Fairly New Owner, Quick question on mouth

[Sawa Cham]

Guys, my cham "sawa" seems very healthy but every now and then, maybe twice a week I catch in her with her mouth cracked open for small periods of time. Im not sure exactly what that means, everytime I see her do it I spray or mist, or even spray her to be sure she isnt dehydrated although I know she isnt. I just need a little bit of insite on this issue. The cage has got a 60w daylight blub and a repti 5.0. I dont believe it gets to high, maybe 90 at the hottest but normally in the 80's during day.

 

[Seeco]

Too hot. The fogger is probably not necessary. She may need to lay eggs soon.

 

[Kittyrocc]

Hi..

I'm a newbie to the chamy too... but I understand that glass terrariums are not good for them.... it can cause respiratory problems...

It might be too hot... I caught mine with his mouth open today and yawning... so I also am checking the heat as soon as I get home..

 

[Sawa Cham]

Too hot. The fogger is probably not necessary. She may need to lay eggs soon.

So, I have heard reccomendations for the long fluorescent bulbs. You think the issue could be because Im using two screw in's? Im not sure if those flourescents are lower in temp. Lay eggs! Im not ready for that! I dont know what to do if she does or how to prepare!

 

[Sawa Cham]

Hi..

I'm a newbie to the chamy too... but I understand that glass terrariums are not good for them.... it can cause respiratory problems...

It might be too hot... I caught mine with his mouth open today and yawning... so I also am checking the heat as soon as I get home..

Yeah, mine yawns too! haha but I hear you on the glass terrariums. Everynow and then I just open both doors up for a couple of hours. I dont like her in there all the time so I try to get her in ouside when possible to get some good sun rays. Eventually im just going to build a cage, its cheaper and you can alter the to be as tall as you want. Prolly do that in a few weeks! She is about a half a year old.

 

[jannb]

90 is way to hot. Get her basking temp down to 80 and get the tube uv bulb. I'm attaching a couple of my blogs for you. The first on general care and the second on egg laying and the laying bin.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/

 

[kinyonga]

Does she have an appropriate place to dig in the cage to show you when she needs to lay eggs?

The moss bothers me...I would worry that she might ingest some of it when she's trying to eat the insects...if you free-range the insects.

 

[Sawa Cham]

Does she have an appropriate place to dig in the cage to show you when she needs to lay eggs?

The moss bothers me...I would worry that she might ingest some of it when she's trying to eat the insects...if you free-range the insects.

I have witnessed her on many accounts eat the moss.. is that bad? it doesnt seem to effect her and she has been doing it for weeks now. The only reason I use the moss is to hold humidity. Yes there is a square foot in the bottom of the cage of coconut sub.. she can dig if she wants

 

[Carlton]

I have witnessed her on many accounts eat the moss.. is that bad? it doesnt seem to effect her and she has been doing it for weeks now. The only reason I use the moss is to hold humidity. Yes there is a square foot in the bottom of the cage of coconut sub.. she can dig if she wants

The moss does contain sharp thorny pieces that COULD cause intestinal damage or blockage. Get rid of it. She won't dig in a moss/cocoafiber substrate most likely and even if she did it probably wouldn't hold a tunnel long enough for her to lay the infertile eggs.

 

[carol5208]

There was someone's chameleon on here that choked on moss a while back. I believe it ended up dying. Injested it when it shot its tongue at a cricket and took the moss in with it. LOSE the moss!!!!!

 

[jojackson]

Sawa, between the glass cage and the lighting hood blocking much ventilation, heat may be building up a little, resulting in the gaping. Also I see your gages are on the floor, readings on the floor will be lower than at the basking site, this is where you need to know exactly how hot its getting. The floor should be the very coolest spot in the cage.
Perhaps rig a vine/branch/stick horizontally lower down and try to move the hood toward the back, leaving as much ventilation as possible.
I agree the moss looks great but it is a bit risky. Maybe a screened cage slightly larger
will make things a little easier to manage?
I see you have to soak up the dripper water, looks messy and maybe a bit of a bother too huh? She does need a nice deep box/tub of soil to lay eggs in, this could be hard to provide (big enough) in your cage.