Hi, I need some help....I have a Veiled Chameleon...His name is Kipper I have had him a couple weeks, I have done tons of research on Chameleons, I mist his cage about 3 to 4 times a day and all the leaves and stuff, and a drip system...But I never actually SEE him drink...It bothers me....Any suggestions?

If he is looking healthy and not dehyrated then you know he is drinking, lol...Other than watching him 24/7 you may never see it.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Usually you wont see chams drinking. They are usually very shy creatures that do what they need to do while nobody is watching. A few ways to check and see if he is hydrated: 1 you can pinch his belly skin gently and if it stays out then he needs to drink a bit more, if not then he should be fine, 2 you can look at his eyes, if they are not sunken he is probably fine. But if they are unusually bulgey you might have another problem on your hands. 3 make sure his tongue is sticking and not just shooting out, or if it isnt shooting out very far that might be a sign he is dehydrated.

Good Luck, Im Sure Your Doing Fine

Alex

So its normal to not see them drink? He looks really good...I am just scared I just had the sweetest little chameleon die Come to find out she had been sick since I had her and just didnt know it...Kipper is so much differant than her, it is like night and day. He seems much more healthy. The vet I took her to said it was nothing we did...But I am still paranoid...But who could blame me

His tongue is crazy, haha, he catches his insects really good, he has a VERY healthy appetite, When I mut any insect in there, and I usually do 4 or 5 at a time, they dont last any longer than it takes for me to shut his door to his cage, haha, how many crix should he eat a day?

The same thing happened to me. The problems with chams is that they can hide their illnesses pretty well and an inexperienced keeper might not be able to see the problems. I had my first chameleon die too, I bought her sick and didn't know it. If his eyes look good and he is eating and active then I wouldn't worry .

Alex

That depends on his size. How big is he? And what size crickets are you feeding?

Alex

He eats crickets that are pretty big! He isnt really tiny, I have read you should get them young but not TOO young, ya nkow when they are really little I am pretty sure he is still a Juvenile thought his body is probably like 3 inches if you streched him out, Ha, With his tail and everything he is probably like 6 to 7 inches.

His normal daily eating habits is, 4 crickets, 3 mealies, and a fly or 2, Oh and he likes collard greens too!

Oh and Chameleons are shy and all, but not when there is food in there, haha, He dont care WHO's watchin'! he like, RUNS to where the food is and just starts catching crickets left and right! Very entertaining!

I would feed him more crickets. One day just see how many he will eat and get about 20 or so ready for him. Thats great that he will eat the collard greens too. But I was wondering, do you have live plants in the cage? If not you should probably get some, if Veileds are on fake plants they will try to eat them and that can cause some problems. Also, try an occasional wax worm just to get an even more varied diet :P

Alex

He did have a live Collard plant in there, but then I read that they cant be planted in soil that has any fertilizer in it, so I took it out, and you cant find them planted in anything else BUT fetilized Soil, So I am starting my own in Organic Soil. And I am afraid to put ficus in there cuz they say the milk can give them eye infections, and they say the pothos canGive them too much of something that breaks down there calcium, What should I do???