Cham seems to be gasping for air

[sheilahinkley]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - I have a 3 1/2 month old veiled chameleon, hes a male, I have had him a little over a month
• Handling - I have only held him twice, once was to clean his cage. I have just started trying to hand feed him with not much luck
• Feeding - I feed crickets, I gutload them with sweet potatoes, carrots and hibiscus leaves mainly. Sometimes i add in some kale or other greens
• Supplements - I dust with repti calcium without D3 daily and reptivite once every other week and calcium with D3 once monthly.
• Watering - I mist 3-4 times daily. I also have a small water dish that I change daily that I have seen him drink from. I have also seen him drink from the leaves
• Fecal Description - His fecal droppings look normal, dark firm poop and smaller white urate, sometimes with a tiny hint of orange at the ends of the urate but this is rare. I have not had him tested for parasites
• History - I purchased him from flchams, a breeder in FL.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - He is in 18x18x36 screen cage that i purchased from the breeder
• Lighting - I have a UVB flourescent fixture bulb and a 60 watt heat bulb. I have these lights on from 10-12 hrs a day
• Temperature - The basking spot is usually around 82 and the bottom around 72. The lowest temp at night is about 68 degrees. I have a temperature and humidity gage in my cage
• Humidity - Humidity ranges from 30-60 percent. I have a humidity cage on my cage and my air condition has a humidity gage as well. We live in FL so the humidity is rarely below 45
• Plants - I have live plants, an umbrella plant and a hibiscus. I also have some fake vines and some fake leaves that I use for more coverage
• Placement - My cage is on a desk in our office so there is not a lot of disturbance, I sit in here when Im working but that is about it. The cage is probably five and a half feet from the ground.
• Location - Florida

Okay so I noticed this probably yesterday but I wasn't positive the sound came from my cham but today I watched him very closely and after he ate, he went to lay on his basking branch and I saw him take a huge breath in and made almost a gasping sound. It doesn't sound like a wheezing and there is no discharge or saliva coming from his mouth. I misted him immediately after hearing this and I haven't heard him again. He did this multiple times earlier today though before I actually saw him physically make the noise(before this I wasn't positive this noise was coming from my cham). His poop show that he is well hydrated and he is acting normally, eating tons of crickets and has been very active. I'm really worried. Is it possible he was just hot and thirsty? It was only 82 degrees after the top of the cage when I noticed this.

 

[ispeedonthe405]

A video of the behavior is helpful for this sort of thing.

 

[sheilahinkley]

I haven't been able to video it, he does it very randomly, like maybe once an hour.

 

[sheilahinkley]

Vet gave me baytril but I am concerned as to what I did to cause this. Could there be bacteria growing on my live plants? He eats the hibiscus leaves but I washed it pretty thoroughly when I purchased it. I also usually clean out dead crickets and his poop within a day or two so I dont think his cage is particularly unclean. There are little gnat/fruit fly things in his enclosure. I live in FL and my vet said that is normal and not to worry about them.

 

[dtork]

You said he was just 3 1/2 months old... is he gaping to help his shedding? Chameleons will open their mouths like a yawn to stretch and loosen the skin on their head to get it off. At that age I would think he would be growing fast and shedding to keep up with growth. With all other things normal like, appetite, behavior, poops etc. I would not have suspected a bacterial infection as my first thought. Do you think he is ready for a shed?

 

[sheilahinkley]

The vet diagnosed a RI, she could hear some fluid when she listened to his lungs. He just finished shedding about a week ago

 

[ChamsAJaxs]

My girlfriend just called me and said our Cham had repeatedly gasped multiple times. I just put up a free range for her near the window and it gets very hot there. But she always sits there. And my girlfriend said she had seen the Cham directly under the basking light, basically in the dome like an hour ago and now the Cham is gasping. Is too hit the issue?

 

[MeruJack]

Veiled Chameleons
Temperature: Baby/juvenile (<9 months): ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 85F (29C)

Your temps seem spot on.

Can you post a pic of your cham and your cham's enclosure?

 

[MeruJack]

I also have a small water dish that I change daily that I have seen him drink from.

Maybe you should ditch the water dish just to be on the safe side as they can be a source of bacteria big time.

 

[royalchief]

Hi I have read through this thread and I seem to be having a similar situation. My Cham had wheezed briefly right after drinking he’s only a few months old from what I was told. He just started shedding today. His cage fluctuates in humidity the same 30-60%. It looks like his old skin is covering his nostrils, and possibly causing difficulties with his breathing. He is in a 4x2x2 mesh cage and we live in southern arizona. He’s eating just fine and acting normal but his little breathing episode caused me to become concerned. I have a pothos plant as well as a hibiscus plant in his cage. I’ll post some picture right now with this if there’s any advice I’d greatly appreciate it thank you so much. I will also point out that this happened once and only right after drinking

 

[MzLaurie]

Well 21/2 months is too young to have sold him to you. 4 months is the preferable purchase age of a baby. A couple of suggestions. Don’t mist him directly with an RI. Must the cage and leaves well so he will drink off of them. Move the fake plant to the outside of the cage you don’t want him to tss as me a nibble and get impacted. The vines are fine as long as they don’t have moss and leaves on them. If they do but bend-a-branch on Amazon. Standing water is fangerous as it can get contaminated quickly. I would remove it till he is better. The basil should work fine. Also remember he is young and we are having crazy weather which can affect him even though he is inside. You just had a hurricane with barametric pressures changing quickly. Since he is so young, keep a close eye on him and call vet right away if you think he is getting worse. With RI they raise their heads and keep the mouth open to get more sir. Also you may see color changes in him. Since his colors won’t show up for another two months you might not if you do call the vet. I wish you the best. It is such a helpless feeling trying to nurse a baby Cham. Oh is the uvb linear? It should be a dome as the uvb rays only extend 3”. If it’s not go ahead and get a 24” 5 ho or 6% if it’s an Arcadia Don’t worry about the overhang. If he grows to his full size you might want to upgrade the cage to 2x2x4’. Also if your basking bulb cracks from overspray you can get splash proof bulbs that work well. Please keep us updated on the progress.

 

[royalchief]

I will definitely keep you posted this is my first chameleon and I’m doing everything I can to give him a successful, happy and comfortable long life. I appreciate your advice thanks so much again it’s 10 pm my time I’ll check on him in a few hours and again aright when I wake up if anything changes I’ll let you know thanks so much again And take care.