgeable people on forums. Also, I am here.. on this forum, asking for advice. So I don't see how I'd believe people that have owned chameleons for a long time wouldn't be able to provide with very valuable information. In the little time that I've been part of this forum, I've had people help me correct things I was doing wrong and improve my husbandry so my boy can get the best care possible.

 

[JacksJill]

That's why were all here.
I personally love a lively exchange of ideas. I try very hard to avoid absolutes and to be clear if my statements are personal experience, second hand or study based.