Showering Question for the novice..me!

[Scotty]

Hey Guys,
I hope everyone will bare with me as I start to make myself known, by asking probably obvious questions to all you guys who are way more knowlegable in raising chams, I have another question, please forgive me!
I am starting to see pics of all these chams having showers, very cute and all, although I am having trouble understanding the logic behind this if you can keep up your chams hydrated through regular misting or a drip system.
Is this a means of assuring your cham is hydrated OR is this purely for the enjoyment of the cham (& owner as well, cause it is very cute)?
I have a veiled cham 3 months + now, he is misted 2 times a day for 15mins a time with a pro mist system, I see him drink off the leaves, so is showering necessary knowing he is hydrated and observing his physical signs ie. eyes & urates which are both OK?
I am all for showering my little guy if it will benefit him, so any info/advice would be appreciated.
Cheers
Scott.

 

[filip]

I was wondering the same thing...I also don't know what are the advatages of spraying for 15minutes when you achieve the same thing when you spray for several minutes? My chams tend to run away from the misting and from water, and after a few minutes everything is soaked wet and I see them drink regulary...
F.

 

[John33871]

you should be ok with what you are doing. i have a different schedule with my mist system to help maintain the humidity threw out the day. i mist for 2 minutes every 2 hours. but i hear alot of people using that misting schedule too. i think the pictures you saw were wills, so pm or get him to respond to maybe answer your question a little better about the showering. so good luck

 

[SierraNevada]

Does anyone here use a warm/room temp humidifier directed into the enclosure? I used 3' PVC and drilled holes so it "mists" from above 3 times a day for 30mins to 1hr. Once it stops there are droplets for drinking. I also have a little dripper going. Since it's an all screen cage...it will dry out because of ventilation and the basking lamp....so there's no moisture issues.

 

[Kent67]

As long as the cage is allowed to dry out between mistings, it is superior to showers imo. As they are not being removed from their enclosures and bombarded by the larger droplets of water produced by most shower heads it is overall less stressfull on the animals. Most chameleons need a minute or so to start drinking and will continue for quite a while. That is why I suggest something more like 15+ minutes of on time, 3 times a day and sometimes more often. Morning and evening mists (I almost used the word "showers" there) mimic nature as well. I really like Sierra Nevada's 30mins to an hour (as well as the beers haha), which is what I typically do as well.

 

[Scotty]

I was wondering the same thing...I also don't know what are the advatages of spraying for 15minutes when you achieve the same thing when you spray for several minutes? My chams tend to run away from the misting and from water, and after a few minutes everything is soaked wet and I see them drink regulary...
F.

I guess if that works for you flip and it keeps up the humidity, all's fine! You get to save water.... My guy takes nearly that long for the drinking response to trigger, personally I would prefer to spray for less.
When it hits summer here, I intend to mist more often during the day and was planning on a simulated "down pour" once a week...well that's the plan anyways...lol

Hairfarm...lol I'm with you on the beers, it's my relaxation time after work and dinner in front of the computer talking about chams....wife's not too impressed though!

 

[dragonbreeder]

Sometimes keeping things simple can be the best thing. A simple drip system will do the job nicely and economically. For montane species that require more water, make it a gallon drip system.

However, if you have the time and cash, a misting system is good too, as long as it is not overdone.