Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was using a dripper system, but that was making a mess and was a pain in the ass to get set up just right, How do i know if my cham is getting enough water from the waterfall i set up? i cant sit by her cage all day to see if shes drinking.. will i know if she is getting dehydrated? another thing i noticed, she is usually very dark, until night time, or when i hold her.. then she gets light green.. heres a pic of her for you all to see, just a baby

Usually chameleons turn dark when they are trying to absorb more light/heat. In my experience it kinda means they are cold!

They also will turn dark when basking sometimes and will lean to one side and "flare up" and poof out their chins and stomachs, my guess is to create more surface area for light to absorb.

Make sure the basking spot is a good 95*-105*F.
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1.0 Baby Sunburst Veiled Chameleon -- Dexter

It has been my experience, despite the hype, that my chameleons will not drink from the waterfall, and that the "messy" dripper/mister is a necessary evil, as they drink when they see dripping. If she is dark all the time that could be many things, one of which is lack of hydration, are her eyes sunken? I would recommend putting the messydripper back with a bowl underneath on the bottom of the cage......

A few ways to tell if she's getting dehydrated that show up before eyes get sunken. Her casque should look rounded and full, not concave. If you pick up a fold of side or belly skin gently between fingers, hold it a minute and release it, the skin should go flat right away. If it stays folded for a few moments after you release it, she's dehydrated.

If the only water she's getting is from a dripper and the waterfall, I would assume she is not drinking enough. Not all chams use drippers reliably, and most don't use the waterfall. Also, if the cage air is dry the waterfall won't raise the humidity much at all. Chams can dehydrate faster than they can drink if the cage air humidity is too low. Do you spray the cage foliage a couple of times a day? Do you have a good electronic humidity gauge? The more foliage in the cage the more surfaces she'll have to lick off water droplets. Spray gently with hot water for a while and watch to see if she starts licking her lips and swallowing. Once she starts drinking (it often takes a few minutes), spray around her or over her, letting the warm water fall on her from above. She'll drink until her stomach is full and tell you this by tipping her head straight up and turning away from the water.

Put a tup at the bottom of your cage to catch the watter from the dripper. Have a vine hanging into it for safety of a branch contected to anther part of the cage.

Position the dripping so it falls hits a leaf and rolls down the leaf, and then into your water tub.

You will need to mist a couple times daily too.
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With my girl Rana, I don't have an auto mister or a dripper for my Female. I mist her 3 times a day, and that's it. We are going on 1 year with no eggs! My last Female Chloe had everything! Mister, Dripper, I feed her everyday and she grew and grew and got egg bound and passed away. She had her first clutch at 8 months old, her second at a year, third at 15 months and passed away. It is my opinion that I was over nuriousing her and giving her the prime enviorment to produce eggs... so Rana is now on a strict diet, Silkies and Horn worms(because they are full of fluids) every two day and a cricket or 2 loose in the cage to keep her sharp on her hunting skills. I feel she gets extra hydration from eating the juicy bugs, and the misting keeps up the humidity in the cage. Her poop is normal and never "hard" and her urates are a nice cream cheese color.
I'm not saying I'm right, but this is working well for me and Rana.

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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

I wish I could give mine an all worm diet!
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Why can't you? I just got in some nice juicy Butterworms!! Everyone will have a nice little treat this week
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

I am in Canada. Feeders are really expensive here. For example:

In the US I know someone who buys 6000 Crickets and 2000 superworms for $95.00 USD shipping.

This would cost me, $195.50 USD plus shipping.

I do my best to profit from Expos where no Tax or shipping is charged. But think... those prices are just for superworms and crickets, two of the cheaper feeders.

Think of what I would pay for butters, silks, and the impossible to find hornworms.
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Meet me at the border and I'll toss some silkies & horn worms over the fence to ya!!! And you can toss me one of your Chams back in return
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

Haha, No problem! Chams are cheap here! Although they arnt the lookers you have down there. Although I have an opportunity to import some incredible chameleons very very soon.

I live in Burlington Ontario. About 8minutes from Niagara Falls. Feel free to come over and grab some cheap chameleons.
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I just located you on the map, and I don't think I'll be "running" there any time soon!!
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

np
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

I put the dripper back in.. i think im just over cautions.. but heres a pic of her.. she has a basking spot and sometimes she'll go lay on it.. and other times she likes to sit in the branches... and this is a common color for her.. the cage is about 85. and the basking spot is around 90... i mist it quite often, but its a screen cage so i dont think it holds humidty well.. her belly is very round and doesnt look unhealthy, and eyes look normal.. give me you're thoughts on her colors? Like i stated early, she only goes to light green if im holding her, or shes sleeping..

As mentioned by someone earlier in the post, I would attempt to get the basking spot up to 100-105 F. Tape a thermometer right to the basking spot, facing the heat source, and adjust the lighting so that the temperature is stabilized in that range, then remove the thermometer. The animal will do the rest.
Humidity is somewhat important, but actual access to plenty of hydration is more important. The recommendation to go back to a dripper and lots of spraying is very good. In many indoor situations it is a necessary evil, but it is always advisable to over-water than to under-water, as if we know where to draw that line. A lot of the advice here has been good. Dark coloration, in the absence of another chameleon, is most often a sign of a chameleon that is seeking heat. There can be other reasons, but that one is at the top of the list, for reasons also stated in an earlier post. Good luck with all.
The Chameleon Company

Hey,

I got rid of drippers a while back. In my opinion, it is an unnecessary evil. Chameleons are arboreal(live in the trees). There are no large pools of water in the canopy of the jungle, which is why chams don't drink out of waterbowls. I strongly advise you to take out the waterfalls. I have used stor bought, and custom ones, and no matter what way you make it, it is a death waiting to happen. I have made cusom ones with a resoivoir outside the cage, with only tubing inside. Doesn't work either. They harbor parasites, and create bacteria, which will slowly and surely kill your chameleon. The best way BY FAR in my opinion is an automatic mysting system. Since you only have this one cham I am guessing, buy a cheap one, like the Mr. Moisture(about $100) or the habbamist(about $40). Each will be well worth the money. If adjusted right, no water will form on the bottom of the cage, but the leaves will have enough water for him to drink off of.

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Adam has a great point about the waterfalls. There is potential for bacteria to grow. Remember that chameleons tend to attemt to poo in water sources. Whether it is be a running water fall, or a tub catching water drops.

You will need to clean that waterfall, Thuroughly, and replace the water in it, Daily.
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As a atter of fact, a waterfalls is one of the worst things you can do, in my opinion. I cannot stress this enough. Even if you do clean it on a daily basis, if he deficates in it an hours after you clean it, and then drinks out of it an hour after that, if he had any parasites, he would be re-infected. Same as when you don't clean the cage good before you feed them. If a cricket, or other prey item walks through the feces, when the cham eats that cricket, he will also be re-infested with the parasites. Keep the cage clean, and simple. Simplicity, is one of the many keys to keeping chameleons healthy in my opinion, atleast when dealing with the cage set-up.

Ank-Inc.
Adam.