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.

 

[Beman]

What were your ambient temps when this was going on? Temps are starting to warm up and depending on your indoor cooling this can cause ambient temps to get too hot in a cage.

 

[goatmilk]

What were your ambient temps when this was going on? Temps are starting to warm up and depending on your indoor cooling this can cause ambient temps to get too hot in a cage.

When the heat lamp was on it was around 74 and when it was off around like 71-72. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer towards the upper middle of the cage and that’s what it was saying.

 

[goatmilk]

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.

What are signs of mouth rot and how does he get that?

 

[Beman]

When the heat lamp was on it was around 74 and when it was off around like 71-72. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer towards the upper middle of the cage and that’s what it was saying.

Ok and what were your humidity levels at?

 

[goatmilk]

Ok and what were your humidity levels at?

Around 50-60%

 

[MissSkittles]

What are signs of mouth rot and how does he get that?

Mouth rot is basically a wound in the mouth. You would see possibly a small amount of drainage or what looks like a scab on/near the mouth, possibly a divot or a swelling, dark spot in the mouth where there shouldn’t be along the gum line, reluctance to eat, especially crunchier bugs. I’ve unfortunately had two guys get it and I always thought it was from superworms biting back. They each did prove to have other health issues though and this was just the beginning of what was to be their ends.

 

[goatmilk]

Mouth rot is basically a wound in the mouth. You would see possibly a small amount of drainage or what looks like a scab on/near the mouth, possibly a divot or a swelling, dark spot in the mouth where there shouldn’t be along the gum line, reluctance to eat, especially crunchier bugs. I’ve unfortunately had two guys get it and I always thought it was from superworms biting back. They each did prove to have other health issues though and this was just the beginning of what was to be their ends.

If my Cham did get bit by a superworm and that’s why he’s gaping does it mean that it’s likely he gets mouth rot? I don’t see anything right now but could it be visible later?

 

[goatmilk]

Could what I circled be a cut? He’s still gaping a lot should I take him to the vet? And idk if it is a cut because he was gaping a bit the day before I gave him the superworm but yesterday it got worse and today he is still doing it a lot. Also another thing I forget to say is he keeps shooting his tongue in the soul and eating it so could he be impacted or something else?

 

[MissSkittles]

Could what I circled be a cut? He’s still gaping a lot should I take him to the vet? And idk if it is a cut because he was gaping a bit the day before I gave him the superworm but yesterday it got worse and today he is still doing it a lot. Also another thing I forget to say is he keeps shooting his tongue in the soul and eating it so could he be impacted or something else?

That looks like just a crease. If he was gaping before the superworm, then it likely is something else. I looked back and you had your husbandry checked by @Beman who is awesome, so it doesn’t seem that could be any problem there. Honestly, I’m at a loss. Is the sun shining in on him thru a window by chance, or anything else that could create a hot spot? A vet visit is always a good idea when anything is out of the ordinary…even if it’s just for reassurance that nothing is wrong.

 

[goatmilk]

That looks like just a crease. If he was gaping before the superworm, then it likely is something else. I looked back and you had your husbandry checked by @Beman who is awesome, so it doesn’t seem that could be any problem there. Honestly, I’m at a loss. Is the sun shining in on him thru a window by chance, or anything else that could create a hot spot? A vet visit is always a good idea when anything is out of the ordinary…even if it’s just for reassurance that nothing is wrong.

The window is shining on it still but I covered the sides of the enclosure with fake leaves but there’s no heat coming from the window at all. I’ve changed a lot of things in his enclosure since then. I’m going to change his heat bulb to a lower wattage and if he’s still gaping I guess I’ll take him to the vet…