My First Cham- I have Some Questions and need Advise

[RussellPanther]

So i got my little Cham about a week ago. Blue Bar Ambilobe Panther, CB, Supposed to be a male but I don't know how to tell because he is so young. He is about 3 inches from snout to tip of tail He is doing well in my unexperienced opinion, I just have a few concerns:
1. Every now and then one of his eyes will swell up pretty big and he will blink it.It happens about once every 2 days from what I have seen. Each occurrence he may do it 1-3 times. He also will rub his eye on one of the plants when it is swollen. i heard that this could mean that he is cleaning his eyes and it kind of looks like it to me but I wanted to hear what everyone thinks because it freaks me out a little and makes me so nervous. I also heard that a higher humidity is good when he is doing this so I cranked up the humidifier and its running full blast now.
2. He opens his mouth a lot like he is breathing. I heard it could be a URI but there isn't really any noise when he does it. I also heard that it could mean he is too hot so I am turned off his heat lamp and am now just running the uvb bulb. The temp in his basking spot with the heat bulb was around 85-90F. And now with just the uvb its about 80-83F.

I got him from backwater reptiles. NEVER order from this site!!! The first cham they sent me had a growth above his eye and they told me to keep him and it would go away. When it got to the point that it grew and made his right eye no longer able to open i told them that i was done with the ******** and want a new cham. They made me ship the guy back and the one I have now is its replacement. I feel bad for the first one I do but most people would do the same thing if they were in my place.

INFO on my Cham:
Cage: 18x18x36 but only using top 2 feet
Diet: Pinheads and Dubia roaches
Lighting: 60watt daylight Heat bulb and 5.0 elongated uvb bulb. 12 hours day and 12 hours dark
Plants: I have Sheflerra Trinette and an Umbrella Plant (are those ok??)
He is drinking fine, I have a humidifier, electro therm. That's all I can think of that I should say, please ask if you have any questions i would love all your advice. I'm going to post some pics.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Hmm... my veiled and jackson do it quite often, especially after a mist. Its fairly normal, just check temps and humidity levels for the open mouth issue. Sometimes new little guys will puff up and open their mouth in a display of heroics when they first see me coming towards them. They eventually get used to their owner and stop doing it. Backwater reptiles huh? I always wondered about those guys because of their low pricing and seemingly endless stock. I usually wait for local breeders or expos to replenish my brood of chams.

 

[Chamoman]

Your basking spot temperature is too high for a baby. The temperature should not exceed 85 degrees, as they don't when they are burning themselves. You want the basking spot to be about 80-83 And lower throughout your cage. As for the eye problem I do not know, and hopefully someone more experienced can chime in.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and I'm sorry to hear your little guy is having eye problems. What kind of lights are you using? I've seen babies have eye problem when new lights are used and they set right on the top of the cage. It would be very helpful if you would fill out the Ask For Help Form and give us as much details (name, brand, watts and ect. ). on each question. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers below and the Ask For Help Form.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[RussellPanther]

Well i lowered the temp now to around 81 in his basking spot and have been watching him closely. He hasn't done the thing with his eyes anymore so that's good. But i have noticed him had a little more saliva than what I would consider normal. I hope its not a URI.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Blue Bar Ambilobe Panther, supposed to be male, had him since friday
Handling - about once every 2 daysfor breif periods to look him over
Feeding - Pinheads and dubias. gutloading the dubias. pinheads no. he eats about 3 a day that i see which seems kind of low but i think he is eating more when im not eating.
Supplements - Repti-calcium with d3 by zoomed and rep-cal herptivite with beta carotene
Watering - i mist at 12am, 2pm, and 11pm. yes i see him drinking. i use a humidifier that adds moisture also. i prob should make a dripper
Fecal Description - Its cb so no parasites but i haveent seen any poops. il keep and eye open


the rest i think i covered in my first post.

Current Problem - just worried he might have a URI. any one have experience with them? and thank everyone for there help

 

[camimom]

You need a basking bulb. They cannot absorb heat from their environment very well, and the warmth allows them to digest.

get a lower watt house bulb (not the coil) and use that for basking.

As for your supplements- you need a calcium without d3 for every feeding, and calcium with d3 for twice a month. the multivitamin is also twice a month.

That baby was way too young to be sold.

You shouldn't be misting at 11 PM. his lights should be off by then.

You need to mist at least 4-6 times per day, starting about an hour after lights on.

You need to be gut loading ALL your bugs, not just the roaches.

as for a suspected URI, keep humidity a bit higher, mist more, and keep an eye on him. any popping clicking, or wheezing noises, youll need a vet to check it out. and meds to treat it.

 

[Camo the Chameleon]

The new basking spot heat is much better for a panther chameleon. Panthers like lower temperatures then veiled. Veileds like a basking spot of 95 degrees.
With the mouth open situation, make sure there is nothing clogging his nostrils. If it is white crusty stuff, that means you should lower the amount of calcium you give him. It is completely natural. If his nose is clear, that means he is just trying to look tough. I have a veiled chameleon and he did that a few times.

 

[squiggles13]

as far as the opening his mouth, couldn't he have just been venting the heat if it was too warm?