opening mouth really wide and breathing hard

D

dakotakleiner

New Member
I have a male veiled aprox. 6 months old and he had a URI in january and he's still been popping while breathing and his lungs have been full of air a lot lately I have some left over baytril but I don't really want to use it again so I ordered some reptaid, but I figured id give him baytril until that arrives... after I gave him a dose of baytril he closed one eye really hard and I put him back in his cage and he climbed the screen probably trying to get away from me the a few minutes later on his way off the screen he made some noise with his mouth opened wide and looked like he was emptying his lungs....I'm confused I don't know what's going on he did it four times in like 20 minutes does anyone know what this is?
 
Really..... shooot I want to cancel my order than... the vet also changed my baytril from with water to with rasberry syurp or something which I don't think he likes at all. You don't think that another round of baytril will be to harsh on him? I prob should just take him back to the vet and get something else..
 
Maybe you could link or repost what you filled out in 'how to ask for help' mate?
The golden rule of reptiles is to examine the enviroment/husbandry first, whenever theres an issue. Most issues stem from something not right in its enviroment.
I understand its been treated for RI and the problem is ongoing.
I cant remember how long it was treated etc etc (my mind is like swiss cheese, full of holes LOL :))
Baytril is overprescibed imo and not always effective, there are other drugs that do just aswell or better for gram negative infection (most RI are due gram negative bacteria)
Perhaps its time to discuss alternate treatment with your vet.
Raisingtemps by a few degree's boost the metabolism and speeds the work of drugs and the animals immune system in fighting infection.

If you have other reptiles, ensure strict hygene between cages/equipment etc to prevent cross contamination/infection.
 
Your Chameleon - veiled, male, Aprox. 5-6months of age in my care for 3 months

Handling - before he got sick i handled him 2-3 times a week for a few minutes now about 2 times a week

Feeding -5-10 crickets everyday sometimes i miss a day or two. i feed my crickets mustard greens collard greens and romain potatoes sometimes wheat bread

Supplements - i use exo-terra plain calcium 5days a week (im now told to only use twice a week)by a breeder now repcal once a month and herptivite every other week

Watering - i have a misting system i run about 5 minutes 2-3 times a day i also have a dripper

Fecal Description - his droppings sometimes are brown and white and sometimes the tip of the whites like yellowish hes never been tested but hes been drinking a lot more water than usual and his poop has been getting whiter

History - he was on baytril for popping and wheezing he was having trouble breathing....i think he caught it on a ride to the pet store to get checked out its cold here but i wrapped him in a tubber ware dish and brought him there the tub stayed 75 degrees the hole time i dont know what happend

Cage Info:
Cage Type - all screen cage except front door and floor are plexiglass its 30 inchs high and 24 by 24 roughly

Lighting - 730 am - 645 pm he has an r-zilla t8 its 5.0 and a 75 watt basking light exo-terra sunglo... he also has a flunkers indacent bulb 75watt however u spell it i need both bulb because his cage size and during the winter if not his temps will be like 65-70 during the day

Temperature -the mid cage is in the 80s 75-85 and the Lowest overnight temp is 65.5 the basking spot is 83-89degrees the floor of the cage is 70-76 but he rarely goes down there i measure these temps with two thermometer probes

Humidity - my humidity level always drops down to about 27% after i mist the cage its anywhere from 60-99% but i believe its only 99% because the water gets in the probe and it drops down to 70-60 fairly quickly after misting the cage i measure this with a hygrometer(however i think the water getting in my probe cooked it it doesnt go up past 40 anymore

Plants - fake and live two live pothos
Placement - its in the corner of my room near a window...ive started running a fan in the room for about 15 minutes a day for air circulation no one really comes in my room the cage is on a stand about 1.5 ft off the ground
Location Michigan



I believe the problem is the plexiglass floor it collects water and sometimes takes a long time to dry and i have papertowel as the substrate.......I cant think of what else it could be what about misting when my cage gets misted the temp drops to like 60 even with hot water and the cham usually gets pretty wet????
 
