Brown/ black teeth on my veiled chameleon

[Aricari]

Hey guys. My chameleon has been eating/ drinking water just fine. I have his cage set up in my office where he can also craw around and I have vines/ branches set up for him to explore. Recently he has been sitting on branches with his mouth open. He’s not under his heat lamp or nothing and so one time I looked at his mouth and his teeth are brown/ black ish. He eats sill worms/ horn worms/ occasional grass hoppers/ dubias/ wax worms/ meal worms and loves cilantro and Bok Choy mixed with the above. I give him multi vitamins once a month and calcium often.
In the pictures it is hard to see as they were screen shotted from a video. But you can tell the discoloration. Also can barely see the top teeth but it also looks like they are changing colors.

 

[Aricari]

• Veiled Chameleon, Male, 3 years old. In my care for 2
• I handle my Cham almost every day. He has a vine/ branch set up outside his cage and roams freeley and goes in and out his cage as he pleases.
• For the most part he eats silk worms that are gut loaded with the brow stuff the container comes with from the store , wax worms, and the occasional meal worms that eat dry oats.
• Calcium and multivitamin supplements the most common brand
• I mist every day and he also has a constant dripper.
• Poops regular brown and white colors. Recently he had a really watery poop/pee but it was when he was really horny and would hump my hand.
• I’m located in Colorado, his humidity levels range from 40-60. Humidifier is in his room. 2 UVB fixtures and heat ranges from 85-92. All fake plants and on the bottom I use the reptile dirt with the coconut shavings. Screen cage and he goes back and forth to the window and back to his cage. I work from home so he is always in my sight.

 

[MzLaurie11]

Welcome! I dont kniw anything about toith decay in veileds but i do know that when they sit with their mouths agape it is an indicator of a respitory infection. also substrate in thebottom of a veileds cage is a no no. mold can be deadly to these guys. Also learned the hard way about coconut shavings with a tortoise. It has parasites in it and almost killed him. If u have to use it, put the whole block in the freezer for three days to kill off any parasites. as u know, veileds eat plants so everyone except the stores advocate for real plants. Someone will know about the teeth. Oh watery urate i have had some experience with, it was a sperm plug that came out on its own. With two heads leaking sperm, it can accumulate quickly and looks like a brownish wax. Once it crowns at the vent it can be pulled out easily.

 

[Aricari]

Hello! Thanks for your response. What other signs come with a respiratory infection and is this something you take them for the vet to cure for antibiotics? This guy eats and drinks fine and other than his mouth agape he is totally normal. I also did not know about the coconut shavings having parasites. I have been using it a while and see no parasites? Does that happen all the time or just sometimes ? I also drip his water in a bowl so there is no mold on the bottom and pick out his fecal matter and any food to prevent ants as well.

 

[MzLaurie11]

Yes antibiotics needs vet unless you have some. Head pointing upward, sylivia in the mouth. My boys casque got a grayish color on and off, but i have not read that under symptoms anywhere but i did observe it. The gaped mouth is the big sign. Remember these guys hide sickness till its usually too late. Since you handle him everyday, u know something is wrong. i would set an appt with your vet asap. Mouth gaped and teeth discolored! Take a fecal sample with you. Get rid of the substrate. It is actually easier and cleaner to deal with. your cham will poo at the same place everyday so its easy to deal with once u know where that place is just put a paper towel down and voila easy peasy. Coconut shavings: a reptile breeder here in los angeles helped me with my golden greek tort. He said NEVER use cococut shavings. You cannot see the patasites and this stuff is coming from around the world so reputable goes out the window..He said if i had to have a substrate use only newspaper! That was about 12 years ago and have never had a problem since! Like i said freeze the whole brick for three days if u have to use it. Its just best if u dont.

 

[MzLaurie11]

Oh, if u dont have a vet there is a list on this site somewhere that members add to all the time. If u live near LA i have a great one

 

[MzLaurie11]

Colorado, sorry just reread it. Dont wait, get your buddy to a vet. Also make sure no AC vents are hitting him.

