Breathing mouth open/ Humidity Confusion

YellowQueenHoney

YellowQueenHoney

Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Male approx 6 months old? Not sureThe species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 weeks in my care
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Everyday to administer 0.2 units of liquid calcium (proscribed by vet on Thurs Nov 9,2017)
  • Feeding - What are you feeling your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Feeding crickets large and small, dubnia cockroaches, wax worms, meal worms, horn worms - I have been adding small crickets and wax worms in the morning as he has not been eating. Gutload with escarole lettuce, bok choy, apple, blackberries, carrots, flax seed, almonds, bee pollen, oranges
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? The vet told me to hold off on supplements until he was better. He is on 2 units of liquid calcium and Tazicef every 72 hours
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I spray water with regular water spray bottle multiple times a day, drying in between. I have fogger, little dripper and cool mist humidifier- I have seen him drink from the dripper but I think he is dehydrated because his eyes are sunk in. I monitor all levels obsessively and the humidity will not go up
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Brown, white with yellow and red/pink 1 millimeter specks, I wish I took a photo
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
I brought him to the vet Thursday Nov 9 because he was sleeping during the day, often had eyes closed and started gasping for air with opening his mouth very large. She prescribed 2 units liquid calcium everyday and tazicef every 72 hours. She said to not give any of the supplements I had which were all the ones you all suggest. She said he may have pneumonia

Now he is having his mouth open longer but not open as large, his eyes look sunken today

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen, 19” x 19” x 29” height
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Coil UVB from cage kit, double dome with 50w basking bulb. On top of cage
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking trying to maintain 85 degrees and ambient 70 degrees. Lowest overnight I think is 65
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? My levels are not getting high lately, I think with the temp drop outside, I really need suggestions on how to keep it up, it is not high enough. I am trying to get it to 60 and it’s only at 45 or slightly lower
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One fake leaves clumb from kit. Lie plants: 2 umbrella, 2 jade plants, Camille
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage in kitchen. High traffic in morning 7-8am and night from 6-8:30pm weekdays- high traffic on weekends. the height of cage from floor is 46”
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? NY,NY

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about: chameleon not eating, open mouth breathing, dehydration humidity levels too low - how the heck to I keep them up? And if he does have pneumonia, is wetness okay?

I also have stuck myself with needle today AFTER administering the trazcef to Cham - I feel very stupid to ask this but should I go to CityMD for this? I called the on call vet and they couldn’t give humans medical advice but she did not seem concerned ‍♀️‍♀️

Photos to follow

Thank you for help.

I am trying the best I can to care properly for my chameleon.
His name is Sven and I love him.
 
YellowQueenHoney said:
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Male approx 6 months old? Not sureThe species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? 2 weeks in my care
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Everyday to administer 0.2 units of liquid calcium (proscribed by vet on Thurs Nov 9,2017)
  • Feeding - What are you feeling your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Feeding crickets large and small, dubnia cockroaches, wax worms, meal worms, horn worms - I have been adding small crickets and wax worms in the morning as he has not been eating. Gutload with escarole lettuce, bok choy, apple, blackberries, carrots, flax seed, almonds, bee pollen, oranges
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? The vet told me to hold off on supplements until he was better. He is on 2 units of liquid calcium and Tazicef every 72 hours
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I spray water with regular water spray bottle multiple times a day, drying in between. I have fogger, little dripper and cool mist humidifier- I have seen him drink from the dripper but I think he is dehydrated because his eyes are sunk in. I monitor all levels obsessively and the humidity will not go up
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Brown, white with yellow and red/pink 1 millimeter specks, I wish I took a photo
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
I brought him to the vet Thursday Nov 9 because he was sleeping during the day, often had eyes closed and started gasping for air with opening his mouth very large. She prescribed 2 units liquid calcium everyday and tazicef every 72 hours. She said to not give any of the supplements I had which were all the ones you all suggest. She said he may have pneumonia

Now he is having his mouth open longer but not open as large, his eyes look sunken today

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen, 19” x 19” x 29” height
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Coil UVB from cage kit, double dome with 50w basking bulb. On top of cage
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking trying to maintain 85 degrees and ambient 70 degrees. Lowest overnight I think is 65
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? My levels are not getting high lately, I think with the temp drop outside, I really need suggestions on how to keep it up, it is not high enough. I am trying to get it to 60 and it’s only at 45 or slightly lower
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? One fake leaves clumb from kit. Lie plants: 2 umbrella, 2 jade plants, Camille
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Cage in kitchen. High traffic in morning 7-8am and night from 6-8:30pm weekdays- high traffic on weekends. the height of cage from floor is 46”
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? NY,NY

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about: chameleon not eating, open mouth breathing, dehydration humidity levels too low - how the heck to I keep them up? And if he does have pneumonia, is wetness okay?

