What exactly does dehydration look like?

[chuka1212]

I may be a bit paranoid, as some of you may know, but I have never seen my chameleon drink.

I mist 2-4 times daily, and have a dripper constantly running. My mistings only last a minute or two, however.

I read descriptions on what a dehydrated cham looks like but I have never seen one and was wondering if anyone has a picture of one so I can compare it to my guy... a google search revealed nothing. I will also post a recent picture of him so you all can tell me what you think.

I appreciate the help and patience with me, you guys are my only link to knowledgeable chameleon keepers!

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

Usually, the first signs of dehydration are sunken eyes and wrinkled skin.

 

[chuka1212]

Would you say that he looks dehydrated?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

What do his urates look like?
Mostly white?
Is there moisture in his poop?
This is the best way to tell.
If the poop is on the dry side and there is a lot of yellow or orange in the urates then he needs to drink more.
A little orange or yellow is normal as long as it is mostly white and moist.

-Brad

 

[chuka1212]

Yes, his urates are pretty much all white. About how moist it is, I am not sure. I just cleaned out his cage yesterday, so I will check next time he poops. I just was getting worried because in the time I have had him I have never seen him drink, he must just be sneaky and do it while I'm not looking.

 

[Dino]

Response to dehydration question

Funny you should ask the same questions I am constantly wondering about. We've had our veiled male since December 2007 (its actually my son's pet,
but, of course, I end up taking care of it most of the time). I, too, was very concerned about the drinking issue. I never ONCE saw him drink, we would mist 2-3 times a day and the poops looked white and moist until about one week ago when I saw a very yellow/orange urate. I remember reading on this site that someone misted their veiled directly in the nose area until they finally did drink the water. Well, I tried it, and it worked So, twice a day, we mist Dino directly and continue spraying him until he drinks. When he is thirsty he does not run away and he will actually open his mouth and drink the water and even lick the nearby leaves. When he's done drinking, he turns away. Since we've been doing this his urates are virtually pure white. Once in awhile we will mist him and he runs away...misting seems to really annoy him unless he is thirsty. I tried everything else and have never seen him drink. I hope this helps

 

[Tyminator]

My guy always hates the misting. Maybe its just the site of the sprayer, cause if i get close he tries to fight and bite. I try to leave enough water stuck to the top of the screen of his cage, so that he can see it dripping and go up there and lick it off.

 

[Justin Carl]

This is a great blog:

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-dehydration.html

 

[chuka1212]

Thanks guys. Dino- Misting him directly was something that I had heard, and have tried. He runs away like I am spraying him with acid... even when I use warm water to spray him with. But I will keep trying that, maybe he just needs a longer misting session, or maybe mine is like Tyminator's. I will keep experimenting.

And thanks a ton Justin CArl for the awesome blog, that had a picture of a dehydrated cham, pictures of unhealthy and healthy poops... a great resource.

I will keep an eye out for his poops, he hasn't pooped (that I've seen) since I've posted.

Also, the blog that Justin posted suggests that they expel urates that are as large as the poop and seperately? Is this the case? Mine seems to poop very small urates in comparison to the poop and they are usually attached from what I have seen...

 

[dodolah]

hey Chuka,
if the urate and the poop are attached, that's fine.
Sometimes they get separated. the most important thing is the color.
anything other than white (like orange, red, lots of yellow) is a sign of problem.