general queries

[damo76]

hi

can anyone help? just a few queries regarding the health of my yemen cham..

firstly, good size viv including all recommened lighting heating etc etc..

had my cham for about a month now so guessing he about 2 months old, since i've had him he shed twice and eating and pooping well, only a few minor concerns...

1) the back of his casque has gone a yellow colour, plus his body seems to have a tint of yellow about it when sleeping.. anything to worry about?

2) the temp is a good 80 during the day then drop to 70 at night, but lately seems to gape his mouth open alot? dont see him drink but mist alot so dont think he dehydrated, the urinate is yellow at one end but research says this is normal.. any other ideas why mouth open?

i think i just like to worry but not a bad thing eh?

hope someone can help

 

[damo76]

am i doing something wrong as have no replies?

 

[carol5208]

no not at all!!! Just give me a minute and I will answer some of your questions! Welcome to the forum!!

 

[carol5208]

hi

can anyone help? just a few queries regarding the health of my yemen cham..

firstly, good size viv including all recommened lighting heating etc etc..

had my cham for about a month now so guessing he about 2 months old, since i've had him he shed twice and eating and pooping well, only a few minor concerns...

1) the back of his casque has gone a yellow colour, plus his body seems to have a tint of yellow about it when sleeping.. anything to worry about?

2) the temp is a good 80 during the day then drop to 70 at night, but lately seems to gape his mouth open alot? dont see him drink but mist alot so dont think he dehydrated, the urinate is yellow at one end but research says this is normal.. any other ideas why mouth open?

i think i just like to worry but not a bad thing eh?

hope someone can help

what size cage are your currently using? The recommended size for an adult veild is 24 X 24 X 48 or larger. When chameleons sleep they display some of their greatest colors, so showing yellow would be nothing to worry about. What are you measuring temps with. Is 80 your basking temp, or general cage temp? A basking temp of 80 degrees should not cause your chameleon to gape. This tells me one of two things: either your temp reading is wrong and it is hotter, or there is a possibility that your little one couldhave a respiratory infection. Not saying it is, but that is one of the signs. Nothing wrong with worrying! We ALL do it!!! Whether they are babies or adults. It seems to be the nature of owning them. As far as the urate(the light part of the poop) it should be white. Yellow may suggest slight dehydration, so try upping your mistings or perhaps running a dripper for your cham.

 

[damo76]

ok,

thanks

 

[damo76]

ok,

thanks

i use the exo terra dials temp and humid one end of viv and a general strip one at other end, one reads 80 the other 74 (temp) humid is about 50/60 depending on the mistings, so has room to adjust himself, i have a dripper but never see him near it but he does close his eyes and accepts the light mistings direct drinking the droplets on his nose..
at present i'm using a temp viv 16x24 but moving to a bigger as he continues to grow, still plenty room for him at present.. he dosent seem to struggle breathing..
this is my first chameleon and used to more hardy reptiles as previously had a berber skink who lived for 10years, so guess i am just being over cautious as he is a dainty thing at the minute, moved him up to larger food this week but dont think he was ready as he was more scared of the crickets than they were of him

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi, we would love to see pictures!

 

[carol5208]

i use the exo terra dials temp and humid one end of viv and a general strip one at other end, one reads 80 the other 74 (temp) humid is about 50/60 depending on the mistings, so has room to adjust himself, i have a dripper but never see him near it but he does close his eyes and accepts the light mistings direct drinking the droplets on his nose..
at present i'm using a temp viv 16x24 but moving to a bigger as he continues to grow, still plenty room for him at present.. he dosent seem to struggle breathing..
this is my first chameleon and used to more hardy reptiles as previously had a berber skink who lived for 10years, so guess i am just being over cautious as he is a dainty thing at the minute, moved him up to larger food this week but dont think he was ready as he was more scared of the crickets than they were of him

as far as your chameleon opening his mouth....if he is not too hot he will not do that. They only do that to try and cool down, kinda like a dog panting. If you continue to see him holding his mouth open for long periods of time(it is normal to occasionally open their mouth to stretch or like yawn) then check his mouth for a stringy saliva(a very small amount is normal) or mucus. See if you observe him holding his nose straight up in the air, especially while sleeping. Also, they can make a wheezing sound or a popping noise when they breathe. These would all be additional signs of an RI along with the gaping.