breathing through mouth help?

[kim01]

Cage Type - 100 gallon reptarium
Lighting - 10.0 reptial tube light 60 watt standard bulb basking area
Temperature - right now the low part is 70,under the basking area is 85,and in the middle where he sleeps is 78
Humidity - 86 i just misted about 30 minutes ago,it has also poured down rain today- i just checked and the humidity is down to 76
Plants - fake vines,a hanging pothos,a fiscus tree,and a yellow climbing flower it was said to be ok on here
Location - in bedroom

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - panther 18 weeks old
Feeding - crickets gut loaded with collard grees,endive,and dandelion greens
Supplements - non at this time,he has the white in his nose and was told on here to not supplement for a bit.
Watering - misted 3 times a day,and has a dripper over the pthos
Fecal Description - the last one was friday night,it had blood at the end.
History - i just noticed he is sitting under his basking light and is breathing out his mouth. he has been active today,and has eaten,and has drank.but is breathing otu of his mouth,not constantly but it is happening.
the fecal sample accidentaly got thrown away so i am waiting to take to the vet when i have a new one. i did call the vet about this just a minute ago and he said no need to rush him in. but to turn the humidity way up and the heat?
i thought that the high humidity wasn't good. not sure about the heat.
since reading the bottom two posts i put my hand in the enclosure and that made him move down pretty quick too,but he was still breathing out of mouth. i did get right up next to him he has no mucous in mouth or throat,and no wheezing or noises of any sort.

so wha do i do at this point? is what that vet said correct?
Current Problem -

 

[Julirs]

Vets amaze me. If he is doing that under the basking light he may just be a bit too hot. Check your temps where he is sitting, but it really doesn't even have to be all that hot for them to do it. If your humidity is in the normal range, I would not up it, or the heat as your temps seem fine.

 

[dectr6]

I wouldn't worry about it. I have one that's done that since he was 3 months old. He's probably just too hot and hasn't figured out to move to a cooler part of the cage. Be sure there's a good temp. gradiant. I was worried at first with mine but he's over a year old now, the picture of health and still does it 3 or 4 times a week. I do have questions about his intelligence though. I'll just move his basking light a little further back and he stops. Keep us informed and good luck. David

 

[kim01]

i have had him 3 weeks today and have never seen him doing this. so you thnk it is ok?
also any way to get a fecal sample from him? lol i jsut had to laugh,i'm sure it is almost impossible but needed to ask.

 

[dodolah]

hey kim,
is this the same chameleon that has blood in its stool?

 

[dectr6]

Kim, If this is the same one that had blood in it's stool then I would watch this closely. I was under the assumption that this was a newly obtained animal with no previous problems. Listen to his breathing and be sure you don't hear any popping noises or any unusual noises. Keep us posted. David

 

[kim01]

yes this is the same one that had that issue. i was goign to take him in today,however the sample i had in the fridge got thrown out.
he is dark in color so i don't think he is too hot. the humdidty is down now to 67 percent.
he will be going in tomorrow,however i was hoping to take a sample with me.
any ideas for tonight?
the vet i talked with said he would be fine over night and to raise the humditiy and turn his heating up.
i did listen to his breathing no noises of any kind. ther is no mucos or bubbles as i have read some others have.

 

[Zanish]

I would tend to agree that "gaping" (opening mouth and breathing, usually quick deep breaths) is most commonly done because the cham is a bit too hot. That being said, it is definitely not the only reason. I've seen a parasitic worm lodge itself in the nasal cavity in the roof of a cham's mouth, blocking it's nasal passage breathing. I've seen a cham gape when it accidentally drank to fast and aspirated some water. Boy, that was horrific to watch, the cham thought it was dying, now I have a better appreciation for the effectiveness of water-boarding... I've also seen a cham GAPE and breath through it's mouth after normal drinking, or normal eating (swallowing), or even after it has eaten/drank too much to the point of discomfort of some sort. If I had to guess from my observations of this over-eating, it seemed like the cham had filled it/s stomach (and likely still had plenty in it's intestines) to the point that it couldn't fully inflate it's lungs as easily as it would have liked .So it's not only done when they are hot, that's for sure.

But, from the explanation you gave us about the Vet call, if you gave us all the exact info you told the Vet, I do not understand how he could have deducted that your basking temperature was insufficient and should be raised (did he say to what temperature to raise it too??) when the chameleon is definitely showing strong signs it may be getting too hot in the basking area. I also agree that some chams just have trouble learning where to move to when they get too hot. I've had a cham go closer to the light because it was too hot where it was perched. The retarded thing climbed the screen all the way to the top corner of the enclosure right under the light, freaking out.... rubbing it's nose on the hottest part of the screen trying to get away from the heat. Holy shwizzz, I had to open the door super fast, and grab the cham without the slightest hesitation for gentleness to get his butt outa that hairy situation urgently.. I had to relocate it's basking perch totally after seeing that, and no longer put any basking light all the way to one side of the cage ( I had originally done this to give a better gradient UBV & Heat/Light.... but seeing the cham head right for a spot with more heat, I've lost faith in those experts who say chams know how much ( insert whatever you want here) they need and when they've had enough they'll stop, or move. Ha!~ ya right... maybe SOME chams know this, have learned it, but certainly not all of them. Maybe they know how much they need, or want... but all of them sure as heck don't know what to do with that information every time
So, was there any info that you told the vet that might have signaled higher basking temps that you didn't mention to us?? I'm cross-eye at that one... maybe higher temps and humidity working hand-in-hand were prescribed for something the vet may be onto that we don't know??? Doesn't jive in my simple mind, but I didn't spend yrs studying animals in a Vet school either. But common sense tells me not to make a hot cham hotter, especially one that doesn't have the sense to move to a cooler spot when it does get too hot....And that's a FACT, Jack!

 

[carol5208]

This thread is 5 years old!!!! WTH????