Help? Panther chameleon has mouth open all day

[Jasonmichaelborg]

Hank has had his mouth open all day, and hasn't eaten much. His urates lately have been pinkish, and has been acting thirsty. He has a auto mister set fo every 3 hrs for 45 seconds he has also been moving around normally and there hasn't been a temp change either. Not sure if I'm overeacting but I also have a vet appt tomorrow. He has never been to the vet, so I figure I'd take him for a once-over anyway. Looking for any advice, thanks

 

[Kate]

Can you tell us what your temps are and what you are measuring them with? How old is he? When you go to vet could you take a sample of poo with you?

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

Can you tell us what your temps are and what you are measuring them with? How old is he? When you go to vet could you take a sample of poo with you?

Poop is bagged up already, his basking temp is 85-88 and cage is 75 ish measured with a zoo med digital thermometer and hydromoter. 9 months old, he also just dropped a massive sperm plug (not sure if that matter)

 

[camimom]

Is he wheezing or making any popping noises from his mouth?

how sure are you of that basking temp?

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

Is he wheezing or making any popping noises from his mouth?

how sure are you of that basking temp?

I dont think so, but i'm going on girlfriends description. I am work

 

[camimom]

I dont think so, but i'm going on girlfriends description. I am work

Ok.
if he is wheezing or has extra saliva in the mouth, or anything liek that, he probably has a respiratory infection, and a vet would be needed, and you are convienetly taking him. Good job!

when you get home, i would double check those basking temps, jus tin case, if its higher than it says, he could just be hot.

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

She said he has been licking his chops alot though

 

[AngieL]

Licking and swallowing (like they do when they drink) can also be a sign of an RI. It tends to suggest mucus in the mouth. If it id an infection may i suggest that you set him in the bathroom with the shower on, so he can breathe in the steam. This will help clear the mucus from his airways.

Hope he gets better soon!

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

Also I added a piece of plexiglass on one side of reptibreeze to help keep humidity up and prevent ac from hitting him, could that be part of problem?

 

[Jay Sick]

that all depends on how close your ac is to him and how cold it gets around him and so on a cold breeze in a warm environment can help a R.I happen. There are a lot of factors in how it could have happened do you smoke if you do is it in the same room as him ? anything like air fresheners oils candles incense and so on are a bad thing.

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

that all depends on how close your ac is to him and how cold it gets around him and so on a cold breeze in a warm environment can help a R.I happen. There are a lot of factors in how it could have happened do you smoke if you do is it in the same room as him ? anything like air fresheners oils candles incense and so on are a bad thing.

no smoking but the girlfriend definitely burns candles and air fresheners

 

[Jasonmichaelborg]

Is RI a commenly cured problem?

 

[pssh]

RI means respiratory infection. It can be cured with the correct antibiotics.

 

[Jay Sick]

if you are going to a vet and I hope it's a skilled reptile vet ask them for injections of baytril. You will have to give him the injections your self after they prescribe them Baytril works very well if you happen to have a nebulizer u can also ask for a nebulizer med to do on him as well both angles seem to work good for most people I have spoken with.

As far as candles and what not cut that all out it's bad for humans and r lungs r huge compared to chameleons. Keep in mind they live in paradise in the wild clean air no smoke or any other crazy stuff we humans make. Also if u can raise his temps up a bit higher temps can help clear up respiratory infections. If you need any further help feel free to pm me for my number ill help you with whatever you need.

 

[ataraxia]

If your guy is gaping and swallowing. I would definitely get him to the vets soon. You dont want an RI progressing.

RI is unfortunately a fairly common illness. Whether from force feeding, spraying water in the mouth, high humidity with low temps or stagnant high humidity air in cages like glass are common causes. With a vets guidance your kid should have a good recovery.

If the Ri is progressed trying to cure the issue with higher temps is more than likely not going to cure the issue. Ri isnt anything to waste time with trial and error. If you have ever had pneumonia add huge factors that you cant cough or spit into the equation. The animal is basically suffocating,

 

[Chris Jury]

Hank has had his mouth open all day, and hasn't eaten much. His urates lately have been pinkish, and has been acting thirsty. He has a auto mister set fo every 3 hrs for 45 seconds he has also been moving around normally and there hasn't been a temp change either. Not sure if I'm overeacting but I also have a vet appt tomorrow. He has never been to the vet, so I figure I'd take him for a once-over anyway. Looking for any advice, thanks

Unless I missed something, I don't think you said he's been excessively licking and swallowing, correct?

From the description I think I have an idea of what you're seeing, but seeing the vet won't hurt. Based on the symptoms you've described (acting thirsty, gaping for no apparent reason, reduced appetite, strongly colored urates) along with the relatively short misting times, my suspicion is that he's dehydrated. For the life of me I have no idea why, but I've seen the inexplicable gaping I believe you're seeing in dehydrated chameleons. Step 1 was getting them well hydrated, step 2 was getting them well fed. After this they returned to normal behavior, and 'happier' colorations.

See what the vet has to say first, but as I said, your description reminds me of symptoms I have seen in other chameleons where the most pressing issue was dehydration (and secondarily malnorishment). I would probably try misting him for long periods (e.g., 20-40 min) and providing a dripper to rehydrate him, or at least be able to rule out the issue. Obviously this is a lot of extra water, so this will either have to be done outside the cage or you'll need to drain and catch the excess water. Given the generally low humidity indoors, many chameleons require very long drinking opportunities to stay hydrated. Sometimes it can take a few minutes of misting to elicit a good drinking response too, even in dehydrated animals.

 

[ataraxia]

Unless I missed something, I don't think you said he's been excessively licking and swallowing, correct?.

She said he has been licking his chops alot though

See quote.