Mouth open frequently

[mrnice]

Hi,

My baby yemen seems to have his mouth open often when in his enclosure, at first I thought if was because he was about to catch a locust but its not. Neither is it him being aggressive I dont think as he does it when nobody is in the room, only to stop if you approach him.

I was just wandering if this is normal behaviour or something else (too hot etc)?

Cheers

 

[port]

This is usually a sign of your chameleon being too hot, opening the mouth to try to cool down. You should really fill out the how to ask for help form, so people can get a better understanding of your set up lighting etc.

 

[port]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[mrnice]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/newbie-need-some-advice-please-49597/

 

[mrnice]

Hi there, so is the general consensus that hes doing it because hes hot? I just want to make sure hes ok

 

[Ace]

Hi there, so is the general consensus that hes doing it because hes hot? I just want to make sure hes ok

wat are your temps..usually that is the normal case...PIcs? would b helpful

 

[ricardo velthuizen]

What are the temps in the cage?
at the top at center and on the bottom and under the spott?

 

[morpheon]

An open mouth can indeed be linked to high temperatures, but it can also be related to other health issues that need further investigation. So far, since we do not possess enough information to have any conclusion, i also suggest filling the help form.

One thing i would like to know is how often he opens his mouth, where he does it, and if there is any saliva or bubbles in his mouth or on its teeth. This question is really important to answer.

 

[cantgetagoodsn]

you really need to fill out the how to ask for help form. ALL of it...

 

[Ivan]

If cos the heat..

I noticed the same with my Kevin just when I added a new Sun glow(the swedish winter heavily arrived), just 25 watt, but he opens his mounth clearly only when he stands at the top basking point and he gets warm. And I'v seen this behaviour in almost any reptiles.
So from my point of view, try to discover if he does this when he is on a top of a basking point.
I tend to believe that since this is a natural mechanism to regulate the temperature (when is confirmed cos the heat) isn't soo much to worry about, maybe just optimize the lights vs branches.
Of course after you checked the max temperature in that point to prevent burn him.
I mean in my opinion the main problem is when they don't have options to regulate themself, top warm or cold.
I noticed for example that Kevin simply move down a little bit from the top after some time to regulate the temperature. After all they have survival instinct.
But this is just my chams newbie point of view ...waiting for someone more xped

 

[morpheon]

If cos the heat..

I noticed the same with my Kevin just when I added a new Sun glow(the swedish winter heavily arrived), just 25 watt, but he opens his mounth clearly only when he stands at the top basking point and he gets warm. And I'v seen this behaviour in almost any reptiles.
So from my point of view, try to discover if he does this when he is on a top of a basking point.
I tend to believe that since this is a natural mechanism to regulate the temperature (when is confirmed cos the heat) isn't soo much to worry about, maybe just optimize the lights vs branches.
Of course after you checked the max temperature in that point to prevent burn him.
I mean in my opinion the main problem is when they don't have options to regulate themself, top warm or cold.
I noticed for example that Kevin simply move down a little bit from the top after some time to regulate the temperature. After all they have survival instinct.
But this is just my chams newbie point of view ...waiting for someone more xped

Over-heating can definately be a cause of a chameleon with an open mouth. However, it could be much worse, and keeping all the opinions available is the way to go for the moment.