Hydration Using Ice Cube?

One of the hydration methods in chameleon husbandry, in addition to nighttime fogging and misting, is the use of liquid water from various drippers. These can be purchased at pet stores or improvised using a cup with a perforated bottom or a similar contraption. A simple approach is to place an ice cube on the mesh top of the cage, allowing it to melt due to the surrounding warm air or the heat from a basking lamp. The water droplets will then fall onto the plants in the enclosure, enabling the chameleons to lick the liquid water as needed.

There has been concern, both recently and periodically in the past, about whether cold water could influence a chameleon's well-being and metabolism. While I advocate for careful and detailed husbandry practices, I also believe that chameleons are resilient creatures. It's essential to prioritize significant issues rather than spending time on misconceptions.

When ice cubes melt inside a chameleon's cage, the resulting water droplets quickly reach room temperature due to their small volume. They warm up to the surrounding air temperature within seconds. The concern arises only if the chameleon directly licks ice cubes; however, this is very unlikely to happen. Even if it did occur, the impact on body temperature would be negligible—any change is purely theoretical and not significant.

For example, if a 100 g chameleon swallows five drops of water at 0°C (32°F), its body temperature would drop from 27°C (81°F) to approximately 26.94°C (80.472°F), a decrease of only -0.22%. This minor change is effectively inconsequential regarding overall metabolism or physiological function. Moreover, the temperature of the droplets is never so low, so that the impact is even lower.

To significantly influence body temperature during digestion, a chameleon would need to ingest a much larger volume of cold water—specifically, a drop of 10 degrees Celsius (18°F) would require approximately 58.8 ml (or 1,176 drops) of cold water. This illustrates the absurdity of worrying about the effects of small amounts of cold water. Even in that unlikely scenario, at that temperature, the chameleon would still be able to digest normally. But, it would never drink so much water to increase his weight by 60%.

This discussion highlights how exaggerated concerns can lead to unnecessary debate, underscoring that the impact of small amounts of cold water on chameleons is minimal and not worth the alarm it often causes.