Sneezing Cham

[ConnieCulmer]

So my veiled Chameleon always sits at the back of his Viv under his basking bulb, sometimes he will shut his eyes momentarily like they're irritated, he will sit facing upwards with his mouth open and sometimes he sneezes too, like every day. I hear a clicking noise when he breathes aswell.

I read on these forums that he could be sneezing excess salt from his nose as he has had crusty white nostrils but I know there can only be one answer for the other symptoms, an RI.

I would just like to know what I'm doing wrong? I've attached pictures of his Viv and more care information below:
Viv size/type: Glass Viv
Width: 46cm Length: 46cm Height: 59cm
Chameleon: Veiled, 6 months old
Food: We mainly feed him about 7 gut loaded locusts a day (medium to large) which are fed with fresh apple. We also have a small pot filled with watercress, rocket and water which keeps him hydrated (and he LOVES eating his greens).
Lighting: 60W basking bulb and a UVB 10.0 switched on for 10-12 hours during the day.
Supplements: Dust with Repti-Calcium without D3 a couple of times a week, Zolcal-D (D3) about 2-3 times a month along with Arkvits (all round supplement).
Temperatures and humidity: We mist his Viv 3 times a day for 5 minutes each session. Heat mat is turned on at night in the winter.
Basking temp: 35 degrees Celsius
Daytime temp: from 29-35 degrees Celsius
Night time temp: from 18-24 degrees Celsius
Plants etc: Fake plants as you can see in the pictures, Reti-Carpet at the bottom of his Viv which is sterilised and washed (along with all the fake plants etc) once a week or whenever needed.

Hope that's all you need plus pictures. Please help.

 

[BuddhaBud]

Cute lil guy you got there! Based off what you described his symptoms are & the fact that he lives in a glass enclosure, I'd say there's a good chance this is an RI. There's little airflow in a full glass enclosure (unless you build in some kind of ventilation).. with all that moisture in the air & no where to go, that could have done it. Have you noticed any excess of fluids in / around his mouth? Anything bubbly?

 

[ConnieCulmer]

Thank you! He is adorable!
I was thinking that exact thing, would you suggest a mesh Viv? I have been saving up for one, and a real plant to go in it like a fig tree.
He seems fine for now, I think if he stays looking healthy and eating properly at the moment we will take him to the vets the moment we have got him a new Viv so then we know there's no risk of him getting ill again.
Thanks!

 

[ConnieCulmer]

There is no excess fluid or bubbling around his mouth/nose? We are trying our hardest to prevent the RI at the moment, doing things like taking him out of his viv for extended sessions for air and making sure he is hydrated with clean water. He has recently had treatment for worms too and is due a shed, he's also started turning different colours now. Could that have anything to do with it? We will stop misting his Viv as much too and see if that helps him.

 

[BuddhaBud]

Thank you! He is adorable!
I was thinking that exact thing, would you suggest a mesh Viv? I have been saving up for one, and a real plant to go in it like a fig tree.
He seems fine for now, I think if he stays looking healthy and eating properly at the moment we will take him to the vets the moment we have got him a new Viv so then we know there's no risk of him getting ill again.
Thanks!

Yes, I would recommend a mesh enclosure. However, when we upgraded our veiled from his glass cage to a mesh one, we noticed he started pulling out his nails climbing on the screen.. Just as a forewarning, give him lots to climb on or line the inside of the cage with something easier to grip.. here's what we did:

Good luck with your lil guy - if the crackling while breathing sound gets worse, I would take him in asap.

 

[BuddhaBud]

There is no excess fluid or bubbling around his mouth/nose? We are trying our hardest to prevent the RI at the moment, doing things like taking him out of his viv for extended sessions for air and making sure he is hydrated with clean water. He has recently had treatment for worms too and is due a shed, he's also started turning different colours now. Could that have anything to do with it? We will stop misting his Viv as much too and see if that helps him.

What sort of colors is he exhibiting? Do you have any pix?

Maybe only mist his cage as long as it takes to prompt him to drink & achieve optimal humidity.. since the moisture hangs around for so long in a glass enclosure, you probably won't need much more than that.

 

[Syreptyon]

Hi there, and welcome to the forums! I'm glad you stopped by to ask these very important questions. There are a couple of noteworthy things regarding your husbandry that need changing ASAP right off the bat.

