open mouth under UV light

[whitespyder]

hey everyone, ive seen alot of recent threads about open mouths but i find this situation to be a little different. my girl veiled has found yet another thing to worry me about. ive been catching her with her mouth open during night hours, usually 2 hours before she sleeps. and shes always sitting underneath her UV light (reptisun 5.0) so i dont think shes overheated. her basking temperature is a constant 81 F. shes also not showing any other sign of a URI since i dont hear any popping or see any heavy breathing or mucus/stringy saliva. she just sits there looking like this:

she has just started showing yellow spots and is looking for boys. shes roaming around the cage and trying to escape in the same ceiling spot by the UV light. last time i palpated her she didnt have any signs of eggs, but just incase i will put her laying bin back in (i recently took it out since she eats her sand and is driving me crazy with it).

is an open mouth a symptom for anything besides a URI or overheating? i was suspecting probably shes seeing something from outside her cage which is pissing her off and i catch her after she shows a threat display. any suggestions are appreciated and i will take her to the vet if i cant figure this out.

 

[whitespyder]

heres my info:

Cage Type - Mesh Reptarium 16.5 x 16.5 x 30” standing vertically
Lighting - 40 watt house bulb for heat, 18” Reptisun 5.0 for UV. Both resting on top of the mesh, both on from 9am to 10pm
Temperature – basking spot is 80-82, ambient temp is between 70-80. overnight is 70-75. measured with analog thermometer
Humidity – currently in the 45-50 but will go up to 60 when misting. Measured with analog hydrometer. Maintained with several short mistings during the day
Plants – plenty of plastic vines and live pothos plant, plenty of shade and hiding areas
Placement – on top of my dresser in my bedroom. ceiling of cage is 5’7” off ground
Location – new jersey shore

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, female, 10-11 months, had since May 25, 2009
Handling – twice a month for no longer than 10 minutes each handling
Feeding – currently crickets and superworms with occasional waxworm, mealworm, and rarely fruits. Crickets are gutloaded with collard greens, carrots, apple, orange, mealworms and super worms with carrot/apple and bran. She gets either 3-5 1inch crickets or 2 3inch superworms. I feed her in the afternoon everyday and maybe a few small treats throughout the day.
Supplements – Rep-cal calcium without D3 every other feeding, Rep-cal calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Reptivite vitamins once a month
Watering – hand pump mister 3 times a day on the plants for about 5 minutes each, dripper used in between mistings. I see her drinking occasionally or standing by the dripper, shes very shy
Fecal Description – brown to tan in color, sometimes with sand in it (she eats sand in her laying bin) urates are white and slightly yellow (im struggling with the humidity since its winter)
History – was positive for parasites a few months ago but was put on medication from my vet, she eats sand
Current Problem – open mouth when sitting under UV light

 

[Cjd713]

Well, eating sand isn't very good I don't really know, all seems normal. It doesn't seem like she's overheating, and without noise it's probably not a URI (don't rule it out.) I'm not really sure, I'll look around.

 

[pssh]

If she likes to eat the laying bin substrate I would recommend using organic fertilizer free soil that has no chunks or rough looking pieces of stuff in it. I believe thats Been deemed acceptable for them to eat (as some panthers often do and can't be stopped from doing it.)

you need a digial thermometer as the analog ones are usually very wrong. Some one on here had one, recently, that said 79-80 and it was really 86. 5 crickets a day is a bit much for a girl of her age (assuming you want her to NOT produce eggs.) if you want to prevent her from cycling eggs then feed 5-7 appropriately sized crickets (or equivalent of) every other day. OR you can feed 1-3 appropriately sized crickets (or equivalent of) every day.

I don't really know why she has her mouth open, but it's odd that she has her tongue out.

 

[whitespyder]

i usually feed her just 3 crickets a day, only 5 when she doesnt eat much the day before. her poops are rather small but she does poop everyday like clockwork so i was worried that i wasnt feeding her enough. ill try to get her used to feeding every other day, hopefully she wont be too bitter about that!

and yes, i am trying to prevent her from laying infertile eggs and i will look into a digital thermometer. thanks!

 

[Elizadolots]

She's adorable...I suspect 90% of a chameleon's time is spent trying to find ways to make us crazy....I'm sure the people here will help you with this crazy event....of course, another is probably right around the corner..

 

[warpdrive]

Hi,

You should first start feeding every other day to help her not get gravid.

I personaly don't think your temps are bad, but be careful that temps don't get too high away from the basking spot.
Remember our heat is on full blast this time of year and might get hot @ the top of your room.

She might be panting or just trying to get added moisture...it can be dry in our homes this time of year.

On Cell right now. I'll check back to reread your full thread when I get home.

Harry

 

[summoner12]

Is there any plastic or glass cover between the UVB lamp and the animal?

 

[whitespyder]

Is there any plastic or glass cover between the UVB lamp and the animal?

nope, just the mesh cage that it rests on. and i bought the UVB three or so months ago.

I suspect 90% of a chameleon's time is spent trying to find ways to make us crazy....

hahaha, thats definitely true! every time i think i solve a problem, shes doing something completely different to drive me nuts. at least she keeps me on my toes, i couldnt imagine having more than one!