9 Month old Male Veiled mouth gaping

Jimbyjimb

New Member
As in title, my Chameleon, Winston the benevolent and dignified, is a nine-month old veiled purchased from A Place for Pets in Burien, Wa.

Handling - Sporadic. Once a week generally. He is very friendly and almost seems to like it.
Feeding - Crickets, 5-7 Large a day, gut loaded with carrots, kale, almonds, etc, etc.. All based off of these forums.
Supplements - RepCal products exclusively. Calcium sans D3 every other day, Calcium with D3 every other week, multivitamin every other week.
Watering - Misting twice daily. Morning mist is warm. I have a dripper all day, also have a pothos plant he eats like crazy.
Fecal Description - Dark brown, not runny. White urate with a yellow tip on occasion.
History - Just finishing a shed. He is SUPER active, always has been.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Custom cedar 3'X2'X4' tall.
Lighting - 7a-7P, ReptiSun 5.0 36", 100W basking area with adjustable ZooMed lamp and ZooMed bulb.
Temperature - Day- 90-100 degrees basking, 70-80 ambient degrees. Night time temp 60-70 degrees, no basking.
Humidity - Hygrometer in lower cage, 70+ percent humidity. Seattle is humid.
Plants - Pothos/Ficus Benjamina
Placement - On floor, table in construction. Near external door that I leave open all day for good airflow.
Location - Seattle, Washington.

Current Problem - He is gapng his mouth. Vet visit today, found nothing in his mouth during vet's inspection. Vet examined feces. Currently awaiting bloodwork.

He has been intermittently gaping his mouth for a week now. It has nothing to do with day/night/temp. He makes no noise, no wheezing, just gapes. He is just now getting through a shed.

The Vet is a local, reputable gentleman named Dr. Maas at The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine in Bothell, Wa. He suggested about 500 dollars in exams, I opted to handle only the bloodwork/CBC.

Winston behaves as normal. He climbs like a monkey on cocaine, eats like a pig and loves to try to climb on my face. His temperment/general behavior seems normal except for the gaping.

Thanks all, I've been a lurker for some time. This is a great place.

JB
 
Excuse me, I should add that we have had him for one month. All care/setup was based on this site's basic layouts. The Vet made only one suggestion to me today, and that was that in his opinion, the 10.0 UVB is a better choice for the Yemen, and that my basking temp of 85-95 was too low. I have raised it to full power on the 100W bulb, about 10 inches above his general basking spot.

He also said that basking temps of 115 are acceptable for the Yemen. This contradicts informatrion I have read from multiple individuals on these forums, but he is a Vet that specializes in this species. He also said he bred Yemens and that was how he kept his cages.
 
Try lowering basking temps, 10degrees and see if he stops. I work with panthers exclusively, but I would def try that.
 
I tried lowering his basking temps below 85 for two days, made no difference. He'll do it during the day in his basking area, out of his basking area and he'll do it at night with all lights off.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

JB
 
He hasn't been gaping in the last two days since I raised his basking temp to about 105 degrees.

Any insight?

Still no evidence of RI.
 
They gape when they are too hot.

105 is roasting him.

how are you measuring his temps?

he may have been opening his jaw so start the shed on his face.
 
I have an infrared thermometer. Again, his basking spot was about 90, he was gaping, I lowered it to about 80, he was still gaping during the night, during the day, in or out of the basking area. Per the vet's advice two days ago I raised it to 100-105 degrees, no more gaping.

I get 85-90 degrees body temp on his sides. I get 105-110 degrees at the mesh, 95-100 degrees on his highest basking vine, his usual hang-out spot.
 
Can you post photos of him.

Most of us with veileds simply don't keep them that hot.

I keep my adult male at 88 deg and he does just fine with it.

I'm thinking honestly, he was trying to pop the shed on his face.
 
I have seen him do his 'shedding dance' as he is currently shedding, but when he gapes it's just as though he's breathing through his mouth. It's just open a crack, and it was intermittent. I have done nothing besides raise basking temps, no treatment in the last two days and he hasn't been gaping at all.

Otherwise, he seems perfectly happy. Eating lots, running around like a spastic monkey climbing all over, healthy urate/feces, loves to be handled so he's not grumpy, etc, etc...

I've searched the forums like a madman and have found some similar cases. Most turned out to be RI, some high basking temps, some just random that went away. Perhaps it is just him wanting to shed.

I imagine the bloodwork analysis will be back soon. I'll post the results.
 
Working on photos now. He plainly has a shed on his face, and you're probably right and it's likely a new owner freaking out about nothing.
 
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He looks ok.

so he was probably trying to pop the shed, though I would still lower his temps some.
 
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