Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new at keeping chameleons and I think my JAckson is dehydrated. What can I do to rehydrate him. When I mist his vines he ignores the water. He has not eaten in two days. Can I force hydrate him?

Thanks

Tortuga

Tort,

Option #1 -
Take your chameleon to a vet. The vet will be able to look at the chams condition, and recommend action based on the severity of dehydration.

Option #2 -
If you have a shower head that you can adjust the water output, you can put it on its finest setting and place the cham and a ficus in the shower. The temp needs to be right around your body temp. Leave him there with the water running for about a half hour. Repeat this a few times per day. If you can peek in on him, and see if he is stimulated into drinking..do it. Keep doing this so long that his condition is improving. (if condition worsens, take him to a vet)

There are other methods that I have heard of, but have never used any of them. One is using pedialite and forcing the chameleon to drink.

The chameleon not eating is a sign that he is very unhealthy. Your #1 objective is to get him hydrated.

Joe

One of the first signs of dehydration is loss of appitite!
Water used in misting needs to be warm, not cold tap water.
The shower idea is a good one. Try using a live ficus or pathos plant in your cage, I have found that the real leaves work very well to allow the water to puddle up. Once you see your jackson drink, then try to feed him. If he shows any kind of stress, dark colors, closed eyes, lack of movement. then a vat visit is warrented.

Exo Terra makes a supplement that you add to water called Electrolize that helps with rehydration and stimulates appetite. I know Petsmart carries it if there's one close to you, but I'm sure a lot of other pet stores carry it along with online pet stores. One way you might also try to get him to drink is to offer him water with one of those small animal water bottles that rabbits and hampsters use. Just hold the tip close to him with a small drop of water on the end, and he might drink from it. They're attracted to the drop of water and the shiny ball in the end. My male jax drinks readily from a water bottle whenever he's thirsty. If he still won't drink, try putting him in the shower like the previous reply said to get him to start drinking, but once he starts drinking, it would still be a good idea to give him water with the Electrolize in it from a water bottle.

I went out last night and misted him but nothing happened. This morning, keying off of the "rabit waterer" comment, I went and put my chameleon dripper in his cage (before I was letting the dripper drip onto the foliage) and put him on the floor and brought his mouth up to the drip. Low and behold, he opened his mouth and put his head in the perfect position to catch the drips. Looks like he's gonna be just fine. Thanks you guys!

Tortuga

Tort,

That's awesome! Be sure to keep us posted.

Joe

>>Exo Terra makes a supplement that you add to water called Electrolize that helps with rehydration and stimulates appetite. I know Petsmart carries it if there's one close to you, but I'm sure a lot of other pet stores carry it along with online pet stores. One way you might also try to get him to drink is to offer him water with one of those small animal water bottles that rabbits and hampsters use. Just hold the tip close to him with a small drop of water on the end, and he might drink from it. They're attracted to the drop of water and the shiny ball in the end. My male jax drinks readily from a water bottle whenever he's thirsty. If he still won't drink, try putting him in the shower like the previous reply said to get him to start drinking, but once he starts drinking, it would still be a good idea to give him water with the Electrolize in it from a water bottle.

I'm not really sure which one you were saying is cheaper, but the Electrolize is a lot cheaper for what you get. Pedialyte costs about $5.50 for a liter, but Electrolize is a concentrate that you add to water so it ends up costing only $0.22 per liter for the 100mL size bottle bought at Petsmart. They also make one called Electrod3ize that has vitamin d3 in it.

well i have done this in the past and it works for me what i do is i turn on the shower and wait till its warm then i put a stick in were the area that the water is sprayin and put it there and do it two times a day every day if possible