new owner_ new tank???

jocyburns

New Member
i just moved my cham into a new tank and hes blowing up his chin and opening up his mouth> does anyone know why ??:confused: oh, and hes about a month old.
 
What's the temp? he may be over heating. Please post a pic of the new tank and cham, that would be very helpful.
 
here are my photos

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Is that an aquarium tank and what are the temps? Anyway to get a far away pic of the overall tank?
 
the top is open except the uv and heat lamp. is glass still a myth? i have a feeling he was upset at his reflection...
 
the top is open except the uv and heat lamp. is glass still a myth? i have a feeling he was upset at his reflection...

No glass is not recommended due to improper air flow. Is that a waterfall? If so, your set up will more than likely cause major problems with your cham due to no air flow and waterfalls are breeding ground for bacteria unless they are cleaned and sanitized on daily basis.

BTW, it is a very cool set up, but not for a cham.
 
the tank used to be for D. Pumilios. It does have a water fall down the sides but its dry now. i mist this. The last time i posted on this they said glass was fine as long as there is air flow?
 
Airflow is best achieved with openings at the top and along the bottom of at least one side. The idea being the lamp heats the air, causing it to rise out of the enclosure, and pull fresh air in from the bottom.

If only the top is open I believe you need to set your heat source far to one side to allow the cooler air from the other side to enter the enclosure. If your heat lamp is directly above the top, the heated air will try to rise but as there is no new air coming in, it won't be able to leave.
 
Looks like the whole tank is 82+ in there. There should be cooling down spots within the enclosure. Really from what I have read, the only place that should be above 80 should be the basking spot.
 
This is an eighty gallon tank. The structure in the middle has the basking light on one side and the rest of the opening is open for air flow... I only have him in here temporarily until he dosen't fit through the holes in the cage i have, it's 5.5 ' by 3'.
 
how are your providing water in there? I agree with the other member, it is cool but not a house for a chamleon. Sorry, but I don't like all the moss in there either. They might injest accidentally and choke. Are you letting his feeders go loose in there to eat? If so, he could shoot his tongue and grab some moss along with it. He is very young at 1 month old and 82 ambient is just too hot in there for him. Take out the heat lamp and see what your temps come down to. What kind of UVB light are you using in there?
 
I do have two reptisun bulbs 5.0. i mist 3 times a day thoroughly. i keep his feeders in a cup. i have adjusted the heat to 78. the rest of the tank is open for air flow. this is how the tank is set up. is he doomed???
 
I do have two reptisun bulbs 5.0. i mist 3 times a day thoroughly. i keep his feeders in a cup. i have adjusted the heat to 78. the rest of the tank is open for air flow. this is how the tank is set up. is he doomed???

He is not doomed if you make changes, otherwise you will eventually have an unhealthy cham and you don't want that. Do some research on this forum and see what everyone else has done to have a healthy veiled cham. Check out this thread for instance

https://www.chameleonforums.com/i-a...w-everything-i-need-healthy-50780/#post475955
 
Ok.... i just talked to the breeder who hatched my cham. She said i am fine with my set up until hes 4 to 5 months old. He is now 2 months. I am sorry your baby chams got really sick from keeping them in glass..
 
I also wanted to add that i live in the north east. The temps here have dropped down to 20 degrees lately and the humidity is none.
 
i just moved my cham into a new tank and hes blowing up his chin and opening up his mouth> does anyone know why ??:confused: oh, and hes about a month old.

One other thing to watch for...I've seen chams with respiratory infections gape and blow out their throat (or the gular area) over and over as if gulping air. They also sit with their snout pointed straight up, tend to sit dark and quiet under their basking lights longer than usual, stop eating and drinking. As the infection develops they will often show more sticky mucous in their mouth and have blocked nostrils. If you start seeing this you'll need to get some vet help. Hopefully he was just too warm.
 
Thanks for the tip, i will check for that. Although, i dont see the signs for that and the humidity level is not too high. i let the enclosure dry before i mist each time. I think he was just really scared when i first put him in the new habitat. I keep the temp at 78 and he hasn't gulped since.
 
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