Mouth Opening, what are your thoughts?

[McGoober6]

Cage: Reptibreeze 18 x 18 x 36
Lighting: 150W Basking (only thing that will keep max temperature 95-97), 5.0 Reptisun UVB
Misting: ExoTerra Monsoon 16 seconds every 2 hours, Reptile Humidifier/Fogger
Additional Water Source: BioBubble large
Humidity/Temp: I try to maintain 58-65% humidity, around 95 degrees in basking corner, 73 degrees at bottom of cage.
Feedings: 5-9 crickets/day, 1 small broccoli clover @ night (shes loves veggies). Calcium without D3 every other day and with D3 about once a month.
Stool: Somewhat irregular. Sometimes daily, other times once every 2-3 days. Large white piece with 2-3 brown/sometimes dark green pieces.

This is my female veiled chameleon. I have had her for nearly 1.5-2 months. I imagine she is roughly 5 months old? (not positive) The last 2 weeks or so she seems to bask near the UVB bulb at the top end of the cage but never under the basking spot. She has plenty of areas in the middle area of the cage with plenty of foliage/hiding areas if temperatures get too high but she always prefers this one branch at the top of the cage and has been opening her mouth while she basks throughout the day. From what I've researched, it seems some people say its completely normal for Veileds to like to get warmed up then simply open their mouth to cool off with evaporative cooling instead of retreating to cooler parts of the cage. Some worry about upper respiratory infections, but other than a little bit of white calcium every once in awhile out of her nostrils, she has no discharge from any mucous membranes, doesn't seem lethargic, and has never really fallen off her perch or given any other signs of muscle weakness. Ive noticed she does occasionally puff her neck and body out but usually its just when I approach the cage initially and she stops 4-5 seconds later. So my gut is telling me that she is fine and healthy and all this can be completely normal behavior for certain Veileds but I figured I'd post some photos to see what everyone else is thinking.

Additionally: I cant help but be nervous about her being a female and her eventually needing to lay a clutch. She hasnt had any bright colorings and these photos are right after she ate NINE crickets (she was hungry tonight) so she does seem a little plump, but lemme know if you think shes got some eggs in her belly or Im just over thinking as a first time owner .

 

[Harry The Cham]

Well she looks healthy chameleons will do this to release heat mine does it to it’s like when a dog pants instead of sweating they do this

 

[Harry The Cham]

How long has it been open it should only take a few seconds

 

[McGoober6]

How long has it been open it should only take a few seconds

She does it on and off throughout the day, sometimes for 30-40 seconds then closes for a bit then will open.

 

[Harry The Cham]

It could possibly be an URI (upper respitory infection). From what I have heard you can sometimes hear wheezing/popping when they breathe.

 

[Goose502]

She looks overheated, 150watts is a powerful bulb. I’d move the basking light farther away, lowering the basking temp.

 

[Harry The Cham]

Yea 150 is a lot I personally use a 75 wat

 

[McGoober6]

So even if the temperature is in the mid 90s still move it? If I use anything less I sit in the 80s. When I tried the 100W my basking area was around 87.

 

[HannahGrace]

I think 150W is too hot. I believe you should try lowering back to 100W. 85-95 is what you want you want for the basking spot for a veiled, with the mid 80s being more ideal. I think 87 would be much more optimal, though 85 is probably best, some people say that the mid 90s can run too hot for veileds especially when young. As long as the ambient temperature of the enclosure is a good gradient I think your girl would do better. I personally use a 75 wat, and am sill constantly worried about thermal burns. I get being worried about it not being hot enough, I always am too. But if its too hot you run the chance of burns and dehydration. Especially as you mentioned she is trying to bask under the UV, I think its too hot. You can try lowering the basking branches too, but honestly I'd try lowering the wattage.

 

[Syreptyon]

Your basking spot is way too hot for a 5 month old (by like 10 degrees or more). She is definitely overheating. Basking should be 85F for a veiled under 9 months old. Please give this caresheet a look through if you haven't already: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[Syreptyon]

Okay a few more changes need to be made. Please don't take my following comments personally, as they are just meant as constructive criticism and will be important to the longterm health of your chameleon.

Cage size: You should be getting ready to upgrade in the next couple of months. She will need a 24 x 24 x 48" tall enclosure very soon.

