Can I Spray My Chameleon With Water?

Can you name a single animal that doesn’t need water? We bet you can’t. So, clearly, reptiles like chameleons need water too, right? But they don’t seem to be a frequent drinker. This is where the question pops up if you can spray your chameleon with water to keep it hydrated or not.

Well, you surely can spray your chameleon but we won’t call spraying them directly a good idea there’s a chance of it stressing them. But doing that in the right way can get them hydrated without stressing them out.

Now the question is, are there any other effective ways to hydrate them apart from jumping over them with a spray bottle? Well, there are and this article is about to lead you towards them. All you need to do is just keep reading.

Is It Okay To Spray Your Chameleon With Water?

Lots of chameleon owners probably consider spraying as the easiest way to keep their lizard hydrated. Well, we can’t blame them on this as under initial observation anyone will think it that way.

The thing is owners are allowed to spray water on their chameleons. But if you’re calling it the best way, then we’ll have to disagree. There are lots of other ways to keep them hydrated apart from spraying them directly and freaking them out.

Still, if you’re planning to go for it, make sure the water you’re using matches the room temperature. Also, ensure that it’s chemical-free as the water lizards usually get in nature come that way.

As Chameleons take lots of water in using their skin, spraying them will surely serve the purpose which is keeping them hydrated. Just be sure that you’re not overdoing it as that can lead the lizard to numerous health issues.

Can You Wet A Chameleon?

Yes, you can get your chameleon wet. But what you should ask in the first place is – whether you should do it and if yes, then how should you do it? Well, if you’re thinking about doing it by giving it a bath, then we’d say you better skip the idea.

The reason is – these lizards don’t need baths. Probably you’re wondering – if all the other pets like cats and dogs need to get cleaned through a bath, then why chameleons are an exception? Even birds take baths too at times, right?

Bathing is unnecessary for chameleons because they have a different way to get themselves cleaned. That doesn’t mean all the species hate water. But most of them avoid being around water as they’ve got no swimming skills.

On top of that, bathing them does nothing but leads them to extreme stress, and we guess you already know what stress can do to them. But when it comes to baby chameleons, bathing is more dangerous than ever as there’s a chance of them drowning in the water, no matter how low the amount of water is.

So, if you’ve got a pet chameleon, there’s no need for you to give it a bath or hand wash. As they’ve been roaming on earth more than we humans are, they clearly know how to get rid of all the dirt in their bodies. 

Interestingly, they usually don’t get dirty. Well, we won’t say a little mud won’t make them look dirty but a few minutes in the rain is enough for them to get clean as new.

Now the question is, can they get rid of their dead skin too without a bath? Well, they can. That’s what shedding is all about, remember?

By the way, you’re now probably wondering how would you take care of the bad smell then that comes from them at times. Well, don’t blame them for it as it’s usually triggered by an uncleaned enclosure. So, focus on cleaning that up first.

Do Chameleons Need Misting?

Yes, we agree that misting is like usual methods usually follow in keeping other pets hydrated but it’s definitely essential for chameleons. The two prime purposes of misting are maintaining the right humidity level in the chameleon’s enclosure and keeping it hydrated.

When it comes to humidity, experts ask to maintain the relative humidity in the enclosure at the level of 50-75%. The reason to do this is just to replicate the level of humidity these reptiles usually get at their natural home – the tropical rainforest.

Plus, low humidity plays a significant role in dropping a negative impact on the lizard’s health. If you’re asking for the names of problems, then we can say injuries triggered by shedding issues and also, respiratory infections.

And guess what? If the humidity level reaches above 75%, it can still call in numerous health issues. Here, the most common ones are Respiratory infections which are mostly caused by the increase in mold and bacteria.

But when you’re actually ensuring proper misting, it’s quite possible to hold the humidity within the numbers of 50% to 75%.

One more thing! Just misting is not always enough to keep the humidity on point. You also need to take care of a bunch of other things. For example – you need to move the cage away from A/C vents and heater along with keeping it away from the windows.

Also, try adding a humidifier to your lizard’s room. And don’t forget to add live plants to its enclosure as well.

Now comes the hydration part. The thing is, like most of the reptiles out there, chameleons too take lots of moisture through their skin. But when it comes to drinking water, they don’t go for any other source of water apart from a rainstorm. After all, that’s what activates their drinking instincts.

But it’s quite obvious that you won’t be able to bring the rainstorm into your house. So, misting is the best possible chance you’ve got as it will replicate the feeling of rain for the reptile.

