Veiled Gaping at Basking Spot

[samfish]

I have noticed that my 5 month old male veiled frequently gapes at his basking spot.

His cage is 4' tall, and is 85.4 degrees at the basking spot where he is gaping. The temperature at the bottom of the cage is 72-75 degrees, so he has plenty of temperature range to move to.

He is will hydrated, has white urates, and behaves normally in all other aspects.


Is this something to be concerned about? Or is it normal that they would choose to stay and gape at the basking spot instead of moving lower down?

Thanks!
-sam

 

[carol5208]

If he is gaping, that means he is hot. 84 is not that high of a temp. Are you sure your thermometer is correct? I mean basically it just means he is trying to cool down. If your temp is correct, then maybe I would move the branch down an inch or two to lower the temp a couple of degrees and see if that does not get him to stop.

 

[samfish]

The temp should be correct, I use an infrared thermometer and it is accurate when compared to other thermometers in my house.

He has branches lower down, I would think he would just move to those if he was too hot...

I can try moving the basking light further away to reduce the heat, but dont understand why he wouldnt move to a lower branch!

 

[junglefries]

Younger ones can overheat easily, even at 85°f if not adjusted to the temps. Try raising your basking bulb and slowly lowering it by an inch every week or so. If you have a 75-100w bulb directly on the cage and your cham can get within 6-10" of it, then your temp is probably off.

 

[JamesBryan]

What's your humidity at?

 

[samfish]

Humidity is about 60%

 

[nightanole]

Is this really a problem? "im too lazy to move so im gonna mouth gape". I have yet to find a "hot rock lizard" that doesnt do this.

 

[samfish]

That is my question, is it a problem? Or is he just lazy and this is OK!

 

[JamesBryan]

If he was doing it all the time then it could be a respiratory problem.

Maybe he's just lazy.

 

[junglefries]

If he was doing it all the time then it could be a respiratory problem.

Maybe he's just lazy.

Their nervous system doesn't alert them to 'Help me I am burning!'.