How do chameleons drink water

When it comes to baby chameleons , spraying them with water should be avoided. Since they are too small, spraying them with water could cause them to drown. Below are things not to do when trying to give water to your chameleons. Chameleons will not drink the water and it will be caused them to be stressed. So in their natural habitat, a bath is not something that is normal to them. By giving the chameleons a bath, they will most likely be scared and stressed out. Showering the chameleons with water should be used only when they are dehydrated and need water badly.

If you are planning to shower them with water each day, it could cause them to be stressed out. Chameleons are not used to being showered with water. In their natural habitat, when it rains, chameleons are hiding under the leaves of trees and plants.

For that reason, they will never get soaked with water. While you do your daily task of cleaning the cage , you could shower them with some water. This helps clean the plants of dirt and other debris.

However, try not to shower them with too much water. They evolve to only drink water on the leaves of trees and plants. It might work for other lizards, but not for a chameleon. Like humans, every chameleon is different. Some require a lot of water while others require a small amount of water. It really depends on different factors when determining how much water each chameleon drink. One factor is the species and where they are located.

For example, panther chameleons will require a lot of water as they live in a tropical climate. The hotter the climate, the more water they will need.

Now for species like the veiled chameleons, they may not need much water are their natural habitats are in the deserts. Like us, they will drink as much water as needed to quench their thirst.

On average, they will require water at least twice a day. However, depending on where you are located, they may require more than twice per day. The tropical climate tends to be hotter, which means the water will dry up fast. Water in cooler climates will take longer to evaporate from the leaves.

To ensure that your chameleons are getting enough water, give them access to water throughout the day. Sure, you may have an automatic mister, but how would you know if the chameleons drank water or not? To find out if your chameleons are drinking enough water is to check their urates.

Instead, they excrete waste and urine together. The white part of their waste is urine and this is how you tell if your chameleons are drinking enough water. If their urates are white to clear, it means the chameleons are well hydrated. This is the color that you want to look for every day when they excrete waste.

On the other hand, if the urates are yellowish or dark yellow , it means the chameleons are not drinking enough water. Besides the colors, other things you can check to make sure they are getting enough water is to look at their body and eyes.

In the wild, chameleons typically drink from water drops on leaves after rainfall or from heavy dew. In captivity, an owner should try to replicate these situations. The most common mistakes are either not providing water in the right manner, or giving too little through insufficient spraying. It is very rare for chameleons to drink from a bowl. Your chameleon is likely to become fatally dehydrated if you expect it to do the same. Giving water the right way is straightforward and easy to do.

Here are some suggestions:. There are several ways to successfully provide water for chameleons. Normally, the water will need to run for a few minutes before the chameleon shows interest, and it needs to continue until the animal stops drinking. A daily, cursory spray is insufficient. Spraying must be a sustained event, as it would be during a downpour of rain. The water should be running freely down the leaves and branches for several minutes. And the process should be repeated during the day, not just done once.

This is a good reason why adequate drainage in the cage is essential. This is a good method but requires daily attention and time. The spraying should be done at least twice a day, which for many people is not practical. Pet shops love to sell artificial waterfalls as they look quite attractive as part of the overall set up. However, I recommend avoiding them. They have gained a well-deserved reputation for potential hygiene problems.

This makes sense, as any body of water kept warm and aerated becomes an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. If the chameleon defecates into the water or a cricket carelessly drowns in it, the chances of the water becoming polluted are high. Water drips into the cage through a small hole drilled in the bottom of the box. For better control, I run a short pipe from the bottom of the box to end above some leaves.

By connecting a small plastic tap to the pipe, I can control the amount of water dripping. The kind of tap used in aquariums to control air pumps is ideal. I have found two potential problems with this set-up, neither of which is insurmountable. The first was that the drip system delivered five litres of water inside the cage each day which required good drainage. The second problem was that the hole often got blocked.

If this went unnoticed, the chameleons had no water but as I was working at home, I could fix this before it became a problem. Some books suggest an alternative by placing ice cubes in a plastic container with a small hole in the bottom. As the ice cubes melt, the water trickles through the hole and dribbles down the branches. This idea, however, has several flaws. The first is that the water may be too cold when the chameleon drinks it. The second is that, depending on where you live, the ice cubes are likely to melt too fast for the idea to be practical.

This is by far and away my favourite system. And why not? And, aside from making sure the system continues to function properly, minimal work is involved! Several types of automated watering system, of varying complexity, are available on the market.

In both South Africa and Malaysia, I have relied heavily on automated garden irrigation systems, such as those sold by Gardena, which are set to spray at timed intervals.

He has lived in a 55 gallon aquarium with sand and a water dish his whole life. The first day we had him set up with a dripper and used his empty water dish to catch the droplets. That evening my wife called me into the room to see him and he was drinking from the dish like a cat! We have a reptibreeze on the way and so far have left the dish. I have yet to see him drink off the leaves from the dripper.

He licks when misted. Once we set up the other enclosure that option will be eliminated. But yeah ,it happens When I was at Petco I watched a vield cham drink from a still standing bowl.

My guy I think would. Like if I had a drink cap up in the leaves I'm 90 percent sure he would go drink from it because he always looks for the leaf with the biggest pool of water. When I see my guy drinking I'll use the mister on the drop setting and he comes right over to it and drinks directly from it. The rescue I had was never misted or sprayed in anyway and only had a water bowl. He lived like this for 4 months so apparently they do drink from bowls.

Otherwise there is no way a cham would survive 4 months straight without water. Carlton Chameleon Enthusiast. SilverWolf said:. Click to expand You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads. Which lizards absorb water rather than drinking it. Chameleoking Jul 31, General Discussion. Replies 17 Views Aug 2, suprdude.

Do Chameleons Drink Standing Water. SorSor24 Apr 1, General Discussion.