Behavior after shed

cage type: 16x16x20 screen enclosure
lighting: 5.0 reptisun, 60w incandescent
temp: basking 82, lower back of cage 70's, night temp 68-70, temp and humidity with digital hygrometer/temp.
humidity:50-65, 70-80 after misting
plants: artificial removed live after cham eating soil A LOT. Put stones in and he still got to dirt. Didn't want to risk impaction.
Placement: Back of living room- not a lot of traffic. Top of enclosure 5' off of floor.
Location: Wi

Cham: Male veiled approx 4 mo old. We've had him 3.5 wks.
handling: Not very often.
Feeding: Up to 15 sm-med crickets. Recently upped to large crickets. In the trial period, so around 8 a day. Rotate silkies, and hornworms approx. 1.0-1.5 inches long and feeding 3-4 a day. Wax worms and butterworms sparingly.
Gut load crix with flukers calcium enriched chow, Greens (collard, mustard, romain)carrots, sweet pots, apple, oranges.
H2O: mist 3-4 times a day about 3 min. He HATES misting. Using hot tap h2o in sprayer. Have drip system set up to cascade in artificial leaves to drip bowl. I see him drink from leaves occ. See him sit in cascade in leaves more often.
Droppings: formed stool, with white urates. No test for parasites.
Supplements: Repical with D3 3 times in 2 wks. Reptivite once a week.

Current issue: He just finished his first shed which went well. He was very agitated for a day or so before and today is 1st day post shed and still a little agitated. Eating well, pooing well, color good, basking normal, just pacing more than normal. Noticed he's been opening his mouth frequently. I am aware that this is normal before shed but how about after? No nasal drainage or secretions in his mouth. No labored breathing, wheezing etc. I moved heat light over a few inches reducing basking temp to 79/80 degrees and he hasn't opened his mouth all evening. Noticed white in his nose, left over skin? I was dusting more often until he displayed the white crust on his nose, then backed off. He was opening his mouth more then too, until deposits cleared. Do chams overheat easier after they shed?? Or could it be skin in his nose??? He was VERY stressed with the shed, seems better now.

drinking well? anything that shows his own reflection?

Could you post a picture, please? (If you have any)

ColorCham427 said:

drinking well? anything that shows his own reflection?

Click to expand...

As far as I can tell. Hard to catch him drinking, shy. I did see him drink off of leaves once today and sat in h20 cascade today also. As far as reflection, the only possibility would be in the drip bowl, but that has always been in the same spot. It is clear to minimize reflection.

Here are some pics of during and after.

Open-mouth gaping means that he is too hot. By moving the light up it seems you corrected the issue

As far as the white stuff around his nose, those are salt deposits caused from over supplementing. I like to remove it by getting my fingertips wet first and then rubbing around his nose to help get rid of/ disolve the salt off, especially if it is slightly clogging his nostrils.

Anyways, nice looking cham! His bones look great, and a pissy temperment is common for veileds and is just a sign of good heath. If you handle him daily eventually he won't be so agitated. Good luck !

Frogg on the upswing??

Not feeling right about Frogg's behavior,I talked to my vet Thurs evening. At which point, he got me an appt on Fri at 0830. Upon exam, he promptly diagnosed him with a respiratory infection. He received his first dose by injection and we went home. Sat he was worse with lots of mucus, crackling and wheezing. Didn't move from his basking light all day. I've had the temp up some and the humidity cranked since Wed. He's looking more himself today. Eating better and moving around more. No mouth gaping for the last day or so!!! Not eating with his usual zest, but I'm sure that will return. All though he didn't present with a text book case, I'm quite certain that by the way he looked on the weekend, if I would have waited another day I probably would have lost my cham. But on the up side, so far so good.