Suggestion on getting to drink?

[carol5208]

Ok everyone, so I have not seen my cham drink in atleast a week. I have tried misting, dripper going all day, misting outside in a tree, running the water with plant in the shower, trying to give him water with an eye dropper, um... putting him outside in the sun in a small tree and running the hose on mist until everything was drenched, I think that about covers it! I noticed today his urate was orangey-white. I used to see him drink all the time. He is eating, active, etc, etc. Is there anything else I can do?. Feeding, crickets, supers, silks all dusted accordingly. My temps and humidity are good. I have tried to get him to drink inside and outside the cage as you can see. I guess he could be drinking from the dripper but I guess not as much as it should be otherwise I guess his urate would be white, no?. Any suggestions would be welcomed!

 

[dodolah]

Chameleon often shy drinking in public . I have mine for years and the only time I saw him drinking is during his first day in my house.

With that said, once in a while, a yellow/ orange urate is fine.
But, if you keep seeing your chameleon poops yellow/ orange urate, then it's time to bump up the misting sessions. How long do you mist him normally? Shower method is for emergency when you see the chameleon's eyes are sunken. The reason is that shower tends to stress your chameleon. If the benefit of hydration outweigh stressing your chameleon, then you can opt for doing the therapy.

In the meantime, feed your chameleon silkworms and hornworms (preferred). They are juicy and contain a lot of water content. Those feeders, especially hornworms, should help hydrating your chameleon back in no time.

if those didn't help, it's time to bring your chameleon to the vet. Perhaps, ask your vet to check your cham's kidney.

 

[ladysilkworm]

yeah CS east coast is down and is cleaning their facilities (confirmed)... so there is no live silks from there.. wether their previous ship was diseased or not, but something was not quite that's for sure.. hopefully they'll be back up with newer, fresher and stronger strains...

 

[carol5208]

ok thanks. Yeah, am feeding silks and I know they contain alot of liquid. that is when I noticed him not drinking, well atleast not in front of me. It drives me crazy. Yesterday or the day before the urate was white so maybe I am panicking. I just know how fast these creatures can go downhill from what I have read and am trying to keep on top of things. Just was wondering if there any hidden "secrets" that anyone might have to offer on drinking but I think I have exhausted them all!

 

[kongchi]

my chameleon only drinks in the morning (as far as im aware) but what I do sometimes is I turn my misty mate on, and put my finger over the nozzel so it drips rapidly in drops, and put it over a leaf near my cham, he sees the water running and rushes over to drink it, he even sometimes drinks it straight off the nozzle. MMM REFRESHING

 

[dodolah]

ok thanks. Yeah, am feeding silks and I know they contain alot of liquid. that is when I noticed him not drinking, well atleast not in front of me. It drives me crazy. Yesterday or the day before the urate was white so maybe I am panicking. I just know how fast these creatures can go downhill from what I have read and am trying to keep on top of things. Just was wondering if there any hidden "secrets" that anyone might have to offer on drinking but I think I have exhausted them all!

try hornworms.. they contain serious water contents. Much more so than silkies. The only draw back feeding hornworms is how much juices get squirt when your cham's mouth chomp on one.

 

[carol5208]

my little dripper causes a constant drip of water on a branch which in turn wets a bunch of leaves that are perfect for him to drink on. He used to go over and I would see him licking the branch or even trying to catch the drops in mid air but nothing now. It is just weird!!! He just stares at it. When I mist, he does nothing but runs away!!!! I leave the dripper on all day and fill it when it runs out. If I am not home someone is, so he has constant source of drinking water.

 

[carol5208]

I live in Florida, where can you get hornworms from? I was getting silkworms from Coastal Silkworms but I heard through the grapvine they are closed down for cleaning for a few weeks. There is no where local to buy around here.

 

[bighutch917]

You can also attain white urates by properly hydrating your feeders. I moisten my cricket gutload and I mist my chams for 5-10 minutes twice daily. To date, I have not experienced any hydration issues with my chams. Also, you may want to adjust your water temps and nozzle pressure. Some chams prefer a gentle misting while other like the heavy rain effect. I use tepid/warm water for those kept indoors and warm/cool for those kept outdoors.

 

[reptoman]

I have started misting my male panther while he is on a ficus out of the cage ad he has started drinking regularly. I use a pump sprayer like you would use for insecticide so I can get a constant shower on him while he is on the tree and make sure the water is a little warmer than room temp. After getting him soaked I quit spraying from above him and he will start to lick the water on his face. Once that starts I can continue showering lightly from above him and he will continue to drink. This has worked out better than dousing him in his cage which he seems to hate. It also doubles as some outdoor time in the sun.

 

[dodolah]

I live in Florida, where can you get hornworms from? I was getting silkworms from Coastal Silkworms but I heard through the grapvine they are closed down for cleaning for a few weeks. There is no where local to buy around here.

try non local source such as mulberryfarms and greatlake hornworms.

 

[carol5208]

thank you so much for all your input!!! I appreciate the help!