Gaping :(

[goatmilk]

My 9 month old panther chameleon is gaping for kind of long periods of time today. Yesterday he was gaping at his basking branch for a little bit (a few seconds mouth opened) so I thought he was just hot (he has a 50w Arcadia heat halogen and his basking branch is around like 85 degrees. I just ordered a 35w). However, today he is now gaping for long periods of time, even when the heat bulb is off and he’s toward the bottom of the enclosure. He was at the bottom of his enclosure where his feeding container is and was constantly gaping, but then he closed his mouth again and went up to his basking branch and was normal for a bit and then stated gaping for a long time again. It’s been kind of like he gapes for a while, then closes his mouth for a while and repeats. I don’t hear any noises or see any bubbles. Something I did see was his tongue kind of closed in on itself which you can see in the picture I attached . Is that a sign of a respiratory infection? I fed him a superworm today which was a little bit big but not big and after that he started acting kind of weird like opening his mouth for a couple seconds and closing it and kept licking his lips so idk if it’s a respiratory infection or it’s from the superworm but either way what should I do?

 

[goatmilk]

He’s gaping a little less often and for a shorter time but he keeps going to the same spot towards the bottom of the enclosure facing downward and starts gaping. Is there a reason for this?

 

[MissSkittles]

Generally with a respiratory infection, they will have their faces pointed up, like stargazing. How are you checking your basking temps? What kind of thermometer are you using? To rule out the gaping from being overheated, try turning the basking light off and see if he still gapes after it all cools down. The only other thing I can think of is that superworms and hornworms have been known to bite back. Usually chameleons just know the best way to grab them safely, but nothing is ever foolproof. He may have gotten bit by the super inside his mouth. If he gulped it without chewing/crushing it, I wonder if it could have bit his throat or tongue while going down. For future reference, err on the side of safety and only give smaller supers and horns.

 

[goatmilk]

Generally with a respiratory infection, they will have their faces pointed up, like stargazing. How are you checking your basking temps? What kind of thermometer are you using? To rule out the gaping from being overheated, try turning the basking light off and see if he still gapes after it all cools down. The only other thing I can think of is that superworms and hornworms have been known to bite back. Usually chameleons just know the best way to grab them safely, but nothing is ever foolproof. He may have gotten bit by the super inside his mouth. If he gulped it without chewing/crushing it, I wonder if it could have bit his throat or tongue while going down. For future reference, err on the side of safety and only give smaller supers and horns.

I use a heat gun to check the temps. I did turn the basking bulb off and he was still gaping hours after it was off so it’s not from that. Also after I posted that he was gaping in the reply I put, he hasn’t done it at all since so maybe not a respiratory infection?

 

[MissSkittles]

Heat guns are a great tool, but you should also use a thermometer with a wired probe end to measure air temp. The guns only measure surface temps.
Keep a close eye out for any signs of possible mouth rot.