Mouth Rot??

[Shona]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male Veiled, 5 months, ive had him for 4 months now.
Handling - only once a week to clean his cage
Feeding - 3rd crickets, locust waxworms ( a few once a week to get him out his cage to clean it) and occasional mealworm but hes not to keen on them. he eats around 20 feeders a day. i feed him half an hour after i turn his lights on everyday. i gutload on Sweet potatoe, ornage and mango and sunflower seeds the day before they are given to him.
Supplements - Exo Terra Calcium without D3 every feed. Komodo calcium with D3 twice a week. and Nutrobol calcium balancer and multivitamin once a week. i dust the feeders just before i put them in the cage, as he hunts his food anyway.
Watering - I mist him 3 times a day with a hand bottle, i use a full bottle every time, and leave icecubes over a plant in the cage so they melt slowley. i see him drinking.
Fecal Description - dark brown, black and white. hard also
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? yes wen i got him.
History - No hes bin fine since i had him. Still quite scared of me but i guess thats fairley normal.


Cage Info:
Cage Type -Exo terra Glass vivarium with screen top. I think its 31 inch high and 16 across. and 19 back.
Lighting - I have an exo terra canopy with exo terra repti glo 10.0 UVB lights in, which i got new 4 months ago just before i got him. He has an ordinary household lightbulb for his basking light. i turn his lights on at 8oclock in the morning 15-20 mns after light comes into the room, and i turn them off at 8 at night.

Temperature .His basking spot is always around 87 and the floor is normally around 74-76. At night his temp is set to 76 at the highest point. I measure his temps as his main heat is on a sensor and keeps the tank at the temp i set it, i also have a exo terra digital termometer with a sensor which can tell me the highest and lowest temps. Also 2 small ones at the bottom of the cage and mid way down.

Humidity -His humidity is always around 70-80% I mist him 3 times a day for 5 mins each time emtpying a hand spay bottle each time. I have the same as my digital thermometer but for humidity, this is in the back of the cage.

Plants - He has a hibiscus, some large logs and bark, lots of vines and lots of fake plants.

Placement - He is in my bedroom, ontop of a computer desk so hes quite high up. Hes in complete silence unless im in my room typing on my laptop or chattin to him.

Location - im in the north west of england. Wigan lancashire to be exact.

Current Problem - Seems to always have his mouth open!! i havent changed anything and his cage is always kept clean. Just scared it could be mouth rot even though i have only read little about this so not quite sure what it looks like.

 

[Pilotman800]

Your husbandry is great for the most part, but it can use just a little adjustment. Try using the calcium WITH D3 twice a month instead of twice a week. Same with the multivitamin.

As for gut loading, its not bad but i'm sure the more experienced keepers will recommend adding more to it. I'm going to link you to Sandrachameleons blog about gut loading.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

As for the mouth, could you upload another picture at a different angle?

 

[lindawaz]

87 seems high to me. His mouth open could be he is just too hot. I would lower that temp to 81- 84 and see how he does with that.

I am not sure about the 10.0 UBV most use a 5.0 but not sure if that would cause his mouth to open that usually causes eyes to close because of it being too strong

 

[Shona]

Thanks, il try and lower his temps and add more gut loaders see if that helps. His lights were recommended to me when i got him (although everything else they recommended was wrong) But they are in a Exo terra canopy so they are lifted abit off the top of his cage anyway, not sure if that helps at all.

Thanks for the advise though, il deffo follow it and hope it makes him fell better.

 

[Pilotman800]

87 seems high to me. His mouth open could be he is just too hot. I would lower that temp to 81- 84 and see how he does with that.

I am not sure about the 10.0 UBV most use a 5.0 but not sure if that would cause his mouth to open that usually causes eyes to close because of it being too strong

The temp should be okay as long as he has a cooler spot. The Kammers use basking temps in the 90s.

Good catch. I didn't see the 10.0 UVB. You need to remove that and put in a 5.0. The 10.0s are too strong and can hurt your chams eyes.

 

[lindawaz]

Since you said you had received not so great information are you sure it is a boy? Not that it matters on his mouth but it will when egg laying comes....

 

[ataraxia]

that is a male 100%.

temps should stay at 87*-90.

i would take him to a vet as he probably has mouth rot from the looks of it and more than likely other issues.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/480-issues-head-region.html

gaping...could be from his mouth rot but could also be from a RI. read this and see if it pertains to you.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/482-issues-body-region-internal.html

 

[Shona]

that is a male 100%.

temps should stay at 87*-90.

i would take him to a vet as he probably has mouth rot from the looks of it and more than likely other issues.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/480-issues-head-region.html

gaping...could be from his mouth rot but could also be from a RI. read this and see if it pertains to you.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/482-issues-body-region-internal.html

Thanks, i though it would be mouth rot, il ring the vets first thing in the morning!!

Hes not gaping though, its only the small bit at the front thats open, he sometimes sticks his tounge out a little bit from it but he doesnt open his mouth fully :s

Thanks for your help though i will deffo be ringing the vets first thing!!

 

[kinyonga]

The way his lips are open only at the tip of the mouth suggests a nutrient imbalance to me....I'd look at your supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed the insects as well as the UVB. The vet should be able to tell you for sure.

Here's some more information I hope will help you ....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[Shona]

Thanks Everyone for all your help and advise!

Well i got Jambo to the vets last week and apparentley there is nothing wrong with him! He just finds it easier to breath this way!!

The vet Checked his mouth and there is no rot or any abnormality / swelling of his tounge at all, and he listened to his lungs and xrayed him and there is nothing wrong with his "lungs", he a perfectley healthy little chappy.