Cham's Head Raised Up Means?

[sweetmisery]

Its as if its looking up in the sky. Does that mean its thirsty or it wants more sun or anything else?

Just wondering cuz Im pretty new to this. Lately, he is at the topmost "wood plank" and just stares up...

THANKS!

 

[jannb]

He might be thirsty. Try a heavy misting and see if he drinks. I give my cham water with a dropper and he holds his head up like that to drink.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Chameleons don't drink like we do. They fill there mouth and then look up to use gravity to drink.

 

[bucky]

Chameleons don't drink like we do. They fill there mouth and then look up to use gravity to drink.

Ive noticed this too, after Louie has drank from a leaf, he then looks up.

 

[AndrewH]

do they store water in their gullet?

i noticed mine pushes and pulls his in and out almost as if hes shifting something around in there.

i see him do it too when he starts to shed, but i can understand that one since he is trying to stretch out the skin.

 

[kinyonga]

Is the mouth open when the head is up?
Is it just after the chameleon has been drinking?

 

[summoner12]

i noticed mine pushes and pulls his in and out almost as if hes shifting something around in there.

He is prolly wetting his tongue.

If your cham is sitting with his head up and his mouth open, he is too hot. They will gape to cool down when they feel too hot. If you see this a lot, even when he isn't under the heat lamp then your ambient temp is too high.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

It depends on a few things
swallowing is a bit difficult with these animals so
so they tilt their heads up to hold the fluid in until it's
"down the hatch" so to speak

they can also assume this position when there's a
large amount of mucus in their lungs
and they're trying to keep from drowning in it
it's a sure sign of an advanced lung infection.

you know if something is wrong is they position
their body vertically for an extended period of time.

 

[Dyesub Dave]

My baby chams do that all the time after they shove a cricket down their throat. They also contort there bodies sometimes ... seems like they're trying to push the cricket into their stomach or something.

They don't sit for long with their heads up ... maybe a few minutes or so.

Dyesub Dave.

 

[littlevillage]

My jackson was doing that & before I knew it, he was dead. He was sitting kind of vertical on a vine, staring straight up. I know better now. If I ever saw one of my other chams do that, it would be straight to the vet for them.

 

[littlevillage]

Are his eyes closed?