Mouth open??

Every day when i come home from work my cham mouth is open. Is it to hot for him, his cage? Or to cold? His normal temps are 78-85 degrees. I just upgraded to a bigger cage 4ft x 2ft x 2ft and have 100 w basking light for him. Please let me know. I mist his cage every 2 hours (my roomate does) . Thanks.

How old is he and what breed?

he ia a year old and is a graceful!

Having their mouth open is a way they exspell heat. Not sure about the species and their needs. You might want to google it and found out more.

I do not know much about graceful's specifically but do you ever see stringy spit in his mouth or hear him rasp at all? If it is not temps it may be an upper respiratory infection.

no stringy spit or i don't hear him rasp for air.

Is 85 the temperature for his basking spot? A 100 w basking bulb is alot. I use a 50 w basking bulb. You can also use a regular household bulb as a heat sorce.

its normally 85 for his basking spot. The reason why i bought a 100 w basking spot is because of his cage is so big . The last cage i had it was smaller and i was using a household bulb.

He still may be too hot. I use the 50 w on a 2x2x4 cage as well. How close to the light is the basking spot? You may have to raise the light a little away from the cage to lower the temps a little.

You should fill out the 'How to ask for Help' sticky and post a few pics of your setup. Here's the link:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Sounds to me like there is a really hot chameleon....a dip in the pool might sound like a good idea to this guy.... Or ME

Is he sitting under the light when he does this gaping? If you move him away from the light (if he is sitting there) does he shut his mouth?

Gaping like that can be due to organ failure, respiratory issues or overheating...or a number of other things.

He's gaping when he's away from the light too.... There is some salyva in his mouth when he gapes.... I think that's a bad thing ...... Is it??? Now I'm worried

Any input guys...?.?.?.?.?.?.?

Do you have any pictures of him and his setup?

ChamNation said:

He's gaping when he's away from the light too.... There is some salyva in his mouth when he gapes.... I think that's a bad thing ...... Is it??? Now I'm worried

Click to expand...

Wrong thread...

I would take a pix but my roomate and i are thinking its the basking light maybe its a little to much. I'm thinking 75-50 w maybe could be help full. His basking light is 8" away from his branch that he is basking from. (If i'm measuring right).

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2064/cagea.jpg

The basking spot does look a little close for a 100 w bulb. You could try raising the light off the top of the cage a little instead of having to buy a new bulb.

okay thanks bridgofaith =)

Hope it helps!

me too =) thanks again