Uromastyx.org

Hey guys,

im just wondering, as the diet of a captive chuckwalla contains much greater moisture than that of a wild chucks diet, does this mean that captive chuckwallas are very unlikely to suffer from dehydration?

this seems quite obviously the case to me, unless there is underlying health issues.
my chucks do seem to store a little water but never a great deal and they so pass clear water in their urates indicating to me that they are well hydrated through their diet as i do not supply them with water.

i did originally leave a water for them to access but they never appeared to use it. however once i did find faeces in the bowl but this could have been do them being on the bamboo gym directly above rather then the actually sitting in the water and going to the loo.

they dont seem to enjoy bath time either. which would make sense, pools of water would be far and few between in their wild habitat no?
i have bathed them twice, mainly because they walk through thier own droppings occassionally and to aid shedding, especially around the face (eyes/nose/mouth)

Quick answer to this LMS. Babies, hatchling up to about 2-3 months are prone to dehydration. They should be misted daily and they will drink. They freak but then come out of the hide and lap at the water. Have also seen them drink out of a water dish. Feed well hydrated greens. This is where I have noticed the young mentioned become bound up if fed to much dandelion flowers. I feed my adults almost exclusively the dande flowers for 2 weeks to a month straight in May when they are plentiful and it does not seem to affect them at all.

Tom

oh great stuff. i will place the water dish back in the the vivariums in the morning and during active hours then. hopefully they will make use of it.
i wash all of the greens before cutting and applying supplements so they have a fair bit of water in them. i do take dab them with kitchen tissue as straight after being washed the dandelion greens especially are soaking wet. because they are grow wild i like to make sure there isnt anything on them with a good wash and rinse.

the breeders of my two boys did have water avaliable to them when they were that age also.

what about adults? have you ever known adults to become dehydrated?