Emeraldsmom
New Member
I have a 14-month-old male veiled chameleon named Emerald. He has been holding his mouth open for long periods of time, almost 50% of his time during the day. He is at the correct temperature and has no other indications of a RI. He does it no matter if he is basking or sitting towards the bottom of his cage. He has normal appetite and is hydrated. Every time I walk over to his cage, he stops. Or when he comes out of his cage he doesn't do it at all for the whole time he is out, the minute he is back in he opens his mouth. It's not even a full gape really, and his breathing is not labored, and his mouth fully closes when he stops. He has done this once before, but only did it for a day or two, It has been 3 days and he has not stopped now. I am concerned and booked an appointment with a vet, but they can't see him for a full week. Just wanted to make sure that he is not in any imminent danger, and hopefully save a vet trip if possible. It really seems like some odd behavioral quirk. He gets stressed easily, is very sensitive to environmental changes, or new faces and noise, but loves to come out of his cage, and has no problems with me handling him. I have also inspected his mouth and don't see anything odd or unusual about it. Will post a photo of his gaping. Could use any advice at all!!!