Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my first chameleon a baby veiled appears to be getting rather sunken looking eyes which i every book or caresheet tells me means dehydration. i keep the cage at a constant 60-7o % humidity and have a little water bowl in the bottom to help maintain humidity there are prety much always drops of waters on all of the leaves. so how do I "rehydrate" my little cham?

A Good way is to Place you chameleon on a plant, in a shower. Turn the shower to a fine luke warm mist or make the droplets bounce off the wall of the shower onto the chameleon. Another good showering technique is to put a chameleon in a bird cage then in the shower.
Shower your chameleon for about 60 minuites

>>my first chameleon a baby veiled appears to be getting rather sunken looking eyes which i every book or caresheet tells me means dehydration. i keep the cage at a constant 60-7o % humidity and have a little water bowl in the bottom to help maintain humidity there are prety much always drops of waters on all of the leaves. so how do I "rehydrate" my little cham?
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Jamie whitehouse

Do you mist him?
Chams absorb some of the water they need through their skin.

This should just be a wake up call that your cham isn't getting the kind of drinking stimulation that he needs.

If the dehydration has been going on for awhile, get the cham in to see a vet. It doesn't take long for a cham to perish from dehydration.

If your showerhead has a fine enough setting, think about putting a ficus in the shower stall, and let the water run for about a half hour. (room temp water will feel a little cool to the touch) If your showerhead has too big of droplets, please don't try this. It will just stress the cham out and make things worse.

Along with your regular watering schedule, put him in the shower for 30 minutes a day, so long that his condition is improving. If it worsens, take him to the vet.

Do you use a drip system?
Have you looked into an automatic misting system?

Joe

well i have an auto mister set to every hour for 15-30 seconds and will turn it up or down when needed

Since you have an auto-misting systme, that makes things easier. Its gonna create a mess with water, but have some towels ready and put the system on for 5 minutes, off for 1 and then on again for 5 and then off for 1 and then on again for another 5.

thanks a lot dude but I do this in the cage? or outside like in a shower but im glad you could help because my mom wont let me put it in any showers for her fear of salmonella and the showers make big drops but thanks a lot

For the messy stuff I use my outside cage.

Really unexpensive to make.

Buy a roll of 1/4" hardware cloth. $14 for a 3foot x 10foot roll.

For each cage buy 2 plastic pot saucers. (the plastic water catchers that you put under a potted plant)

Unroll the hardware cloth to fit in the pot saucer and use twist ties or wire to connect the seam. Stuff the roll of hardware cloth in the saucer and put a bead of silicone caulking between the saucer and hardware cloth. The second saucer just fits on top of the roll, not really fastened with anything.

When outside I use a saucer top that has really small holes drilled in it. I fill the saucer up with water and it rains down through the cage.

These are perfect for putting in the shower, taking outside..all the messy stuff.

For the messy stuff I use my outside cage.

Really unexpensive to make.

Buy a roll of 1/4" hardware cloth. $14 for a 3foot x 10foot roll.

For each cage buy 2 plastic pot saucers. (the plastic water catchers that you put under a potted plant)

Unroll the hardware cloth to fit in the pot saucer and use twist ties or wire to connect the seam. Stuff the roll of hardware cloth in the saucer and put a bead of silicone caulking between the saucer and hardware cloth. The second saucer just fits on top of the roll, not really fastened with anything.

When outside I use a saucer top that has really small holes drilled in it. I fill the saucer up with water and it rains down through the cage.

These are perfect for putting in the shower, taking outside..all the messy stuff.

Whether or not the humidity is high enough or there are always drops on the foliage, your little guy may not be actively drinking enough. Do you actually see him drink every day? What's the cage temp range? If he is stressed by something else he may not be drinking enough often enough. Sometimes chams need actively falling "rain" for several minutes before they get stimulated to drink...and if you are not spraying hot water gently long enough he's just not doing enough about it. It isn't the volume of water that is the key, it is duration. Spray around him with hot water (by the time it hits a surface it will be comfortably warm) for several minutes gently to give him the idea. Watch for swallowing or licking water off his face. Then continue spraying (doesn't need to be a thick stream, just moving water dripping) until he stops drinking...chams who are full often tip their head straight up and turn away from the water. As long as he's drinking on his own you don't need to use a rehydration liquid like Pedialyte, but if he stops drinking all together you will need to use this.

http://www.icomm.ca/dragon/hydrate.htm

It has a very useful hydration chart