Chameleon Den. Hydration for chameleons

Training chameleons to take water from a pipette is an excellent way
of adding to hydration levels and is very helpful when medication
needs to be administered.

Water plays a vital role in all living things and chameleons are no exception, their hydration requirements is just one of the reasons chameleon keeping is so challenging when compared to keeping most other commonly kept reptiles.
In the wild, chameleons obtain sufficient amounts of water from morning due drops on the surface of leaves and foliage, they will also lap at rain that collects on their rostral process during downpours and it is this that makes the method of water delivery in captivity so important.

Chameleons will not recognise standing water and therefore will not drink from a bowl like most other animals.
The best two methods to keep your chameleon adequately hydrated are by spraying and dripping, or preferably a combination of the two.

Panther chameleons should be sprayed two to three times a day with luke warm water, this can be done with the help of a normal hand held water sprayer which can be obtained from most garden centres or DIY stores. You can also obtain water drippers from most good reptile specialists, they are a simple design comprising of a plastic container with a small delivery tube and a valve to regulate drip speed. These can be filled with water and placed on top of the enclosure, the tube is then placed inside the cage above foliage so that the water droplets form on the leaves for the chameleon to drink from. Drippers can be set to run for long periods of up to an hour at a time and can be used in conjunction with spraying to provide adequate hydration levels. However you must ensure that there is some sort of drainage or water collection to stop the accumulation of water in the bottom of the cage. If you keep multiple animals then an automated spray system can be used, these are excellent for watering numerous cages simultaneously and can be set on a timer for when you are not at home.

For some reason not yet known to us, a chameleon’s response to drinking is sometimes very slow, to the point where they can sit in a well watered enclosure and show no interest in drinking whatsoever.

I have even seen this behaviour in dehydrated animals that are in obvious need of higher hydration levels.For this reason you must spray for extended periods of time to give enough time for the chameleons drinking response to kick in. A trick I find works well is to spray initially for 1-2 minutes and then stop for a minute or two, when you resume spraying the chameleon will often start drinking. The second spraying should last around 3-5 minutes or until water run off can be seen on the foliage.

Hand held spray bottles are an essential tool to any chameleon keeper.	Water drippers are excellent for use in conjunction with spraying twice daily.

The correct placement of plants and foliage within the cage is very important in making sure that water can collect on leaves after spraying or dripping, an enclosure which contains mostly branching and thin stemmed plants will soon lead to a dehydrated chameleon, even if adequate spraying is achieved.Another thing to consider is the time frame between spraying, always ensure your enclosure dries completely between watering, if your enclosure stays constantly wet it will promote mould and bacteria growth and will be a health hazard to your chameleon. Also never spray your chameleon directly unless they seem to tolerate it, each individual is different and although some will enjoy a shower, others will avoid it like the plague.

You must also remember that the times in which you spray your chameleon are also important. You must allow your chameleon cage to reach optimum temperatures in the morning before spraying to ensure they have had enough time to bask and warm their body temperature.If you spray the enclosure around an hour after the lights come on then this should be plenty of time for them to bask and warm up.
The same applies for the last spray of the day, always perform the last spraying a few hours before the lights go out. Never spray shortly before the night cycle as the cooling temperatures and excess water and humidity could cause respiratory infection, especially in younger chameleons. (See problems page).

Humidity

Throughout the panther chameleons range humidity levels can vary between 60% and 90%. This is a very high humidity to maintain in a captive environment without keeping the cage constantly wet which is not recommended. Luckily, panther chameleons seem to do well in captivity with humidity levels between 45% and 65% which is much easier to maintain.

As long as they receive adequate spraying two to three times a day and the humidity has the chance to elevate, the humidity in the enclosure can safely drop to 45% between each misting with no issues at all. Any lower than this may cause problems with skin shedding.