Is it really gaping?

amalthea23

New Member
I'm wondering if there's a difference between gaping from overheating and just general open mouthed dissatisfaction? I just switched my 6 month panther from his 30" baby cage to his new 48" adult enclosure and since the switch he's been in an utterly pissy mood. Mouth open, and colors are dark. But he's eating and drinking normally. The first night, he wouldn't curl to sleep, and just clung to the side of the screen all night. The second night, he sat on a branch, but wouldn't curl up his tail. Today, MUCH less open mouth, and he seems to have found a new place to sleep and he's curled up normally. At no point was he bubbling or popping when he breathed, temps are maxed out at 87 in the indoor enclosure, and he's misted every 2 hours for 30 seconds. Pooping normally, so the question is, was this just a "tantrum" over totally changing his environment? Or should I remain panicked that its sone weird URI?
 
Sounds like he is just grumpy to me. Especially if temps are the same and it's just an environment change.

Funny because my male slept on the side of the cage uncurled the other day randomly. Never done that before. Just one night only. Haha.
 
It IS a big change, and I think I have to get him a fern because the plants that were crowding his old cage are just swimming in the new one. Maybe he feels a little more exposed.
 
Well I distinguish overheating and gaping by whether or not the cham puffs up its chin. When my cham over heats he just sits there and leaves his mouth open about halfway and doesn't puff up.When my cham is gaping he puffs out his chin as well as opens his mouth. I think it's just the change in your chams environment. If it was a URI there would be more symptoms like not eating and notable mucus around the motuh.
 
Your temp is too high.

How are you measuring the temps?

Lower your temp for a couple days and see how it goes.

As per the caresheet here is what your temps should be.

Temperature:
Baby/juvenile (<9 months): ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 82F (28C)
Adult males: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 85-90F (29-32C)
Adult females: ambient 75-80F (23-26C), basking 80-85F (26-29C)
 
I measure at 3 different spots, the high is the top of the basking point, and the lowest is 74. There's no foam or bubbling at all, and he's eating like a monster, just the mouth partly open, most often when he sees me looking at him. If I sneak up on him, his mouth is closed. This morning, no mouth open at all. I'm wondering if he's just having teen angst.
 
An update on Drogo: It's been a few days now, and he seems back to his normal Drogo self. No more mouth open, and his colors are back to varying depending on heat, time of day, hunting, etc. Looks like he was just in a REALLY pissy mood from having his whole world changed around. It's his own fault though, he kept growing and growing!
 
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