Gutload: First of all, apples are not a good enough gutload for your locusts. You need to include some good leafy greens like dandelion/collard/turnip greens, sweet potato, and papaya. These are significantly more nutritious and readily available so make sure to add this to your gutload! It's good that you're already using fresh produce over commercially available dry gutloads, though.

Food/water: I find your bowl full of greens and water to be highly concerning. First of all, do you know that chameleons are not meant to drink from standing water? This is chameleon keeping 101, so please remove the standing water immediately. He should be getting his water from multiple daily mistings and/or a dripper. Even if he does drink from it, it is a breeding ground for bacteria and may be contributing to whatever is causing him problems currently. The greens that he eats are totally fantastic, but you should try hanging them from higher up so he doesn't have to come to the ground to feed on them. You never want your chameleon to spend much time at the bottom of the enclosure, since they are arboreal lizards.

Heat: Your basking temp is way too high for his age (like 10 degrees too high). Especially since he is in a glass terrarium, he is going to be cooking in there currently. Get a dimmer or a lower wattage light bulb to achieve a basking spot of no more than 29 C. He can tolerate hotter as he gets older, but right now he needs a serious chance to cool down.

Also, you should get rid of that heat mat at night unless your temperatures drop below 15 C. Temperature drops at night are very good for chameleons and supplemental heat is not advisable unless totally necessary. As you have listed your temperatures, you definitely do not need this and should stop using it.

UVB: Two things are wrong with your UVB light. First of all, the 10.0 bulb is way stronger than necessary for a cage as short as yours. In addition to that, you are using a coiled bulb, which are known to cause both eye problems and an uneven distribution of UVB light. Replace what you have with a linear 5.0 UVB bulb.

Setup: As you already talked about above, you should definitely switch to a full screen/mesh enclosure. This will decrease the risk of future respiratory infections. You also need a 4 foot tall enclosure by the time he is an adult, so the time to upgrade is probably now or in the near future. Along those same lines, the decor of your cage needs to be changed significantly. Chameleons are arboreal, so they need many horizontal branches, vines, and walkways at all levels of elevation in the cage. Your current setup doesn't even allow him to get halfway to the top of his cage and there is not nearly enough foliage to make him feel secure and give him a place to hide when he wants. Nor is he able to get close enough to the basking light. This is an extremely important change to make as soon as you can. Also consider adding live plants. They do wonders for humidity and make your chameleon feel safe and comfortable (and he may even chew on them as yours seems to like greens!) Just make sure to buy non-toxic plants.

All right, sorry I know that is a whole bunch of information!! But all of it is well-intended and important. Please don't take my advice as criticism, I mean only to provide information to update your chameleon's setup so that it suits him and can offer him the best possible future You're already on the right track by asking questions, so please keep asking away if there is anything else!

 

[kinyonga]

To create better airflow in a glass cage you need to create a chimney effect by placing all the lights to one side of the cage on the lid of course. Also one more comment about your cage set up that I don't think was mentioned yet...the UVB is too far away from where he can sit for him to be able to get much good from it. What's the temperature at the closest spot the chameleon can sit in the basking area? You need the greenery to fill the top of the cage more and create pathways for the chameleon to be able to get close enough to the UVB and the basking lights. Make sure he can't get close enough to burn himself though. To test for this...out your hand inside the cage right under the lights and see if you can keep your hand there or if it's too hot and you want to move it away.

I live in Canada and I've used glass exo terra cages for years and even glass aquariums in the beginning (dark ages...30 years ago) and they work well as long as you set up the chimney effect and don't let water lay stagnant in the cage, etc. With screen ones in a cold climate you end up with a chameleon sitting in the basking area most if the time because the rest of the cage is too cool.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Aside from the information given, can you post another picture of his lips? And are you sure he is not a she?

 

[kinyonga]

@CJ's Exotics said..."Aside from the information given, can you post another picture of his lips? And are you sure he is not a she?"...so you noticed that too??

 

[CJ's Exotics]

@CJ's Exotics said..."Aside from the information given, can you post another picture of his lips? And are you sure he is not a she?"...so you noticed that too??

Yes, it seems concerning.