my chameleon possibly has a URI or something. WHAT TO DO? please help

[Adashek123]

hey everyone!
its been a while since i posted a thread because all has been well with my panther chameleon until earlier this week. about 5 days ago, i noticed some mucus on his lips, and then i saw him coughing!! literally it looked like he was having a stroke, but it was just like 5 big puffs and this coughing sound. he was fine after he did that, even ate some crickets and superworms. but what can i do to possibly cure this if it even is a URI? idk if it is. he had an eye problem a few weeks back and now it seems to have came back. he keeps them both closed sometimes but most of the time its just one thats closed. but during most of the day hes wide awake and his eyes are open and eats. i have been giving him warm showers, raised the humidity somewhat and temperature. I heard something about repti aid and reptiad or something.. thanks!


Your Chameleon - Panther Chameleon, male, almost 15 months

Handling - past few days, i have handled him once a day because i gave him showers (not direct showers, just made the water super hot at first and left him on the other side of my bathroom and made it super steamy. then i turned the temp down a notch and put him with his plant in shower)

Feeding - aiming at 5 Superworms daily, until i get my silk and horn worms. he does eat crickets, but is a shy eater and i dont wanna leave any crickets in the cage. gutloaded with vegtables and whatever the store uses, but will get repashy super pig and other repashy gutloads


Supplements - rep-cal calcium without d3 every other feeding, rep-cal herptivite twice a month and calcium with d3 once a month

Watering - Mist cage 3 times a day for 3 min at a time, leave dripper on all day. i dont see him drinking from drippers. only when i mist his cage. was thinking of moving the dripper bowl higher up in the cage so maybe he will see the water in the bowl when the dripper drops water in it. a show panther chameleon in my local reptile store does that.

Fecal Description - doesnt poop everyday.. more like every 5 days but sometimes sooner. sometimes he will only eat a few super worms or hornworms a day (under 5) but thats because their kind of big

History - bought from a friend. hes been fine with him

Cage Type - 4 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot screen cage with mesh top.

Lighting - 5.0 repti glo uvb fixture and 100 watt daytime heat bulb

Temperature: basking: 90 - 95 everywhere else in cage : 75 average
night time temp : 60-75

Humidity - 40-80 percent. I mist and i live in florida so humidity is not hard to keep constant

Plants - umbrella plant

Placement - cage is on a stand about 3 feet off the ground. its in my room, near one fan but the fan is barley on. i go through my room about 5 times a day but he cant see me because of a towel on one side of his cage

Location - florida. tampa

 

[Jay Sick]

Hey man reptiglo is crap i would go with an Arcadia bulb also it sounds like what your describing is a possible uri is he ever exposed to any outside elements? Like outside bugs and or possibly well water ? Is he in a drafty location does anyone smoke or burn candles oils incense around him ? Either way a vet visit sounds like a good idea

 

[Adashek123]

no, nobody smokes ciggarettes around him, its my room. i dont smoke ciggs period. but i did burn a candle about a week ago... didnt think it would be bad though? and i take him outside sometimes but we really dont have any bugs that he would eat outside... he could of possibly ate a contaminated superworm or hornworm, or even cricket. im not sure. i just cant find a vet around tampa or saint petersburg. I did hear him cough. so i think it is deffinetely a URI. has anyone on here treated one with success? like with reptaid or something

 

[nightanole]

Reptiglo 5.0 is fine for uvb, but its very blue (21k) vs reptisun or arcadia that are color correct 6.5k.
I would see a vet asap. The mucus and "popping of the mouth" during breathing is a very bad sign. I lost a beardy to that. Started as 2-3 pops an hour and he was gone in 2 days. The mucus is from them breathing through their mouth.

The beardy was the only one to get it out of 5 reptiles in the room, it was a closed room with no drafts. I dont think smoking or a candle did it. Normally i think just closed up in winter does it.

I would almost make sure the cage is dry over night for 12 hours (say 8pm to 8am) if you are misting a lot. That will cut down on mold and mildew.

I would also remove the Schefflera for now, if that is what you call an umbrella plant. Its know to cause eye problems in some cases due to the sap.

 

[camimom]

Reptiglo 5.0 is fine for uvb, but its very blue (21k) vs reptisun or arcadia that are color correct 6.5k.
I would see a vet asap. The mucus and "popping of the mouth" during breathing is a very bad sign. I lost a beardy to that. Started as 2-3 pops an hour and he was gone in 2 days. The mucus is from them breathing through their mouth.

The beardy was the only one to get it out of 5 reptiles in the room, it was a closed room with no drafts. I dont think smoking or a candle did it. Normally i think just closed up in winter does it.

I would almost make sure the cage is dry over night for 12 hours (say 8pm to 8am) if you are misting a lot. That will cut down on mold and mildew.

I would also remove the Schefflera for now, if that is what you call an umbrella plant. Its know to cause eye problems in some cases due to the sap.

scheffelara dont have sap, you are thinking ficus.

and to the OP.

sound like a URI, so you need a vet for antibiotics.

 

[Adashek123]

there are no herp vets worth trusting in my area. I am in tampa bay. i called about 4 people that have worked with exotic animals and they dont know anything about chameleons, and id rather cure it differently then prescribing him with BAYTRIL, which is a drug that screws up a chameleons kidneys. its linked to early deaths as well. ive herd of a few other alternatives then baytril, but he seems to be getting better with hot showers and increased temps and humidity. oh , i forgot to mention . he eats fine still... and drinks..