Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi: Wondering about the amount of water Chams take in via mouth and absorption through skin. A frog will for example absorb quite a bit through skin and as long as I keep my tanks properly equiliberiated for humidity to ventilation(its been easy to do for me just to have all glass tanks with one CPU fan wired to run slowly preventing CO2 poisoning and yet allowing enough humidity) so no losses due ever to dehydration. I would love any info on how the process of hydration and dehydration occures with Chams, if possible. I worry that my set up is not optimal toward this issue and could have future accidents. Thanks-Maggie

They do absorb some water through the skin, not as much as humans or amphibians thought becasue of the scales. You do notice a much softer skin in chameleons kept more humid. They absorb some water through respiration much like any other animal. I do not kno the full details on the water absorbtion in chameleons but i do know they absorb it through respiration and their skin absorbs it, but not like an amphibian.

Even if the humidity is very high in an enclosure, PLEASE WATER THE ANIMALS THOROUGHLY as they still need drinking water, just not as much if kept humid.

Someone else please post more details on absorbtion of water

Hi Maggie,

I scanned thru your previous thread about the hydration problem and have a couple questions...

***what is it that makes you think he is in fact dehydrated?
***are his eyes sunken?
***is his skin extra wrinkled?
a key can be the color of his urates. if there is a lot of orange/yellow that usually means a hydration problem whereas if it is creamy then he is OK. I have had Luna since Septemebr and I still look at her urates regularly to make sure she is well hydrated.

Is the cage just open in the room? I have hung shower curtain liners on two sides, a towel down the back (her cage is in a three sided cabinet with open front and top - room on sides so she get plenty of ventilation) and I sometimes keep a shower liner hung over the door to help keep humidity in. I enclose it completely while I run the humidifier. I also have it completely covered at night to help maintain - and even then it is difficult because I am in cold, dry NH so it is a real issue this time of year. I have the dripper on all day and she soaks for awhile then leaves, comes back...

You metioned you have a dripper - does he ever just hangout under it to get really saturated?

I would monitor his urates. here's a lot of info on herp hydration with a chart for body weight/water ratio

lele
Ed (or someone....sorry) mentioned possible renal failure.
Dehydration in Reptiles

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Maggie,

Sorry, I don't have the answer to your question. I have been kinda following your posts regarding hydration. As a relatively new chameleon owner I'm concerned about this issue because chameleons take in water so differently compared to my other herps. When I first got Mugambi I asked the breeder (Amazing Blue Reptiles) many questions about how to best hydrate the little guy. They basically told me that I only needed to drip water in the cage for a few minutes each day, and that it would be a good thing to mist his cage 2-3 times a day. They told me panthers don't need tons of moisture and that too much was actually detrimental. Anyways, my suggestion would be email or call the breeder you got your panther from (the Kammers?) and see what they'd recommend. I have found that when I purchase from a responsible breeder, they provide a healthy animal and are willing to provide a reasonable amount of future support. Good luck!

Peace,
Ken

Hey Thanks you guys!! Good points, info and thoughts. Here's the run down. The cage is just open in the room. I believe he is dehydrated because of Skin wrinkling, sunken eye socket, and orange in the stool. In the last 2 days, he seems to have really took a turn for the better. Voluntarily drinking and soaking under the drip. Less wrinkling, no sunken eyes, no orange any longer in the stool. However, this all started if you recall when I found a 1/2 digested super on a leaf(either regurgitated or deficated) some weeks ago. He finally got interested in food yesterday. Ate 3 supers but today I found a 1/2 a super on the ground with runny brown stuff. Could he be having digestive troubles and dehydration be a by-product, or is dehydration causing digestive problems? Hey, you know what they say about constipation...to drink lots of water. I will also contact the Kammers. Thanks-maggie