Would this urate be considered sign of dehydration?

[luckykarma]

I started paying more attention to the problem panther who just seemed to turn the corner. He gets loads a water a day. At least one who eyedropper to two from me which he drinks up and then he's outside with a dripper all day and I mist him wetting him down 4x day if its warm out.

Some days he just sits under the dripper like an amphibian.

If this is the tell tale orange then I'm not sure how to hydrate him more.

ps: this poop is hours old on the paper towel so it dried out.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Is there supposed to be a pic?

 

[luckykarma]

I just saw it didn't upload. Its there now.

 

[spatulars]

I'm interested in the answers to this post too. My chameleon drinks daily and has good humidity, but I do see his urates this color on occasion.

 

[omgitsaliv55]

I personally don't own a chameleon (yet, coming this weekend), but I've had tons of lizards before where the urine looks almost exactly like that. You should only worry once it becomes quite yellow or even orangish. It's not uncommon for it to be a tad yellow, but you may consider filling the dripper more often or use an auto mister that's set to mist more frequently than four times a day.

Also...you said that he stays outside? Nothing wrong with that, but just remember that the sun is hot and that chances are you live in an area that's not as humid as the madagascan rain forests. if you can, try bringing him inside for a few days and see what his poop looks like then. let me know how this works out for you and if you need more advice i'm on summer break so you should get a response pretty quick.

-Patrick

 

[luckykarma]

Patrick. Its slightly orange not yellow. Might be the color changes across monitors.

We live near the ocean so humidity is almost always above 60% and add to constant dripping and spraying its pretty high. Ambient temp gives them a body temp in the high 80s to 90 on hot days.

 

[dodolah]

try feeding him feeder that has high water content. Horn worms and silkworms are great for hydration.

 

[omgitsaliv55]

Patrick. Its slightly orange not yellow. Might be the color changes across monitors.

We live near the ocean so humidity is almost always above 60% and add to constant dripping and spraying its pretty high. Ambient temp gives them a body temp in the high 80s to 90 on hot days.

I'm using a pretty bright and reliable LCD (a macbook screen) and still, it doesn't look like it's something that's vet worthy. Like I said, the first thing I would try with something like this is taking him indoors for a few days. The sun could dry his skin out pretty quick, so the his body is going to respond by sending more moisture to the skin. Even with Santa Monica weather, dehydration from the sun isn't out of the question. That's why after a day at the beach we usually feel tired even though we may not have exercised. Does he open his mouth a lot during the day for no reason?

You also have to remember that doctors say that OUR pee should be crystal clear, yet for most of us that's only about 25% of the time. But does that mean that we're all dehydrated? No, not really.

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't be too worried at this point. You'll know if something's wrong based on the chameleon's behavior.

 

[luckykarma]

Sorry I wasn't clear. He's only outside when its warm and comes back in at 3PM. He gets from 3-6 hours of sun. I work in design and know if a screen isn't calibrated there are shifts. While it may look yellow on your screen its really slightly orange. Pinkish orange.

This guy has been nursing back to health for months now. He used to eat silkworms but now will only eat supers. Only supers and only hanging up-side-down in the sunning cage. Hopefully he'll normalize his eating.

 

[opihiman]

It does look like your poo could be a sign of slight dehydration...if it is it isn't very bad... I would keep a carefull watch though to see if this a common coloration or just a once in awhile thing....

I know you mist your chams down frequently per your initial thread, but how often do you see your cham actually drink...?

I will see poo like this too on days when I am short on time and patience in which case the whole cage gets a good misting and I don't necessarily either of the chams drink...

Hope that helps...

OPI

 

[luckykarma]

I see him drink from the dripper also I train them to drink from a eyedropper and they get at least one full eyedropper.

 

[opihiman]

How did you train them to drink from the dropper?

OPI

THAT'S TOTALLY COOL!

 

[luckykarma]

I train all of them to drink from a dropper. Although these two new ones are fighting it a little. I usually get it to the point where they see the eye dropper they stick out their tongues.

They're very smart animals. You just have to move slowly and show them its not a threat and its water. Some do it right away, some take longer.

Our big veil in the avatar only drinks from a dropper and has for most of his 7 years.