watering Jackson's in the home.

[grillimon]

I was wondering if anybody had good ideas on how they water there chameleons while the cage is inside. I use a dripper inside and mist them outside as long as the temp is good. On really hot days I leave them inside and just use a dripper, what are some good ideas for hydrating inside?

Thanks Jared

 

[xanthoman]

jacksons like a fairly lush enviroment and misting is important even inside. most serious keepers employ an automatic misting system such as a mistking or similar, it is usually set up on a precise timer to mist an ultra fine spray at regular intervals, several times a day, and because of the water it generates, it usually incorporates some sort of plastic catch tray or pan/drainage arrangement. there is a wide variety of low flow misting nozzles that emit a fairly precise pattern of distribution, some limit the pattern to 18" diameter or less, and seconds timer can limit the misting intervals to a matter of seconds, so a well thought out misting system will limit almost all of the water to the confines of the cage, where it is then caught by the drainage system and carried usually to a bucket or even outside, making it possible to tailor your water output and distribution fairly precisely. a system like that is better understood if you view it in action, there are lots of mistking and other misting system videos on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q4VX9usMxs&feature=related. and watching several of them may give you a better idea of how they operate and how to set up your own system. a basic misting system with seconds timer and a single nozzle can be had for as little as $130 (+a few extras like buckets and such). a system like this allows your animals to be misted precisely and confidently while you are busy, or at work, or away for the weekend, it is probably the best route to go if you are able. however, thats not to say that jacksons or any other chameleons cant be kept successfully without one. many members have successfully kept chameleons for years and misted only by hand. ordinary household trigger spray bottles do not have enough capacity and require too much trigger pulling to be practical. you can get a hand held 1/2 gallon pump sprayer at your local home center for under $10. just because you have a dripper you should not assume that your animal is getting all of the hydration it needs, often times animals wont start drinking until they have been misted for several minutes. and dehydrated jacksons have sometimes been known to stare at a dripper for hrs without taking a drink. oddly, enough a severely dehydrated animal may refuse to drink altogether, so its important to stay on top of it before it comes an issue. many members also heat their misting water, which can be as simple as placing a under tank heater under your spray bottle or misting resevoir, but thats a whole nother subject. imo jacksons should be misted a minimum of 3x a day religiously, which can make hand misting impractical if you have a job or real life, but if one has the time and the patience to do it day in and day out, then there is nothing wrong with hand misting, if you can keep up with it. even with just a dripper drainage can be an issue, most commercial cages come with some sort of plastic sheet for the bottom of the cage, but this does little to contain the water. one solution is to (first remove the plastic sheet) carefully heat the center 6" of the plastic with a hairdryer/heat gun until the plastic is very very soft, and then you can carefully push a pencil (point first) down through the plastic, this will create a depression in the plastic to funnel the water and create a hose barb that you can put a piece of tubing onto, of course you will need to cut a small x in the bottom screen and modify your stand if necessary, but then you will be able to drain to a bucket. it should be noted that this works better on some plastic liners than others. jmo

 

[Titan]

Ok I'm not crazy--- But I live in a very Dry climate. and I have kept and breed Jacksons for many many years. I use drippers and some misting. and have given up on trying to humidify areas ( it just dont work well here. average humidities for my areas is 20% to 40%)
BUT I also do one extra that ensures fluid intake and has worked VERY well with all my Cham Species. That is I use a syringe and inject water into the abdomin of Roaches or Crickets and feed them. The Chams even seem to prefer this more than when I dont, as it makes the meal real juicy and almost appears more flavorable for them?

I have found that a well internally hydrated Cham fairs very well in dryer than the norm areas. Mine all even shed real well usually (most always) in complete moist looking sheds.

 

[xanthoman]

yeah, i do that too, if i have a cham that needs extra hydration, i also do it for reptaid, calcium glubionate, or any other injectable form of supplementation/meds. i must admit that since i injected myself in the finger with a pre used cricket/roach syringe, that i am a little less fond of the method. i had the cricks in the fridge for 10 min to make them easier to inject, after injecting several, one of them jumped and it freaked me out, and i injected myself right in the finger with reptaid, lol. i have seen your xanths recently in the classifieds, and they look to be prime specimens, in excellent health, and very well hydrated, sort of suprized to learn they are raised in a 20-40% (relative humidity) enviroment. i forget which one it was, but i remember that one was especially beautiful , probably the nicest juvi female i have ever seen, very pearlescent in color, i think it was the one on the right. jmo yeah just checked it was the on the right #6, i wanted to buy her so bad but i was trying to reduce my #s at the time. you dont see that many xanths for sale at that age, most are either too young to tell or all grown up. definitely the prettiest young adult i have ever seen. i hope whoever got that one knows what they have.https://www.chameleonforums.com/cb-x-jackson-chameleons-females-sale-40153/