Gaping towards mist and urate questions

Jojo2

Jojo2

Member
Hello!! Today I noticed my panther gaping towards his mist king when it went off. Is this a way that they absorb fluids? Or could he be angry at it? Lol I just read horror stories on gaping and wanted to know if anyone else has seen this or if it’s a cause for concern.
Also, my humidity is dropping into the 30% during mid day, is it ok to mist mid day to bring that percentage back up? It was 25% up by his basking point and 38% down towards his canopy. But he spends most of his day up top. I just don’t want to put him at risk for an URI. I currently mist 3 mins right around lights on, and 3 mins 30 seconds about an hour before lights out. I did an over ride and just misted him for another 2 mins. But I figured I should check if that’s ok before I continue that pattern. He ran right to drinking.. so I am sure he wanted it. Just figured id double check. Thanks!


Edit: I just noticed him going to the bathroom. His urate is rather orange. More orange than I would like. But after it came out there was lots of clear fluid to follow. I was under the impression orange urate meant dehydration, but the clear fluid following the urate meant they were hydrated? Am I incorrect on this? And if not what does this mean?
 
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dinomom said:
Does he gape in between sessions?
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No, I haven’t noticed any gaping except for when the mister is on. Except for the first day when he got on his basking branch he did it towards the heater. But other than that one time it’s only happened when the mister was on.
 
Jojo2 said:
No, I haven’t noticed any gaping except for when the mister is on. Except for the first day when he got on his basking branch he did it towards the heater. But other than that one time it’s only happened when the mister was on.
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OK if he was doing it all the time it suggests a too hot condition. My veiled will gape when the ambient temp is hotter (75+) and he is under the bulb, even tough it's about 82 degrees and he can move!
 
Welcome! First off misting more or at midday to keep humidity levels up is fine. Orange urate means crystalized urine which usually follows a period of dehydration. Since there is water means he is flushing that old urine out of system so dehydrstion may not be a current issue. I dont havs a mister but hand mister and fogger. The hans mister i use for those inbetween times when humidity drops. my veiled gapes wide every morning and i believe he is getting his water via the air. As long as your cham is not gaping all the time or sitting with his head facing upward or seem to have a lot of syliva in his mouth should rule out URI. always remember to take photos of anything you are unsure of so members can Be sure we are relaying the right info. i hope this info helps.
 
Jojo2 said:
Hello!! Today I noticed my panther gaping towards his mist king when it went off. Is this a way that they absorb fluids? Or could he be angry at it? Lol I just read horror stories on gaping and wanted to know if anyone else has seen this or if it’s a cause for concern.
Also, my humidity is dropping into the 30% during mid day, is it ok to mist mid day to bring that percentage back up? It was 25% up by his basking point and 38% down towards his canopy. But he spends most of his day up top. I just don’t want to put him at risk for an URI. I currently mist 3 mins right around lights on, and 3 mins 30 seconds about an hour before lights out. I did an over ride and just misted him for another 2 mins. But I figured I should check if that’s ok before I continue that pattern. He ran right to drinking.. so I am sure he wanted it. Just figured id double check. Thanks!


Edit: I just noticed him going to the bathroom. His urate is rather orange. More orange than I would like. But after it came out there was lots of clear fluid to follow. I was under the impression orange urate meant dehydration, but the clear fluid following the urate meant they were hydrated? Am I incorrect on this? And if not what does this mean?
Click to expand...
Is the panther new to you? If so did the former owner use an automated misting system?

Orange can indicate that he was holding it longer too.

Misting times can very. Depends on your environment and set up. I run 5 minute sessions. 15 minutes after T5HO kicks on at 7am. Backing lamp on from 9-3. Then another misting at 4:30, and 5:30. last T5 off at 6pm. So it is not that you can not have long misting sessions. It is that you do not want the cage hot when you do. So this is where the basking lamp coming on later and off earlier help. So I am misting when the cage is much cooler. Also is more natural to have gradual heat up and then cool down. Instead of heat non stop all day.
 
Adding this in... Just looked at the pics of your boy.... Is he wild caught? Can you contact the person you got him from to find out? The tail on him is very very thin... I am willing to bet he has no idea wtf the auto mister is and this is an aggressive response to it going off.
 
