Panther chameleon sick?

[Anniel]

Hey, so I got a panther chameleon a week ago and for the last couple of days he has been very territorial of his cage (puffing up, blowing out his throat, hissing). I noticed today that there has been a lot of saliva in his mouth, kind of like blowing bubbles when he hisses and it seems kind of gummy around in the mouth area, is this a bad sign or could is just be from the hissing? Everything else is fine he eating, active, and alert. Thanks!

 

[SaintJimmy]

Bubbling saliva/excess saliva is a sign of Upper Respiratory Infection.

Can we get a pic of him doing that?

 

[Anniel]

I'll try but I'm not sure how to do it from my phone

 

[carol5208]

No that should have nothing to do with hissing. As stated, it sounds like a respiratory infection. If this is so, you cannot cure on your own. He will need to be seen by a vet and given the proper anti biotic.

 

[Anniel]

I am going to watch him for a day and probably bring him in on Monday, should I hurry him to the vet or is it okay to wait a day before bringing him?
Chameleon Info:
I have a male panther chameleon that is about 3 1/2 months old. He has been in my care for a week. I have been handling him for a few minutes only the past couple of days. I have just been feeding him cricket, have also offered wax worms but their was no interest. He eats 5-7 crickets a day. I have been dusting the cricket in repti-calcium without d3.. Have given him 2 crickets with repti-vite on them today. I have a mister that sprays the two plants that are in the cage. The mister sprays every 2 hrs. for 30 seconds. I have seen him drink a few times since he has been here. He poops once a day and it is brown and has white on the top of it. The store that I got him from said that he had been tested for parasites before he got to the store.
Cage Info:
18x18x36 reptibreeze cage that I have cut in half to make it smaller. I have a tropical zilla UVB light. Red nightlight heat bulb. I turn on both bulbs at 7:30am and then turn it off at 7:30pm. The humidity stays at 40%(its hard to keep up since I live in a dry climate) goes to 50% and 60%.t some cage carpet on the sides of the cage to keep humidity up. Mid way of the terrarium is 75 degrees and it gets 5 degrees higher even higher(basking spot). Gets lower at the bottom of the cage. I'm using 2 live plants ( umbrella tree and pothos plant). The cage is located on the ground and I am planning on putting it on a night stand. I live in Northern Nevada (very dry)

 

[symphonica]

Does he stick his nose up in the air a lot, either with his mouth open or not?

It may be hard if he's so territorial and aggressive, but can you hear any popping, gurgling, and wheezing from his lungs if you put your ear up to it?

Is he well hydrated (eyes not sunken in)?

It's best to be safe than sorry and take him to a knowledgeable vet. You will need antibiotics for an RI, and these can get worse to the point where it kills them. Waiting a day should be fine, but with RI, the sooner the better. Whenever I call the vet with a suspicion of RI, they book me an appointment for the same day, since prognosis is so much better the earlier you catch it and get them on antibiotics.

 

[Anniel]

I don't know if it is a pop or not, but it sounds like a pop or puff(really quiet) whenever he opens his mouth, I don't know if it is just his mouth opening. I've seen him drink water 2 times today and his eyes don't seem sunken in. Puts his nose up occasionally. When I first got him he wasn't really aggressive or territorial but 2 days ago he randomly started getting territorial. Could this infection cause him to be aggressive? When he puffs out his throat you can kind of hear a sound. It also looks like he is starting to shed on his face. I will most likely bring him to the vet. You only hear the sound when he is puffing up. Thanks!

 

[symphonica]

Any animal's temperament will change when they're not feeling well. They also tend to become irritable when they're shedding/about to shed.