 

[MzLaurie11]

You should post some pics of his cage and lights so you can fix the issues. mine hadso get him to a vet an upper respitory infection hence the syliva but yours may have RI or pneumonia. so get him go a vet then figure out what is off in your husbandry and change it so it doesnt happen again. Oh uvb bulbs go bad after a year and you should have a linear one 24 inches i like reptisun T5 HO. Seperate basking light with 75 watt bulb. I have all live plants so i have a plant light too by Sansi. Cage info is good at chameleon academy.com

 

[kinyonga]

hiw does he get UVB light when he's out of the cage? What specific UVB light do you use? Long linear, compact?
More specific about the supplements please...do they have phos, calcium, D3 or preformed vitamin A in them? Do you dust lightly? How often for each?
Real plants are recommended for veileds since they eat plant material.
Wax worms are fatty so go easy with them. Don't feed meal worms oats..fresh greens, veggies are much better. You can feed roaches, BSFL, once in a while, superworms, hornworms.

 

[Spell]

the photo is not clear. I'll give my opinions as a dentist. Possibly tooth decay only if you feed him refine sugars/ fruits on an almost daily basis. if its for the insectivorous diet that chams usually have then lets rule out tooth decay. Id suspect baby- juvenile stage vit D deficiency to cause teeth discolouration. or could be any antibiotics that you have supplied to him through his water or from a vet visit in the past. check your uv bulbs for the uvb output.

 

[Beman]

It is normal discoloration. But you should not be feeding fruit and veg to your cham. They are insectivores and do not process veg the same way. Also fruit is high in sugars. Start reading this for accurate husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Mouth open means he is either too hot or has a respiratory infection. Temps at basking should not be any hotter than 80-85max. And when we say 85 that is at the casque. Hotter than that you risk thermal burns to the casque and spine.

 

[Brad]

Blackened teeth could potentially be a symptom of mouth rot. Do you see any puss or signs of infection? Any swelling around the lip?

 

[kinyonga]

Blackened teeth could potentially be a symptom of mouth rot. Do you see any puss or signs of infection? Any swelling around the lip?

Exactly what I was wondering.

 

[Aricari]

Blackened teeth could potentially be a symptom of mouth rot. Do you see any puss or signs of infection? Any swelling around the lip?

No puss signs that I see. And no swelling

 

[Aricari]

He also sits by a bright window sometimes where direct light is hitting him. For everyone asking what vitamins and calcium I give him.

 

[Aricari]

another pic from the front

 

[Aricari]

This is his window set up in front of my desk

 

[Aricari]

Blackened teeth could potentially be a symptom of mouth rot. Do you see any puss or signs of infection? Any swelling around the lip?

See below for pictures of his face

 

[Aricari]

It is normal discoloration. But you should not be feeding fruit and veg to your cham. They are insectivores and do not process veg the same way. Also fruit is high in sugars. Start reading this for accurate husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Mouth open means he is either too hot or has a respiratory infection. Temps at basking should not be any hotter than 80-85max. And when we say 85 that is at the casque. Hotter than that you risk thermal burns to the casque and spine.

It is normal discoloration. But you should not be feeding fruit and veg to your cham. They are insectivores and do not process veg the same way. Also fruit is high in sugars. Start reading this for accurate husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Mouth open means he is either too hot or has a respiratory infection. Temps at basking should not be any hotter than 80-85max. And when we say 85 that is at the casque. Hotter than that you risk thermal burns to the casque and spine.

Really? I actually found a small list of veggies on this site and one of them was cilantro. My Cham sometimes won’t eat his food without it in it. Its not all the time I have cilantro but if I do have it it’s going in his food bowl. He poops just fine as well. Anyone else do this? My Cham loves cilantro I’m afraid he will throw a tantrum if I take this away but curios has to what everyone else does? I scheduled a vet appointment next week so stay tuned!

 

[Aricari]

hiw does he get UVB light when he's out of the cage? What specific UVB light do you use? Long linear, compact?
More specific about the supplements please...do they have phos, calcium, D3 or preformed vitamin A in them? Do you dust lightly? How often for each?
Real plants are recommended for veileds since they eat plant material.
Wax worms are fatty so go easy with them. Don't feed meal worms oats..fresh greens, veggies are much better. You can feed roaches, BSFL, once in a while, superworms, hornworms.

See below for pics