Beman said:
Adding this in... Just looked at the pics of your boy.... Is he wild caught? Can you contact the person you got him from to find out? The tail on him is very very thin... I am willing to bet he has no idea wtf the auto mister is and this is an aggressive response to it going off.
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I am so glad you responded to this! I actually went to the store personally today because I am so up in arms on how to get my temps right without dropping my humidity. While I was there a worker pulled me aside and said that he was very angry when he came in Monday and saw that someone sold me this little guy on Sunday. He told me that my chameleon had been left behind when they went to the expo because he “wasn’t doing well”. And that he was not supposed to be sold at all. I am panicking now and absolutely freaking out. I can not find any exotic vet near me (within a two hour drive) that can get me in before Feb 17. Now, the employee wouldn’t tell me specific details about what he meant by “wasn’t doing well”. But he sent me pictures of other chameleons they have today, and after comparing those pictures to my little guy, I can definitely see where his legs and tail are extremely thin. They told me he was captive bred when I asked today, because I saw other people express concern of wild caught too. But at this rate I’m hesitant to believe anything I’m told. The workers suggested I bring him back to them
and in turn get a healthier chameleon because they can’t guarantee the life on this guy expressing he was “sick and not doing well” that he “may not make it”. I don’t know what to do guys. But I am panicking and so upset. 😔 This is not how I wanted this to go. And I do not want him to suffer. As experienced chameleon owners can anyone offer me any advice? Please help!
Oh, and in other threads I mentioned him not eating. Today he did eat twice. But he only picked the hornworms out of the cup and left everything else. He ate 3 in total. I know this isn’t ideal for him to only be eating them, but at least he is eating something!

I will attach pictures for advice. This worker told me all of these chameleons are from the same group. I don’t know what he meant by that since the two that aren’t mine are the only two that look alike. But I will share the pictures in hopes that someone can clarify or give some educated input.

My guy Sunday when he came home
C89CA389-D54F-4FF8-9209-EFBB1C0A5366.jpeg

The other #1
91B0D630-99D7-4488-A6A6-8046C28D52C5.jpeg

The other #2 FBC51F6C-C25D-4F09-B8E7-DB92324973AE.jpeg
 
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Jojo2 said:
I am so glad you responded to this! I actually went to the store personally today because I am so up in arms on how to get my temps right without dropping my humidity. While I was there a worker pulled me aside and said that he was very angry when he came in Monday and saw that someone sold me this little guy on Sunday. He told me that my chameleon had been left behind when they went to the expo because he “wasn’t doing well”. And that he was not supposed to be sold at all. I am panicking now and absolutely freaking out. I can not find any exotic vet near me (within a two hour drive) that can get me in before Feb 17. Now, the employee wouldn’t tell me specific details about what he meant by “wasn’t doing well”. But he sent me pictures of other chameleons they have today, and after comparing those pictures to my little guy, I can definitely see where his legs and tail are extremely thin. They told me he was captive bred when I asked today, because I saw other people express concern of wild caught too. But at this rate I’m hesitant to believe anything I’m told. The workers suggested I bring him back to them
and in turn get a healthier chameleon because they can’t guarantee the life on this guy expressing he was “sick and not doing well” that he “may not make it”. I don’t know what to do guys. But I am panicking and so upset. 😔 This is not how I wanted this to go. And I do not want him to suffer. As experienced chameleon owners can anyone offer me any advice? Please help!
Oh, and in other threads I mentioned him not eating. Today he did eat twice. But he only picked the hornworms out of the cup and left everything else. He ate 3 in total. I know this isn’t ideal for him to only be eating them, but at least he is eating something!

I will attach pictures for advice. This worker told me all of these chameleons are from the same group. I don’t know what he meant by that since the two that aren’t mine are the only two that look alike. But I will share the pictures in hopes that someone can clarify or give some educated input.

My guy Sunday when he came home
View attachment 319031

The other #1
View attachment 319030

The other #2View attachment 319029
Click to expand...
Not doing well can simply mean failing to thrive... Especially depending on the conditions. Was he alone in the cage or fighting for dominance? This is pretty common in places like that.

Here is the thing if it is a parasite issue then the others could be infected too... Most parasites are transfered via fecal... A bug walks through it and is then eaten and the cham ingests the eggs... or the cham licks the spot that had the fecal... ingesting eggs.

And your cage is now contaminated if it is a parasite issue... Which means to be safe if you were to trade him out you would have to get ride of all porous things in the cage since we do not know if that is the case. A fecal on any new to you cham is a good idea.

The fact that he is eating is great. Hornworms may make the fecal a little runny but they are great for a cham with dehydration.

I think this is really a personal choice... You take a risk always when you buy from a store or a breeder that is not proven out. Even a responsible breeder can have parasite issues if they are not consistently screening their chams.

what city and state do you live in?
 
Beman said:
Not doing well can simply mean failing to thrive... Especially depending on the conditions. Was he alone in the cage or fighting for dominance? This is pretty common in places like that.

Here is the thing if it is a parasite issue then the others could be infected too... Most parasites are transfered via fecal... A bug walks through it and is then eaten and the cham ingests the eggs... or the cham licks the spot that had the fecal... ingesting eggs.

And your cage is now contaminated if it is a parasite issue... Which means to be safe if you were to trade him out you would have to get ride of all porous things in the cage since we do not know if that is the case. A fecal on any new to you cham is a good idea.

The fact that he is eating is great. Hornworms may make the fecal a little runny but they are great for a cham with dehydration.