Lots of the chameleon owners, especially the new ones, try to do misting using a hand spray. The problem is they do it for less than a minute and all they get to see is their lizard is not drinking at all.

Actually, if the water is not falling for at least a couple of minutes, the reptile doesn’t feel like it’s raining. So, to make them drink the water droplets from the leaves, they need to keep misting for two minutes at least.

This is why misting systems are getting popular as they can maintain consistency for two minutes with ease and some of them can do it automatically.

How Long Should I Mist My Chameleon?

The duration of the misting is basically dependent on the kind of cage or enclosure you’re using for keeping your lizard. If the one you’re using is the combo or glass cage, it’s better to keep the misting session shorter.

But when it comes to screen cage, try to make it 4 minutes per session at least. Now the question is should you stick to this time in all the seasons? Well, no. If it’s the hotter seasons of the year, try adding 2 extra minutes in every session. And yes, if you’re misting the cage early in the morning, make the session 8-10 minutes long.

How Often Should You Spray Your Chameleon With Water?

In order to keep the lizard hydrated, it’s important to stick to a certain schedule where the right frequency is maintained. When it comes to spraying or misting, we say keep the frequency two to four times at least in order to ensure proper humidity and hydration.

Some of the owners even suggest misting for 40 minutes every day. They usually do it in the morning for 20 minutes, for 5 minutes when it’s midday, and 15 minutes during the afternoon.

This way the chameleon will be perfectly hydrated without hesitating while sitting in the water. But you’ll also have to make sure that the cage got a proper draining system as you don’t want it to stay damp for long.

Should I Mist My Chameleon At Night?

There’s no problem with misting at night and so far, no chameleon owner has reported no negative impact of such an act. Some of them even said it’s a great move and brings in positive results for the lizards.

But for that, you need to be sure about the water temperature and it has to match the room temperature in the first place. And also, don’t think about misting the spot where the reptile goes for its good night sleep.

The thing is – in the wild, rainstorms can get started even at night and the lizards can move to other suitable places for their sleep. But in a smaller space like the enclosure or cage, doing something like that is quite tough.

How Do You Mist A Chameleon Cage?

There are basically numerous ways to mist a chameleon cage and keep the lizard hydrated. But that doesn’t mean all of them are equally effective. Though experts usually ask to stick to one or two that will make the chameleon owners struggle less, we’d like to tell you about all of them.

Hand Spraying

In a sense, it’s the most cost-efficient way of misting a chameleon’s cage. But this one asks for time and attention on a daily basis. In this method, you’ll have to mist at least twice every day. So in a sense, not every chameleon owner counts it as a practical way.

You can surely give it a try if you’ve got strong hands that can hold on to a 5-liter pump spray, especially when there is more than one cage for you to take care of. Otherwise, you can just move to the next option.

Automatic Misting System

The automatic misting system seems to have gained a fair share of popularity among the chameleon owners as that cuts off the hassles of hand spraying once and for all. This tech will spray water every three to four hours for an adjustable duration of 3-10 minutes every time.

But it’s better to try out different misting periods depending on the duration. To check out if you’re lizard is being enticed to drink or not, you should apply both quicker and longer misting sessions. And yes, we’d say you better skip soaking the whole cage as the lizard needs some basking spot too, right?

One more thing! While placing the misting head, don’t even think about putting it in a place where it might come in touch with that heat bulb of yours. Clearly, this won’t only shatter the bulb but might also get the lizard injured.

For taking care of the timing, you can install one of the regulating devices available on the market. It’ll monitor the humidity and if goes down, the device will turn the mister on automatically and keep misting under your determined time frame.

Foggers

It might not be the best way to hydrate your lizard but surely works to a certain extent and works quite well. The prime purpose of this device is to provide drinkable water for the chameleon in the cage.

You already know that chameleons don’t drink directly from any static source like a bowl or small jar. What a fogger does is helps the lizard drink water from the leaves that are there in the form of dewdrops, just the way drink out there, in their natural homes.

Final Words

If you’re still holding that bottle in your hand and thinking if you can or not spray your chameleon with water, then we guess this article has given you a clear idea of that.

Spraying, or in a more accurate way, misting is all about keeping the lizard hydrated and ensuring the perfect humidity level for making their survival easier. But doing it in the wrong way will do nothing but stress them out.

So before you go back to the cage, spray on your lizard, and get it stressed, we say you better learn the right way to do that first.