Veiled Watering

darthink

darthink

New Member
Hi there, I'm new to this community and excited to be here. I recently got a beautiful Veiled Chameleon and would like to learn more about making sure she has the water she needs. I just over worry sometimes and want to make sure.

Currently I use a spray bottle and I spray moisture onto the leaves and things in there, just try to keep it moist. Unfortunately, the UVB light evaporates the water somewhat quickly, so she ends up not getting much. By the time I turn the light off and prepare for bed, I'll spray more water in since it'll stay longer due to no light/heat above it, but she usually goes to sleep around this time, so I still worry.

I also put a little water dish in there, and I've seen her stick her tongue in it like she's getting a cricket. I want to add that I mist her too, but she doesn't seem to like it a whole lot, I'm scared I'm stressing her too much.

Any advice, please and thank you! :D
 
Hi

It's preferable to have a dripper because chameleons can drink for long time.
The sprays can be insufficient.
Normaly chameleons do not drink in a dish exept if they are deshydrated...
To be more careful, have you got a pict of the cham head ?

In add, C. calypratus come from semi-desertic area so the sprays should not be too frequent. If he have a dripper and he drinks well you can never spray.
 
Nicolas said:
Hi

It's preferable to have a dripper because chameleons can drink for long time.
The sprays can be insufficient.
Normaly chameleons do not drink in a dish exept if they are deshydrated...
To be more careful, have you got a pict of the cham head ?

In add, C. calypratus come from semi-desertic area so the sprays should not be too frequent. If he have a dripper and he drinks well you can never spray.
Click to expand...

I don't really have any kind of drip system. I head you can put a hole in a gallon jug, I can try that with a water bottle for now if that is possible a good method.

Thanks again for your help!

And yeah, here's a picture:
 

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darthink said:
By the time I turn the light off and prepare for bed
Click to expand...
I just react to this:
Do you turn off the light manually ?
The lights must be on programmer and the the natural cycle day/night must be respected. So the lighting time change according to the season.
;)
 
Nicolas said:
I just react to this:
Do you turn off the light manually ?
The lights must be on programmer and the the natural cycle day/night must be respected. So the lighting time change according to the season.
;)
Click to expand...

I don't exactly have a schedule or timer.. o_O Any recommendations as to when I turn her light on and when to turn it off? Like, for example, light on at 9am and off at 9pm?
 
You can always look up weather and daylight hours of Yemen to get close. This way you can understand the region where your cham would naturally live. Sana'a, Yemen would be a good start. A common mistake people make is to think C. calyptratus comes from the hot desert since they are from the middle east. I use large deli cups and poke a hole in it and set it on top of the screnen.
 
darthink said:
I don't exactly have a schedule or timer.. o_O Any recommendations as to when I turn her light on and when to turn it off? Like, for example, light on at 9am and off at 9pm?
Click to expand...

Many people do 12 hours on and 12 hours off, but with the daylight hours becoming fewer and fewer, some people turn on when the sun comes up and off when the sun goes down.
 
As long as you have potted plants in her enclosure you can even use ice cubes on the top of the cage over the plants.......making a dripper is pretty easy tho. If you get a fish tank air valve shut off , some fish tank tube and a clear plastic container. poke a hole close to the bottom on the side of the container, put the valve in ,then the tube,gravity will pull the water thru the tube, feed the tube into the enclosure over the plant and set the valve control , let the water drip over the leaves . my chams drink right from the tube!!!
 
Nicolas said:
Hi

It's preferable to have a dripper because chameleons can drink for long time.
The sprays can be insufficient.
Normaly chameleons do not drink in a dish exept if they are deshydrated...
To be more careful, have you got a pict of the cham head ?

In add, C. calypratus come from semi-desertic area so the sprays should not be too frequent. If he have a dripper and he drinks well you can never spray.
Click to expand...

