Water for tha cham

[StonewallJackson]

I have read that water related issues are the fastest ways for a chameleon to die.
So with this knowledge I was just wondering if I could get some input on what you guys use for watering your chams.


also best place to get just calcium (no d3)??


Thanks.

 

[Erikk]

I would suggest mullberry farms or lllreptiles...
I beleive both are sitesponsers.
I buy hornworms (hydration) from mullberry
also, i bought a dripper and calcium (no d3) from LLL,
but i usually hold my chameleons and they drink out of my spray bottle.

 

[StonewallJackson]

do you use like tap water or filtered water.... I had someone say bottled water was the way to go... Thanks for the input on calcium though!

 

[RPCV]

Tap vs. filtered/bottled water will spark debate.

For the vast majority of cases tap water is fine unless it is from a source that would contain abnormally high levels of contaminants (such as well water near a farm that uses insecticides).

 

[Kate]

do you use like tap water or filtered water.... I had someone say bottled water was the way to go... Thanks for the input on calcium though!

I would say that if you drink the tap water then it's fine for your Cham.

 

[Carlton]

I would say that if you drink the tap water then it's fine for your Cham.

The main issue for using straight tap water is whether your local water utility uses chlorine or chloramine to kill waterborne microorganisms (that can cause illness...such as Giardia). Chlorine can be removed by letting the tap water sit in an open bucket overnight...the chlorine will dissipate on its own. Chloramines need to be neutralized with a herp or aquarium water treatment. The other treatment chemical you want to avoid is fluoride. Some areas fluoridate the water others don't.

 

[Lovereps]

I have read that water related issues are the fastest ways for a chameleon to die.
So with this knowledge I was just wondering if I could get some input on what you guys use for watering your chams.


also best place to get just calcium (no d3)??


Thanks.

You're right.
Jackson's have higher water requirements than many other chams.
Kidney damage can result from chronic low level dehydration.

They also need less supplementing in general and a common schedule is:
calcium without D3 every other feeding
calcium with D3 once a month
multivitamin once a month
Too often is at least as harmful as not often enough.

Using a variety of appropriately sized feeders is excellent for helping maintain health, as is "gutloading" the feeders.
Here is one good feeder source:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
Gutloading is described here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

If your cham is fairly new to you, you might find it helpful to cut and paste the questions and add the answers to the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
as a way to avoid making care mistakes that can have sad consequences

 

[StonewallJackson]

thanks for all the info

 

[Zen]

I found a drip system works the best compared to misting use less water and can reuse the water. If you have a water catcher at the bottom of the tank. Calcium works awsome keep it going what kind do you even have >

 

[pigglett79]

do you use like tap water or filtered water.... I had someone say bottled water was the way to go... Thanks for the input on calcium though!

I bought an under the sink filter for my kitchen sink from home depot. I go through about 2 to 2.5 gallons of water a day and that is the only practical method for me.

 

[Lovereps]

I found a drip system works the best compared to misting use less water and can reuse the water. If you have a water catcher at the bottom of the tank. Calcium works awsome keep it going what kind do you even have >

I would hope that you're not reusing the dripper water for your cham to drink.

On its way down, it would have to be picking up bits of shed skin, poop, urates, soil-borne bacteria/organisms and even fertilizer if any was in the plant soil.

Even if you started with a sanitized tub, would you drink water that you had soaked in ?

 

[pigglett79]

I would hope that you're not reusing the dripper water for your cham to drink.

On its way down, it would have to be picking up bits of shed skin, poop, urates, soil-borne bacteria/organisms and even fertilizer if any was in the plant soil.

Even if you started with a sanitized tub, would you drink water that you had soaked in ?

Yeah, I would never reuse dripper water. who knows what gets picked up on the way down.

 

[StonewallJackson]

They also need less supplementing in general and a common schedule is:
calcium without D3 every other feeding
calcium with D3 once a month
multivitamin once a month
Too often is at least as harmful as not often enough.

Thanks for all the input you guys are so helpful. When you say Calcium w/o d3 every other feeding should that be every other cricket, or dust like 6 for one feeding.
The too often part being harmful scares me I don't want him to od on calcium.

 

[pigglett79]

Thanks for all the input you guys are so helpful. When you say Calcium w/o d3 every other feeding should that be every other cricket, or dust like 6 for one feeding.
The too often part being harmful scares me I don't want him to od on calcium.

We add calcium to crickets and roaches to help with the calcium to phosphorus ratio. In order to give Jacksons less calcium you would feed prey item that do not require dusting every other feeding, such as silk worms, horn worms, butter worms etc. All crickets and roaches should be dusted with calcium.

 

[pigglett79]

Oh, and that being said.....make sure the calcium without D3 you are using does not contain phosphorus.

 

[Lovereps]

As Pigglett79 said.

Here is a veterinarian and fellow forum cham keeper's write-up on cham nutrition:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/560-frequently-asked-questions-nutrition.html

For a Jackson's high hydration needs, your hydration and misting will be easiest with an automatic misting system and a dripper.

Although there are other systems, the MistKing and AquaZamp systems consistently get very positive feedback from cham keepers.
Sources include:
http://www.joshsfrogs.com/misting/mistking-misting-system-parts/mistking-starter-system.html
http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/...systems/mist-king-misters-and-accesories.html
http://www.aquazamp.com/store_front/

Here is an excellent thread about an automated drip system:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/cheap-drip-system-96847/#post898616

Mulberry Farms is my favorite feeder source for a good variety of feeders
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

 

[Get bunkered]

I have a saltwater tank that I need reverse osmosis filtered water for so I just figured to put it to better use, I use the water from that in my mister and the dropper beat water possible IMO