Black/dark teeth?

Hello. It doesn't look like mouth rot but my veiled chameleons teeth specifically appear to be black. There's nothing indicative of mouth rot in her gum line or around her mouth, but her teeth are discolored/black. I've never seen this before and I'm not sure what the cause could be.

  • Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon, female, approximately 2 years/just under 2 years. Just under 2 years?
  • Handling - fairly infrequent, maybe once a week in the summers, I just take her outside and let her bask in the heat on my shoulder or on my hat.
  • Feeding - crickets usually. Occasionally dubia roaches, rarely mealworms as a treat? 10 or so crickets every 3 days, dusted with calcium, and biweekly on sundays I give vitamin supplement with calcium. I give my feeders repashi bug burger.
  • Supplements - rep-cal calcium at every feeding and reptivite bi-weekly on sundays.
  • Watering - i mist multiple times a day, if I notice they are looking dehydrated I will offer water directly into their mouths with a spray bottle and let them drink their fill. I've tried drippers but they don't use them and the drippers often get filled with gunk. Usually 3 times a day for a couple minutes? Yes I see them drink and when I don't I watch for symptoms like eyes looking slightly sunken in, dry scales, and lethargy in order to make sure they are getting water.
  • Fecal Description - colors are brown, and the white calcium bit with a little yellow urate at the end. No parasite testing.
  • History - she did recently lay eggs. I'm wondering if perhaps the eggs caused her to lose calcium which has affected the coloration of her teeth, but that's just a hypothesis because I haven't seen any symptoms of mouth rot. Overall she seems healthy, she eats as scheduled, isn't lethargic, and drinks water regularly.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - aluminum mesh, wooden frame, 20x20x48
  • Lighting - arcadia UVB ballast and a grow ballast for the plants, lights go on around 6AM and come off at 7PM
  • Temperature - ranges from 60 (room temp)-80 degrees, basking branch is located closer to the 75 degree range. Lowest overnight temp? I have a digital thermometer I use to measure the range.
  • Humidity - humidity levels approx 60%. I live in oregon and the air is fairly humid here. In the summers I use a humidifier to keep it at 60% and mist 3 times daily as well. I don't have a gauge to measure humidity, but the air here in oregon is humid.
  • Plants - Dracanae, pothos, palm tree.
  • Placement - cages are located in living room but it's just me and my fiancee and we rarely walk past them. They have a ton of plant cover so they aren't exposed. Not near any fans or vents. The cages are on a custom built drain table so at the point of basking they are 5-6 feet off of the floor.
  • Location - oregon
I'll work on getting a picture for you, I don't have one at this moment in time.
 
I couldn't really get her to open, so pardon the grab on the glular pouch, I used it to pull her lips to the side for a pic of her teeth and gum line
20220830_155954.jpg
 
It happens. For some reason they are easily stained. WIth some powders of vitamins or minerals, it can stain up all the teeth at once. Even oral medications can do it. As long as the gums look healthy you are fine.
 
It happens. For some reason they are easily stained. WIth some powders of vitamins or minerals, it can stain up all the teeth at once. Even oral medications can do it. As long as the gums look healthy you are fine.
They do seem to be fine... it really seems to be the teeth across the board but I'll keep an eye on it regardless. Thank you for the reply.
 
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