So I shouldn’t worry if he does it all the time while basking? I don’t see any saliva or foam/discharge in his mouth. I only mist in morning before lights come on and right before lights go out. During the day I use a dripper 1-2x for 20 mins
It’s about 80 on his basking branch. I just moved him into a 2x2x4 so I haven’t perfected his heat/humidity yet but he did this even before in his small cage
I don’t think it’s too hot which makes me wonder if the gaping suggests a problem. Anything else I can go by aside from the gaping before I rush him off to the vet?
Nope, I haven’t heard any popping or other noises
Hope so! He’s my first and always has me on my toes
I have a temp gun and a digital also set up at his basking spot
Yes I’ve only seen him do it when basking and it’s not constant. He’ll sit there with his mouth open for a bit and shut it if I go closer. Or he’ll climb down from basking after a while of opening and closing his mouth. I open his cage door and pretty much shoot the gun from standing right in front of cage. I have a t5ho 10.0 uvb and a 65 watt br30 flood for heat along with a regular household 25w bulb bc temps weren’t high enough. I just moved him into an xl cage so I haven’t gotten humidity up yet. After I mist humidity will go up to 49-50%. Without mist during regular daytime humidity is only 3”%. So not quite as humid as it should be. I’m going to maybe try adding plastic to a side or two. Here is current set up that I just moved him to on Sunday.
Keep a close eye on him. If it continues try reducing his br30 to a 60w and ditch that 25w all together. After this pay close attention to his fecals and make sure he's got good digestion happening. I'm wondering if he's just acting funny because of the enclosure change? If your temps are what they are he shouldn't be gaping because of heat especially with your humidity as low as it is too. Enclosure looks good but I'd just suggest throwing some more horizontal perches in upper 2/3.
Thank you! I added the extra bulb to warm it up a bit bc his eating and pooping slowed down a bit. He did start eating more and pooping more regularly after I added the 2nd bulb. And honestly he did this in his smaller cage as well. He’s been doing it for about a month. After a months time if a URI I’d think I would’ve seen other symptoms if he were sick but I’m not sure...?
If it were a URI lasting this long he would be showing way more signs of one that's for sure. Maybe he's just a weirdo? Or he's waiting for you to put a worm in his mouth? Lol idk but like I said keep a close eye on him. If you're really concerned a vet visit is always an option. We can't and will never be able to replace proper veterinary care. Keep us posted if there are any changes or any other concerns.
A weirdo is definitely an option
Thank you so much!