They don't come from deserts, it's more of a savannah/grassland. Make sure that the cage is dry when the lights go out to avoid upper respiratory problems. The dripper advice is true, they don't like drinking standing water, so set it up to drip down onto some leaves. You can also give her showers a couple times a week for extra hydration. Just get a plant for her to perch on in the shower and point the shower head at the wall of the shower so the water will bounce of the wall and make a fine mist over her. I usually let my guys shower for around an hour. Hope this helps.
 
she will get used to the mistings. they all start out scared, but eventually get over it.

my chams would all run away from my automatic mister at first, but after about a week, they all kinow what leaves the mister sprays.

you need to spray 3-5 times a day, as this will stimulate drinking, sometimes they wont see the dripper, though if there are times you cannot mist her, then using a dripper is fine.

you dont NEED a timer for your lights, but it does make life easier.
You also dont need to look up temps and sunrise/set in Yemen, as this cham is not from yemen. its captive bred.

what many of us do, myslef included. is use a light timer that turns my lights on when the sun is coming up, and when the sun goes down. I set the timer for this every season, so that they wont be awake before/after the sun, as they are all near a window.

do you have your supplements?
what do you gutload with?
what cage is she in?
you do know that as a female, she can lay eggs even if she isnt bred? and they can begin laying as early as 6 months old, sometimes even 4 or 5? (though that early is rare).
 
camimom said:
she will get used to the mistings. they all start out scared, but eventually get over it.

my chams would all run away from my automatic mister at first, but after about a week, they all kinow what leaves the mister sprays.

you need to spray 3-5 times a day, as this will stimulate drinking, sometimes they wont see the dripper, though if there are times you cannot mist her, then using a dripper is fine.

you dont NEED a timer for your lights, but it does make life easier.
You also dont need to look up temps and sunrise/set in Yemen, as this cham is not from yemen. its captive bred.

what many of us do, myslef included. is use a light timer that turns my lights on when the sun is coming up, and when the sun goes down. I set the timer for this every season, so that they wont be awake before/after the sun, as they are all near a window.

do you have your supplements?
what do you gutload with?
what cage is she in?
you do know that as a female, she can lay eggs even if she isnt bred? and they can begin laying as early as 6 months old, sometimes even 4 or 5? (though that early is rare).
Click to expand...

I'm still learning to supplement and gutload. I was told that the petstore powders the crickets with calcium, so supplements could give too much calcium, just an assumption though not sure.

Right now the cage is glass sides with grate thing for the top (like the metal ones). I know she should have them on all sides instead of glass, but I'm going to hopefully get a new cage at Christmas or something.

And what do you mean about laying eggs? They wouldn't be live eggs would they, since no mate?

Thanks!
 
petstores dont dust bugs.
you want to do a calcium without d3 for ever feeding, a calcium with d3 twice a month,and a multivitamin twice a month.

unless you take the petstore bugs homea dn feed all of them off immedieatly, the powder wil come off. (besides youll want to gutload them properly before feeding off. and youd have to run to the store every day to get bugs if you dont keep extras on hand. you can also order bugs in bulk.)

females can lay eggs even if not bred. the eggs will be infertile, so you can throw them away after she lays them, but she will eventually lay them.

it would be best if you get an all screen cage for her. they need the good air flow to prevent respiratory infections.


any other questions? ;)
 
darthink said:
I'm still learning to supplement and gutload. I was told that the petstore powders the crickets with calcium, so supplements could give too much calcium, just an assumption though not sure.

Right now the cage is glass sides with grate thing for the top (like the metal ones). I know she should have them on all sides instead of glass, but I'm going to hopefully get a new cage at Christmas or something.

And what do you mean about laying eggs? They wouldn't be live eggs would they, since no mate?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

First, the pet stores are not to be trusted (usually) about how they treat their crickets........second, even if they dust them, the dust will fall off on your way home.
Veiled chams can and often do lay eggs without mating.
Here is a great blog about gutloading and feeders - 1 https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

2 https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
There are some good commercial gutloads which can help too - look up 'cricket crack' or 'bug burger'

Here is great info on laying bins - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
 
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