respiratory infection

[davejane]

Hi,we have a 3month old female yemen chamelion,approx 5" in body,she is housed in a wooded side,glass fronted vivarium with 2 small air vents in the roof and one that runs along the back at the top,temperature average 84.4,we handle her every day and was very tame when we bought her.she seems to be doing great,eats 10-15 half inch crickets gut with carrot and bug grub,grapes carrots,I mist her in the morning for two minutes then she drinks roughly 1ml of water through syringe.our concern is that every now and again she seems to cough a couple of times is this indicative of a respiratory infection also today she has been gaping and puffing her body out under her basking lamp any advice would be greatly Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon –female yemen 3months old,aprrox 5” in body,
•
Handling -10-15mins in day
• Feeding – 10-15 gut loaded half inch crickets
• Supplement Nutrobal calcium balancer with multivitamin
• Watering misted in morning for 2mins then drinks 1ml from syringe this is repeated in the evening
• Fecal Description firm black with white birdlike fluid
• History –bought from pet shop 1month ago,sold to us in the wrong set up bought new vivarium week later
Cage Info: wood surround glass front,air vent running along top back,two small circular vents in top.height 77cm,width 62cm,depth 40cm.stands 5ft off ground
• Cage Type –
• Lighting -60watt basing lamp,reptisun uvb 10
• Temperature – 85 in spot,75 in shade
• Humidity – not known
• Plants –small ficus,spider,geranium
• Placement - Location – quiet corner front room §

 

[jannb]

I would recommend a vet visit to see for sure if it's an RI. I have a few links for you. The first link will give you info about RI's. The second link is about general husbandry for your chameleon. I see a few important changes you need to make to keep your little one healthy. The third will tell you about the egg laying and laying bin that you will need for your female. A female can and often does lay eggs without a male even being around.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/back-vet-medication-questions-39302/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment656

 

[davejane]

thank you so much for your advice,we have have lowered daytime temperature to 80.5 spot and evening 68.she has stopped gaping is eating and drinking well and so far hasn't made any strange noises could it be the high temperature that caused this? and at three months old do we have to mindful of her laying eggs? we were advised that this would not happen till 5 months

 

[laurie]

When you say her body is 5" do you mean s/v(just body) or s/t(body and tail)?

I have never seen a 3 month old female veiled with a 5" body. Wonder if the age could be wrong? Also it would be unusual for one that young to be sold, most people don't sell a baby until 3 months.

 

[davejane]

Hi Laurie,we just measured again and she is actually 3.5 inches from nose to bum.The pet shop said she was roughly 8wks when we bought her 1 month ago.

 

[JCDenton]

The temperature could cause a chameleon to gape but I don't think it could cause coughing. If you hear anything like clicking or popping noises it is probably a RI. Also, if you see any bubbles, or any mucous when the chameleon gapes you may very well have an RI. They can get much worse very quickly so if you see signs don't wait around.

 

[carol5208]

Maybe someone else can chime in here but aren't 1/2 inch crickets a little large for a 3 month old? Shouldn't it be like 1/4 inch or maybe 3/8? The quanity sounds good but the size seems large to me, atleast the way I fed my chameleon and that was at 4 months when I got him.