I think this is really a personal choice... You take a risk always when you buy from a store or a breeder that is not proven out. Even a responsible breeder can have parasite issues if they are not consistently screening their chams.

what city and state do you live in?
Click to expand...
I will ask about the conditions in which they were living. I have the workers number now.

I did call my local vet that I take my other pets to, and they said they were able to send out his fecal sample to check for parasites. That was two days ago. So I am just waiting on those results to come back. Now if the fecal comes back positive for parasites will I need to still get rid of all his things in the enclosure? Or would that only be necessary if I were to get a new Cham?

Yes, the little stinker is leaving all other feeders and only selecting the hornworms. 😂 but I was just so glad when he ate. Actually I offered another one off the tongs yesterday late afternoon and he even ate the hornworm directly from the tongs!! Tried a super afterwards.. denied it and walked away. Lol

And I would feel terrible giving him back to terrible conditions. He deserves a chance! Do you feel it’s possible I nurse him back to health? And would it be safe to wait until feb 17 for his appointment? As long as he is eating and drinking? I am so stressed. I just want this to workout. He’s beautiful, he’s sweet.. this whole situation just makes me so sad. Especially for him. I’m torn and don’t know what to do. 😔
 
Jojo2 said:
I will ask about the conditions in which they were living. I have the workers number now.

I did call my local vet that I take my other pets to, and they said they were able to send out his fecal sample to check for parasites. That was two days ago. So I am just waiting on those results to come back. Now if the fecal comes back positive for parasites will I need to still get rid of all his things in the enclosure? Or would that only be necessary if I were to get a new Cham?

Yes, the little stinker is leaving all other feeders and only selecting the hornworms. 😂 but I was just so glad when he ate. Actually I offered another one off the tongs yesterday late afternoon and he even ate the hornworm directly from the tongs!! Tried a super afterwards.. denied it and walked away. Lol

And I would feel terrible giving him back to terrible conditions. He deserves a chance! Do you feel it’s possible I nurse him back to health? And would it be safe to wait until feb 17 for his appointment? As long as he is eating and drinking? I am so stressed. I just want this to workout. He’s beautiful, he’s sweet.. this whole situation just makes me so sad. Especially for him. I’m torn and don’t know what to do. 😔
Click to expand...
Let me message you privately.
 
Jojo2 said:
I will ask about the conditions in which they were living. I have the workers number now.

I did call my local vet that I take my other pets to, and they said they were able to send out his fecal sample to check for parasites. That was two days ago. So I am just waiting on those results to come back. Now if the fecal comes back positive for parasites will I need to still get rid of all his things in the enclosure? Or would that only be necessary if I were to get a new Cham?

Yes, the little stinker is leaving all other feeders and only selecting the hornworms. 😂 but I was just so glad when he ate. Actually I offered another one off the tongs yesterday late afternoon and he even ate the hornworm directly from the tongs!! Tried a super afterwards.. denied it and walked away. Lol

And I would feel terrible giving him back to terrible conditions. He deserves a chance! Do you feel it’s possible I nurse him back to health? And would it be safe to wait until feb 17 for his appointment? As long as he is eating and drinking? I am so stressed. I just want this to workout. He’s beautiful, he’s sweet.. this whole situation just makes me so sad. Especially for him. I’m torn and don’t know what to do. 😔
Click to expand...
Ohhh and I live Buffalo NY area.
 
Jojo2 said:
I will ask about the conditions in which they were living. I have the workers number now.

I did call my local vet that I take my other pets to, and they said they were able to send out his fecal sample to check for parasites. That was two days ago. So I am just waiting on those results to come back. Now if the fecal comes back positive for parasites will I need to still get rid of all his things in the enclosure? Or would that only be necessary if I were to get a new Cham?

Yes, the little stinker is leaving all other feeders and only selecting the hornworms. 😂 but I was just so glad when he ate. Actually I offered another one off the tongs yesterday late afternoon and he even ate the hornworm directly from the tongs!! Tried a super afterwards.. denied it and walked away. Lol

And I would feel terrible giving him back to terrible conditions. He deserves a chance! Do you feel it’s possible I nurse him back to health? And would it be safe to wait until feb 17 for his appointment? As long as he is eating and drinking? I am so stressed. I just want this to workout. He’s beautiful, he’s sweet.. this whole situation just makes me so sad. Especially for him. I’m torn and don’t know what to do. 😔
Click to expand...
Find out if the chams had auto misters. I am betting they did not and this is his first experience with one. You can help him settle into it by putting a fake plant up near the mister so it does not blast quite as hard. He will adjust and figure out when it is going to kick on. Ensure all your lines to it are secure so it is not adding any additional vibration to the cage.

Careful with tongs... These are risky. If the cham hits the tongs and pulls them in when you pull back you can permanently damage the tongue.
 
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