I also have stuck myself with needle today AFTER administering the trazcef to Cham - I feel very stupid to ask this but should I go to CityMD for this? I called the on call vet and they couldn’t give humans medical advice but she did not seem concerned ‍♀️‍♀️

Photos to follow

Thank you for help.

I am trying the best I can to care properly for my chameleon.
His name is Sven and I love him.
Click to expand...
 

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I have water accumulate all over the bottom of cage and floor - I go through so many paper towels. There must be a better way. I do not allow standing water for along and sop it up as much as I can to leave no standing water on the bottom of cage
 
I'm not sure what is going on, but how did you stick yourself with the needle? How bad is it? For the chameleon, you should PM @kinyonga, she is really good with medical care. Hopefully he gets better!
 
Could he or the insects have tried to eat any part of the made plant? I think they're toxic.
Is he pooping?
How long does the water lay on the floor of the cage?
What substrate do you have in the cage if any?
 
Do you mean did any insects eat the plastic plant? Not that I know of. The water may be there for an hour, i wipe it up as soon as I can. No floor substrate. He has pooped. I saw him drinking water and moving about the cage fine today and he seemed okay then I got home an hour later and he was bright yellow with very sunken eyes and very very weak. I gave him steam in the bathroom with the shower. He is super weak, I don’t think he can hold onto a branch, I am afraid he will fall off. I gave him the 2 units of liquid calcium. I’m on the way to the vet. Damn.
 
Firstly, no need to worry about the needle stick. Just remember the incident and monitor for anything unusual, which is unlikely to happen.

Your cage is very dimly lit. Veiled chameleons are sun worshippers and dimly lit surroundings are depressing to them and impact their immune system.
You stayed you are “trying” to maintain a basking area of 85F and an ambient of 70F. You also mentioned wet paper towels being present.
I’d keep him warmer, especially while he’s I’ll. Try 75-78F ambient and 85-88F for basking, keeping him about 70F at night for now and later allowing it to drop lower to household whatever indoor environment dips down to when he’s healthy.

As for humidity, try covering the sides and back of the cage with a plastic painters drop cloth from Home Depot. They run about $3. I imagine your gauge is not entirely accurate and it’s doubtful, unless you are running heat on high already, that your humidity is that low in NY. It may drop that low in the winter, but shouldn’t be now. I would invest in a mist system and heat the water, so it’s not chilly, while he’s ill. An aquarium heater set to 80F will do the job well. I wouldn’t run the humidifiers directly into his cage. The fog can contain bacteria and with the cage being dimly lit and I’m assuming not as warm as he’d like, it’s creating and environment for disease.
If your environment make maintaining proper temps and humidity, then you may need to look into an enclosure with less ventilation, either one of the dragon strand cages that have solid walls or one built from scratch.

Your gutload is on the right track, but Bok Choy should be used in moderation and the flax seed and bee pollen should be ground before feeding to the roaches.

I’d really, really invest in better lighting. You want something with a 5000-6500k spectrum forabient lighting, a linear 10.0 UVB bulb in T8 or T5, and an appropriate basking bulb, halogen are popular for this. That’s the minimum and for veileds, brighter is better, when it comes to ambient light.


Jade plants are terrible choices for a chameleons cage, because they need drier conditions and plenty of light. I’d replace them with something more appropriate. There are many options.

To sum things up:
Raise and keep temps stable at the parameters I mentioned.
Improve your lighting ASAP, which should help with the temps as well
Invest in mister and avoid constant fogging, wet items lingering in the enclosure, and so forth.
Humidity is probably less important than you think, but invest in a reliable, reputable gauge and consider modifying your enclosure, upgrading to an enclosure with some solid walls, and/or humidifying the house/room, instead of his enclosure directly. More plants in the enclosure that are tropical and not succulent will help increase humidity through their respiration. Crassula/jade plants don’t release as much moisture into the air because the succulent leaves are designed to stop water loss in hot, arid environments where they grow.

@Venutus1 is happy to help you get the proper and ideal lighting for your situation and is very knowledgeable and thorough.
 
Thank you very much for your suggestions, I will make those changes immediately. I appreciate your help. I’m at the vet now, very nervous
 
I’m sorry for this unfortunate and sad experience.
Don’t blame yourself. It was obvious that you were trying and doing the best that you could and more than many.
When the dust settles, please come back and let us help you get set up for a better experience.
 
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