Open mouth!!!!!!!!!

[Courtney]

Afetr the lights shut off at 7 ( i remembered to get a timer today) my female decided to sit on a branch next to the dripper with her mouth slightly open and toung slightly visable. she only left her mouth open one other time when i was trying to regulate the temp. she ate 7 very very smal meal worms yesterday with a few crix. i havent given any vit supliments in 2 weeks cause i had been giving calcium w d3 every other day for a week. they are both still exibiting the white on the nose every few day its geting less and less though. i have already filled out the help forum weeks ago and everything as far as my set up was good. what could be causing this?

 

[Courtney]

forgot to mention that she was drinking alot today, dont know if that has anything to do with it or not...thanks alot

 

[Julirs]

Please stop feeding mealworms-they are not a good feeder. Did you get Calcium without D3? You need to make sure you are supplementing correctly. Vitamin/mineral supps should only be used 1-2X monthly, calcium with D3 1-2X montly, and calcium NO D3 5X weekly. Are you checking your temps with a Digital thermometer?

 

[Courtney]

got the worms as a treat......and to help to getthem to cup feed and it worked....i am watching the temp.....never above 85 basking mid 70 inside the plant low 70s at night....im going back to my reptile place sat when they get new supliments in. i have been waiting all week. everyone has stuff with d3 in it. it seems thats the new thing. she leaves her mouth open with her tongue barely out then closes when i try to get close enough to take a pic....what could be the problem!!!!!!

 

[Courtney]

managed to snag a pic. shes not hot to the touch...im freaking out

 

[rmatheny]

This might sound crazy... and I'm definitely not going to be the person with the most answers on here... but I'm going to give you a little suggestion. My chameleon was doing this for a while too... I figured maybe it was like a dog and panting or something and maybe she was thirsty. I got a dropper from CVS and filled it up with water and got close enough for her to see that i was dripping water from it. and then all of a sudden she stuck her tongue onto it and started drinking it like crazy!!! now every two days i give her about 10 droppers full of water and she just loves it. I guess my dripper just wasnt enough for her. she's a thirsty girl. maybe you can try that. and dont worry if it gets mad at first, mine did too and she even shot her tongue at me, but it doesnt hurt, its just sticky. I just kept dropping the water from it until she noticed it and not my hand. hope that helps?

 

[Courtney]

my chams drink fine...and shes not hot but cool to the touch ...the thing is shes not going to sleep with her mouth open all night....and untill this stops or we see the vet or get more feed back on here my bf and i are going to take shifts so we both arent up all night.

 

[rmatheny]

how cold is it getting at night in there?

 

[Courtney]

mid 70s....i dunno mabey she over drank she is inlove with the new arrangement with the dripper

 

[Julirs]

In the picture it looks like she is threatening you. Turn off the lights and leave the room for a bit and see if she settles down. If not, her tongue may be swollen holding her mouth open.

 

[rmatheny]

i dont think they can over drink?? maybe... but i agree with julirs... sounds like a good idea.

 

[Courtney]

i turned it on to warm it up cause she was cold..i mean really cold....should i look in her mouth tomorrow? and what will i be looking for.... other than thoes 5 min of light its been off ....

 

[Lancecham]

Her mouth doesn't show excessive mucus, so it doesn't appear to be a respitory problem. Does it look like she is having problems breathing.

 

[nightcrawler]

Why was she really cold? If your temps were around 85 during the day she should be fine with low 70's no problem. She might not be warm to the touch to your hand, and I can never tell how warm they are by holding them, or touching them. I dont think our hands are that sensitive. They will be fine with nighttime temp drops.
She could be trying to pant to get rid of excess heat. I have noticed mine do that sometimes after they bask. She could also have URI. Tomorrow check if she has her mouth open in the morning, before she has time to bask and get hot. If she does look for stringy saliva, bubbles, or a wheezing sound.

 

[Courtney]

i held her for a lil bit to see if she was breathing ok....she opened her mouth after she settled down i thought she was going to sleep. i would have set up all night holding her if she would have slept. any way i got a good look inher mouth nothing out of the norm gave her a few drops of water. is it normal for them to make a noise kinda between a purr/hicup i felt it twice....could this be a result of over suplimenting w d3?????

 

[bridgofaith]

i held her for a lil bit to see if she was breathing ok....she opened her mouth after she settled down i thought she was going to sleep. i would have set up all night holding her if she would have slept. any way i got a good look inher mouth nothing out of the norm gave her a few drops of water. is it normal for them to make a noise kinda between a purr/hicup i felt it twice....could this be a result of over suplimenting w d3?????

You shouldn't hear any noises when they breathe. It is possible that she has a respiratory infection. If she just started this, it's early and you may not see the mucus in her mouth just yet. Sometimes they can clear the problem themselves and sometimes they need an antibiotic like Baytril to help them. If she is still doing this tomorrow, I personally would take her to the vet.

 

[Julirs]

Holding them offers no comfort-but actually stresses them out. She may have been "puffing" to threaten you. If she has no mucous, I would just watch her. Give her some space, hopefully you have them separated as this could easily be stress related.

 

[jojackson]

is it normal for them to make a noise kinda between a purr/hicup i felt it twice

I note that you say you 'felt' it. They do make vibration like grunts, these generally indicate distress.
The image looks quite bright, was it taken outside or in sunlight? Gaping is done to cool down (though also done if there are respitory issues).
Skin temp bares no relation to your chams internal temp, which is what its trying to regulate. Always rely on a quality digital thermometer.

 

[Carlton]

(though also done if there are respitory issues).

OK folks, pet peeve time on terms that don't exist in the real world. respiratory, not respitory.
spayed not spade.
edema not edma.

Off soapbox now, thank you.

BTW, the best way to measure the actual temp of your cham is by using a infrared non-contact thermometer such as those sold by Pro Exotics (tempgun.com). They will measure the surface temp of any item you aim it at (within the right distance of course). Used to be expensive, but now you can get one for about $25 I think. A fantastic little tool every herper should have. Most other types of thermometers measure the temperature of the air, not an object other than their own housing. Air temp may not be what you want to know. And, thermometers that sit in damp cham cages long term can fail and you can't move them easily to check the temp gradient around the cage. A temp gun goes where you do. Besides, it's kind of fun to measure the temp of all sorts of non-chameleon items around the house...your dog's nose, your nose, that draft around a door, a pizza......

 

[OOOst16]

i hvae seen my chameleon drink one time...ive had him for 2 months... i mist about 5 times a day...hit urate is PURE white....so i know hes not dehydrated ....nor does he have sunken eyes....i feed him plump gut loaded crix...anyone know wy i never see him drink?