basking or gaping?

[SimonTheCham]

her basking temp is 80, and she was near it. but dont they open their mouths to bask? also, she just shed and isnt drinking... its bee about 4-6 days now and is eating but not drinking as much. i would shower her, but i livein wisconsin and we have lots of nasties in tap. and, her crickets are gatheringin the corners and ceiling of her cage. what can i do? she wont go for them up there. and heres a pic of the gaping or basking question.

 

[Carlton]

Sorry, I don't understand your question. Basking isn't the same action as gaping. While a cham is BASKING (perching under the heat lamp and darkening its color to absorb heat and warm up for the day) it may start GAPING (opening the mouth is a way to release body heat...sort of like a dog panting) if it gets too warm. When it moves out of the heat to cool off it should stop gaping.

But, chams will gape for other reasons. They often gape to threaten intruders. They can gape if they have a respiratory infection and have a hard time breathing.

If your tap water isn't safe for YOU to drink you'll have to filter it. If it is safe for you to drink your cham can drink it. Don't limit water or you'll have other problems.

You should be removing the insects from her cage if she doesn't eat them. Crix can and do chew on the cham while its asleep, if they have no other food in the cage.

 

[SimonTheCham]

Sorry, I don't understand your question. Basking isn't the same action as gaping. While a cham is BASKING (perching under the heat lamp and darkening its color to absorb heat and warm up for the day) it may start GAPING (opening the mouth is a way to release body heat...sort of like a dog panting) if it gets too warm. When it moves out of the heat to cool off it should stop gaping.

But, chams will gape for other reasons. They often gape to threaten intruders. They can gape if they have a respiratory infection and have a hard time breathing.

sorry just the puffiness of her neck. is that normal? shesbeendoing it off and on now :/

 

[OwenPowell]

When my chameleons feeling a bit chilly he'll puff up a bit taller and puff out his throat like that to increase the surface area that's absorbing the heat, in addition to darkening his colors.

This looks pretty normal, at least to me.