general health activity for ambilobe

[hotrodslp]

"pogi" is a 5 month old ambilobe got him last week. in a 18x18x36 enclosure. 1 umbrella plant and 1 hibuscus,,,25w basking light around 86-87* temp w 5.0 uvb as well.
fed with calcium dusted crickets mostly and some meal worms (3-4 day)

i want to know how "active" these little guys should be....he has been kinda "lethargic" today...he still move around...but has been mostly hanging out under his basking light.... and his coloring is darker most of the time....which is why i checked the temp in his basking spot.
and then he started opening his mouth today....i took some pictures....
please let me know how he looks to you. he is kinda "lying" down on his leaf/branch too.
eating well still.... misting him 2-3 times / day

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

He is gaping which means he is trying to regulate his body temperature. I suggest moving his basking light up higher. He is darker because he is basking it helps absorb the heat.

 

[carol5208]

Does he only gape when basking? If not, then he could have other issues going on.

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

Hold him and try to listen to him breathing see if he is weezing or sticky saliva which may indicate a URI

 

[hotrodslp]

he had his mouth open while under the basking lamp. then he moved around....and opened his mouth a couple times. i picked him up and while he was on my hand he opened his mouth once. just for a couple of seconds. but he is not like wandering around the cage with hismouth open all the time.

he is active...walking around the cage right now.

do they like to "sit" around during the day? at one point it looked like he as laying upon the leaves kinda leaning on them. but he still got up and moved around well. . idk if he was resting relaxing...etc?

but his eyes look ok right? they arent sunken in? i wanna make sure he is getting adequate hydration....

i will try listening to him next time i pick him up...but he isnt holding his nose up or anything like that...and i dont see any bubbles coming out of his nose...
thanks for the responses......

 

[carol5208]

No his eyes look fine. Maybe he was just hot and he might have opened his mouth cause he didn't like you holding him. Sounds like you know what to look for as far as a respiratory problem, so just be observant.

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

My panthers like to lay on their perches when basking or catching some uvb sounds to me like he was warm just move bulb higher

 

[xraygirl]

Sometimes they lay over to flatten themselves out to get as much exposed to the basking light as possible.

I've never had a baby cham, but I know my adult panther has his 'lazy, sitting on the couch in sweats eating pudding and watching a soap opera' days.