Veiled chameleon drinking from water bowl
- Thread starter Dagreek
- Start date
ChiefRedman
Member
My opinion , get rid of the bowl, unless you can wash it every hour and put freshwater in it(bacteria build up, due to stagnant water) . Even though it is odd a chameleon drinking from a bowl.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Some chams do learn to drink from a bowl but in my experience it usually happens because they can't get enough water in a more "natural" way...(drinking water droplets off foliage). Or, they are thirsty more of the time because the cage is simply too dry. A bowl of water in a cham cage isn't going to increase your cage humidity very much really.
The main problem with your cham drinking out of a bowl is he'll end up drinking a bacterial soup caused by feces, feeders drowning in the bowl, bits of plant material, etc. You should be cleaning the bowl out every day at a minimum. Its not the end of the world for a cham to decide to drink out of a bowl as long as it is kept very clean.
croastbeast
New Member
Im of a different opinion. I keep a small water bowl/glass in all my chameleons cages. And place it under a drip area. The containers are clear and refract light a lot, so its a drip drop of water. Once chameleons learn to use it, they will drink all they need at will and the worry of dehydration is moot. Of course you will need to manage the water by changing daily, or thereabouts, but it is seriously a 3 second process. And we ALL have 3 seconds to spare. For the benefit in not having to worry about dehydration, its so very worth it.
The bacterial concern is interesting. What bacteria will grow in water that is hours old that wont on the silk and live plants that you NEVER wash or disinfect?
The bacterial concern is interesting. What bacteria will grow in water that is hours old that wont on the silk and live plants that you NEVER wash or disinfect?
SuperFastSlug
New Member
As long as you change the water daily, I don't see a problem. Just make sure the bowl is nice and clean every day, and you should be good!
ChiefRedman
Member
I agree , without proper cleaning of plants it can cause mold and other bacteria to grow on them, but he also said every few days. My concern being as stated above that feces, dead feeders, urates(IE wastes of the body), and what not being in the water. Say if you work a 9-5 job, and you cant clean the water bowl everytime the chameleon does his business in it, and in that window of time if he was to drink from that he would be drinking nasty bacterial infested water. If I handed you a glass of water with a dead cricket and a human feces in it , and a glass of clear water, which would you suspect to being healthier for you. Now like I said, I agree with you on the whole no proper cleaning of live/silk plants also isn't healthy , thats like reusing dirty dishes
I agree , without proper cleaning of plants it can cause mold and other bacteria to grow on them, but he also said every few days. My concern being as stated above that feces, dead feeders, urates(IE wastes of the body), and what not being in the water. Say if you work a 9-5 job, and you cant clean the water bowl everytime the chameleon does his business in it, and in that window of time if he was to drink from that he would be drinking nasty bacterial infested water. If I handed you a glass of water with a dead cricket and a human feces in it , and a glass of clear water, which would you suspect to being healthier for you. Now like I said, I agree with you on the whole no proper cleaning of live/silk plants also isn't healthy , thats like reusing dirty dishes
Well what do people with other lizards do? They keep a dish with water in it for days at a time. I think I'm just going to put clean water in it every day to every other day. Other lizards seem to do just fine with it.
croastbeast
New Member
I agree , without proper cleaning of plants it can cause mold and other bacteria to grow on them, but he also said every few days. My concern being as stated above that feces, dead feeders, urates(IE wastes of the body), and what not being in the water. Say if you work a 9-5 job, and you cant clean the water bowl everytime the chameleon does his business in it, and in that window of time if he was to drink from that he would be drinking nasty bacterial infested water. If I handed you a glass of water with a dead cricket and a human feces in it , and a glass of clear water, which would you suspect to being healthier for you. Now like I said, I agree with you on the whole no proper cleaning of live/silk plants also isn't healthy , thats like reusing dirty dishes
I understand your point, but don't think it's a realistically applicable argument.
1) if someone see a dead cricket or fecal matter in water, and doesn't clean it, they should have ANY pets. Period. If they don't clean that, they won't mist or invest in proper lighting, as they're just inept caregivers. So that's rather a moot point. Assuming there is no contamination, is there harm in every two days? If so, what is it?
2) the 9-5 reference. How does this apply to water only? How is this different from waste on a leaf that he then drinks from? Or, more realistically, MONTHS of waste on a leaf he drinks from?
3) your drinking glass reference- I get it, but it's inapplicable. The foliage and spraying isn't a clean glass of water. It's a dirty unwashed glass that's been sitting around with cricket and human feces on it. That's more prudent.
Like I said cleaning a water bowl takes like 3 seconds a day, at most. If that's too much to handle, these aren't the animals for you. If thinking an animal that eats insects will somehow become unhealthy if it perhaps drinks water that had a cricket in it for an hour or so, but will remain totally healthy drinking water off a foliage leaf that has months of the same waste on it, well agree to disagree.
ChiefRedman
Member
To each his own, and I understand what you are getting at, my point was coming off as bowl of water being the only water source. The reason I wouldn't have a bowl in a cage is that I couldn't see if the chameleon is drinking his own waste even though the bowl was clean the morning when I left. Either way, cleaning is a must either way you go,
croastbeast
New Member
Fair enough. We can agree there is no right way or wrong way. For what it's worth, the worst I have ever seen in the years of keeping chameleons has been seeing the calcium from the free range insects in the water. Never once a defecation or drown insect.
But, we can politely and respectfully agree to disagree.
But, we can politely and respectfully agree to disagree.
ChiefRedman
Member
Fair enough. We can agree there is no right way or wrong way. For what it's worth, the worst I have ever seen in the years of keeping chameleons has been seeing the calcium from the free range insects in the water. Never once a defecation or drown insect.
.
But, we can politely and respectfully agree to disagree.
Exactly!
That's what I love about the forums, I love sharing ideas with people and them actually knowing where I come from. Instead of everyone else that asks me about my cham, and I cant relate to them at all lol
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
They are not just any other lizard. Certain lizards drink from standing water. That is their nature. Chameleons drink from rain droplets and drops of water that form on leaves, branches etc. You would be hard pressed to find a chameleon in the wild sitting on the ground drinking out of a puddle. Now if you create motion in the puddle with dripping water, then it might be more likely. Few chameleons will drink from water bowel. but I guess yours is one of them. Most of the others would become dehydrated and die if a water bowl was their only source of water and that is the difference between chameleons and other lizards. If it works, for yours, that is great. As the others have said, just keep it clean and you probably won't have any problems.
