Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Wow, I tried warming up the water I spray my Chameleon with, and he responded very well! With cold water, he used to cringe when I sprayed him, and would take a minute or two minutes to begin drinking. With the warm water, he perked up and began drinking immediately! He seemed to be very soothed by the warm water. He perked up, closed his eyes and began lapping up the water as it came down on him. I'm sure some of you already warm your water, but if you haven't tried it, give it a shot. Your Chameleon may respond much better. Remember - not HOT water, but warm.

Spraying anything with cold water is like you taking a cold shower, you cringe.
Fill with hot water and then mist. By the time the water leaves the bottle it's warm (just right)..

well they are cold blooded as you well know.And im sure the rain in madagascar isnt very cold.

i have a jacksons and he hates being sprayed...he drinks from a waterfall and the misting is just plain annoying to him..sometimes he will stand up tall (on all fours) and shake his body violently...has anyone ever heard of this?..only happens once in a while when i spray him...almost looks like he's shuttering...you know, like when you get a chill, but he looks pissed

My veiled does the same thing (shaking, almost like he's got the shivers) and I've always assumed that it's his way of telling me that he's upset. I try not to spray directly on him and and mist very lightly 'til he's had a chance to hide.

Meemee

good...it's not just me...thanks!!

Yeah, I guess individual Chameleons have different preferences.

As far as waterfalls - be careful. I recommend filtering the water that is pumped. The "Duetto" submersible filters are good for this. They are a submersible pump/filter combo.

If you don't filter the water and change it regularly, waterfalls can be come virtual sewers full of bacteria and dangerous for your Chameleon. Although they're marketed as "perfect for Chameleons",
don't always believe the hype. They just want your money!

Anyway, as long as you keep the water clean, they can work ok. But a drip system and spraying is ideal.

yup...i use a filtered pump and change the water every other day...it's clean and i like the look..i put small gravel in the cracks so crickets can't get in...that was the only drawback and i recommend anyone who has one or is getting one to get a bag of gravel

Yeah, if you're going to use a waterfall, that's the way to do it. They really stimulate drinking, that's for sure.

One more thing....

After re-reading your message, I noticed where you said he was "shaking violently". I have seen Chameleons do this too. I'm not scientifically sure, but I have a theory that this behavior is not actually an indication of displeasure with the spraying.

What color is he when he does it? If he stays light green, and doesn't get deep olive or black, he probably isn't mad. Does he open his mouth?

My theory is that this is him "stretching", kind of like you do sometimes when you wake up. I think it's kind of like he's "resetting" his muscles,
and the spraying stimulates him to shudder. Have you ever stretched so hard that you shuddered a bit? Anyway, that's just a theory. If his color is normal, then he's probably not mad. This behavior may actually be an expression of pleasure, even though it looks like he's angry. Besides, would a Chameleon get "angry" if he got rained on in the wild? Probably not. And Jackson's are native to mountains, where the rain is probably pretty cold.

Who knows, it's just a theory. Maybe it really does piss them off! I've seen Chameleons do this a lot. So I know it's nothing to worry about.

cool...i like your explanation better...he stays light green and his mouth is shut and i've only see this happen during the morning spraying.

I wrote something on this a few years ago. See
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/husbandry/water.html
Ed