# Won't drink standing water!



## Sason (Sep 26, 2016)

My tegu acts like a chameleon and only likes to drink water off his enclosure walls and objects and plants. Has anyone else ever heard of or experienced this? I soak him everyday because that's where he likes to defecate and it keeps his tank clean. I spray his cage for humidity and that is the only way too get him to drink. It's hard to keep him hydrated drinking drops of water at a time also there are tiny pieces of mulch that get mixed in with the water and him ingesting that makes me nervous! I have noticed the white part of his stool id's starting to get firm and I am worried about dehydration. Any thoughts?


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## Sason (Sep 26, 2016)

This is Maximus he is a chicoan white head male. He is almost three months old and 25 inches long!


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## Walter1 (Sep 26, 2016)

Sason said:


> This is Maximus he is a chicoan white head male. He is almost three months old and 25 inches long!


Does he have a large shallow water bowl that would be hard to miss? He should and if so, he'll find it. Could be a habit he picked up from where he came from.


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## Sason (Sep 26, 2016)

I have had him since he was 3 days old. In the beginning he drank from his bowl but I haven't seen him do that in a while. When I spray his tank he always drinks from the droplets that gather. I was thinking I would stop spraying his cage and see if he gets thirsty enough if he would drink from his bowl. I don't want him to get to dry though.


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## Walter1 (Sep 26, 2016)

Sason said:


> I have had him since he was 3 days old. In the beginning he drank from his bowl but I haven't seen him do that in a while. When I spray his tank he always drinks from the droplets that gather. I was thinking I would stop spraying his cage and see if he gets thirsty enough if he would drink from his bowl. I don't want him to get to dry though.


Well, spray every other day on the side above his water bowl, see what happens. He'll drink.


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## dpjm (Sep 26, 2016)

Tegus tend to drink a lot of water, so this is something to keep on top of.

Try spraying into the water bowl. He might notice the water moving and drink. You could set up a drip system that drips into the water bowl for more continuous stimulation. Cleaning and refilling the water bowl daily also might help. 

I don't think water deprivation is a good idea, even for training purposes.


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## Justin (Sep 28, 2016)

I very rarely see mine drink from his bowl but it's there if he needs it or wants to throw dirt in it as is often the case.


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## Walter1 (Sep 28, 2016)

Justin said:


> I very rarely see mine drink from his bowl but it's there if he needs it or wants to throw dirt in it as is often the case.


Same here, except mine flip it to see if something tasty is underneath. Never is, but they check anyway.


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## ophidia (Oct 4, 2016)

I see mine drink frequently. She then kicks a bunch of moss into it because she's apparently not a fan of clean water. She usually drinks deeply after she's been roaming around getting exercise, even though I have a water bowl for her right by her "I'm going on an adventure!" basking light.


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