Lighting: Is your UVB light a linear model or a compact/coiled bulb?

Misting/water: This is definitely one of the biggest problems in your husbandry. 16 seconds is at least 8x too short of a misting session to do any good. You need to up your misting times to, at minimum, 2 minutes (preferably even longer at the beginning of the day). It takes at least 2 minutes, on average, to stimulate a chameleon to drink. Please make sure to make this change. Moreover, the biobubble thing you use is not at all recommended. They are breeding grounds for bacteria and cannot be kept clean easily. It would be best remove that from your chameleons cage. Man, I really wish that product was no longer offered because it causes lots of problems and a lot of newer owners get tricked into buying them because they seem like a good idea at first... She should be getting all the water she needs from multiple daily misting sessions as well as a dripper.

Supplements: These definitely need an adjustment, too. You should be dusting with Calcium WITHOUT D3 at every feeding, calcium WITH D3 twice a month, and with a multivitamin twice a month. Currently, you are supplementing only half as much calcium as your girl needs and you are not using a multivitamin, which is critical to her health

 

[McGoober6]

Update-I switched to my 100W bulb and she no longer is opening her mouth. The temperature sits around 89-91 (instead of 95-97) Basking spot now but she still seems to prefer the spot that is under her UVB. I could buy a 75W and see if it encourages her to go to the basking spot?
and Syreptyon, no comments taken personally! The reason I had it on a lower dripping rate was because Im using a humdifier that helps keep the humidity up but it also continually drips from the top of the cage where it connects to the mesh. The reason I liked the biobubble was because I actually saw her drink from it once so I know she knows its there. I was super worried about purchasing one because of bacteria accumulation so I dump the water out 2-3 times a week then clean the container and I havent seen any crickets or chameleon poop in them yet. I can defiantly up the misting cycles/length to stimulate her to drink more. And to be completely honest, nearly all of her feedings are actually dusted without D3. I said half because occasionally she has dried white stuff coming out of her nose and I hold off on dusting so heavily for a day so I said half but in hindsight I probably should have said about 85% of her feedings are dusted without D3 calcium.

One final note about the biobubble and also the big dripper leaf systems. If they are thoroughly cleaned and mesh is covering the base of them so chameleons cannot get into them, do they still pose a high risk of harm to the chameleon? I know Im new to the lizard world but I am an intense care unit nurse and if they are religiously cleaned multiple times a week the continuously running water should help prevent bacterial growth shouldnt it?

 

[HannahGrace]

89-91 is defiantly better, but it's still on the higher side. I think it would be worth trying a 75W, especially if she's still staying away from the basking bulb. As long as the gradient temperature of the cage is also good I think it would be ideal. That's great she's not opening her mouth though! ^^

 

[McGoober6]

89-91 is defiantly better, but it's still on the higher side. I think it would be worth trying a 75W, especially if she's still staying away from the basking bulb. As long as the gradient temperature of the cage is also good I think it would be ideal. That's great she's not opening her mouth though! ^^

Ordered a 75W about 20 minutes ago Like Syreptyon mentioned, Im about due anyways for a cage upgrade so I might use the 100W for that. Part of my issue is I really do not know how old my girl is so it makes things like cage size and concerns about her first clutch more difficult.

 

[HannahGrace]

That's great! Hopefully it goes well for you.

 

[Mawtyplant]

Dont seem like a RI too me she look fine, a bit overheated so glad you change the basking bulb for a lower one!

I juste have an advise about your uvb bulb, This bulb look like a reptisun right? this is not good and even worst in the vertical position, afer 2-5 month you have too change the bulb and event a brand new bulb force your chameleon too be realllllllyyy close too the lamp to get some uvb.

when you gonna get a bit of money, go buy a t5ho 5.0 neon uvb light (arcadia, reptisun) with the ballast. at the end you will save money because the neon can bee good up to 1 year (i tested with solar meter)

Sorry for my english, morning stil.l the morning here!

 

[Graves923]

I said half because occasionally she has dried white stuff coming out of her nose and I hold off on dusting so heavily for a day so I said half but in hindsight I probably should have said about 85% of her feedings are dusted without D3 calcium.

White crust around the nostrils is salts being excreted from a gland in the chameleons nasal passages. What kind of water are you using? I had this white crust issue with my cham when I was using tap water. I switched to filtered water and the crust went away.