kingspade18
Established Member
My cham gaped yesterday for the first time that i know of and my wife just called and said he did it again for about a minute. Should i be worried about RI?
Panther mouth gaping
- Thread starter kingspade18
- Start date
brandon1
Established Member
First check his temps. If they are too warm they will constantly gape. What are the basking and ambient temps?
kingspade18
Established Member
Ambient in the room is getting around 80 basking is 90ish
brandon1
Established Member
I don't have experience with panthers but I am pretty sure that is too high. If no one else proves me wrong, keep is enclosure with temps ranging from 70-80 and a basking spot of mid 80s. Is he a baby/juvenile?
Also to check to see if it is a RI, check his nostrils for mucus, and the inside of his mouth for excess saliva.
kingspade18
Established Member
Havent noticed any mucus or saliva but i will keep an eye on it, he is a juvenile 4.5 months old. I need to figure out a way to bring the room temp down i think
WOLVERINES135
New Member
No, the basking temp. Should be fine, I keep mine around 90 and I haven't had any trouble, as far as the gaping I've no idea I hope others post to help out because I'm interested and would like to learn what it might be.
brandon1
Established Member
Gaping is almost certainly from temps being too high. The only other reason that I know of why chams do that is because of a RI, and if he doesn't notice any signs of a RI then it has to be the temps.
To kingspade18:
Bring either the basking temp down or the ambient, to what I mentioned, to see if he stops gaping and if not do both. The 90 basking spot would probably be perfectly fine so long as he's in a larger cage with lots of foliage where he can escape the heat where the temps are in the 70-80s. If he is still continuing to gape after both temps are down then look very closely for the signs of a RI.
kingspade18
Established Member
Only thing i can do to bring the room temp down is keep the windows open. I did this the last 2 nights and the lowest it got was 71°. So im not sure how much i can regulate the room temp during the day, i will do temp readings again today.
camimom
New Member
90 deg for an adult panther is ok, but that is probably too high for a 5 month old.
try raising the basking bulb up higher, or get a lower watt bulb.
also, if you can leave the window open during the day that might help too.
for signs of an RI.
listen for popping/wheezing/ crackling noises.
constant gaping
head up in the air
eyes closed
try raising the basking bulb up higher, or get a lower watt bulb.
also, if you can leave the window open during the day that might help too.
for signs of an RI.
listen for popping/wheezing/ crackling noises.
constant gaping
head up in the air
eyes closed