Veileds don't require as much humidity as say, a panther. Maybe his environment is too wet all the time and too much humidity. Also, you need to up your basking temp to 90-95 and have limbs at different levels under the basking light so he can decide what temp is good.
 
ya i believe its to wet also today i spent about 4 or 5 hours constructing a cabinet for my chameleon cage to sit on i used a cement mixing tub for my screened inclosure to sit on that i cut a drain into that puts all the old water into a five gallon bucket in the cabinet. tonight or tomorrow im going to make the bottom of my chams enclosure screen so the water drains threw to the cement tub then to the 5 gallon bucket il post some pictures up soon
 
I wouldn't mist, for a few days and let him dry out. Keep the dripper going of course. I only mist my veileds enclosure once a day. The basking light will help him out too by uping the heat. Remember they originate from Yemen in Saudi Arabia, check out their climate. :)
 
ive started running a fan in the room for about 15 minutes a day for air circulation

This might be a problem while it has the infection. Moving air cools considerably, and humidity evaporates some. Be sure it drys out well between mistings. Dont mist the lizard itself (unless its shedding).
Circulation isn't a major issue since most of cage is screen, so the fan may be doing more harm than good.
By the window may not be the best placement either, especially if its cold outside, or if theres a slight draught from between the windows frames. Cold passes through glass as does heat.
You want to avoid fluctuations in temp as much as possible (excepting night time drops) and let the lizard regulate its temp.
Again, you could raise the basking temp to 95f while its sick.
:)
 
yeah but my humidity stays below 27% all day ....i feel that it should be around 40% so thats why i mist him 2-3 times a day to try and keep humidity up
 
ok for sure il raise his basking stick no problem.... i have a misting system though so he usually gets wet sometimes he hides and gets out of the way but a lot of times i see him get wet what should i do about this?? and as for the window and winter the windows are sealed very well and locked shut....the lowest night temp i ever had was like 65.9 but since hes been sick i usually dont let the temp drop below 70 ....however when i get my cabinet in here within the next few days il move him from the window
 
Turn off the misting system for a week and just hand mist about 30 sec once a day. But wait a couple of days before you do this, he needs to dry out. If you feel there may be a draft, cover that side of his cage with a blanket or towel. We are not trying to cook him though, just make sure he is drinking from his drip. You don't want to deprive him from drinking.
 
It does rain in yemen, but not everyday :)

Yemen climate

The average temperature in Yemen is 29.2 °C (85 °F).
The average temperature range is 7 °C.
The highest monthly average high temperature is 37 °C (99 °F) in June.
The lowest monthly average low temperature is 22 °C (72 °F) in January.
Yemen's climate receives an average of 39 mm (1.5 in) of rainfall per year, or 3 mm (0.1 in) per month.
On average there are 8 days per year with more than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) of rainfall (precipitation) or 0.7 days with a quantity of rain, sleet, snow etc. per month.
The driest weather is in April, June when an average of 0 mm (0.0 in) of rainfall (precipitation) occurrs.
The wettest weather is in January, September when an average of 7 mm (0.3 in) of rainfall (precipitation) occurrs.
The average annual relative humidity is 59.4% and average monthly relative humidity ranges from 49% in July to 66% in March, April, May.
There are an average of 0 days per year with frost in Yemen and in January there are an average of 0 days with frost.

image001.gif


http://www.climatetemp.info/yemen/
 
ok well i also have to live pothos plants in the cage and the humidity is 27% according to the yemen charts thats like 32% low of the average i feel bad and i dont know what to do thats why i got this misting system to increase humidity.....what should i do ? disable one of the misting nozzels so only half the cage gets misted?? and i would not deprive him from drinking that would be cruel he doesnt drink when i mist the cage rarely he does after
 
also when i get an automatic timer what should i set it for 2 minutes of misting in the morning and 3 minutes a hour or two before the lights go off? cuz from my understanding in the morning there is dew for them to drink and at night the humidity goes up....and my humidity never goes above 27 percent except when i mist
 
cuz from my understanding in the morning there is dew for them to drink

Thats right. A good mist in the morning should be sufficient (unless it dosent drink without misting).
Being winter in the states, ambient humidity will be lower than it would otherwise.
The fan will dry out the air by speeding the evaporation of avail moisture.
You could try a fogger, or if your cage/drainage setup allows, have a tub of moving water (aquarium filter or pump) beneath the cage during daylight hrs (as I do) to raise humidity.
Covering one or two sides of the cage with plastic drop sheet or shower curtain will contain some humidity for longer aswell.
Provided your lizard is hydrated (drinking) from either misting or dripper or both, then slightly lower humidity isnt a major drama, except during shed. But whatever you cando to improve it some, that works, is good, provided the enviroment is humid but not constantly 'wet'.
A boost in humidity may actually aid your lizard in fighting its Ri, particularly since gaping/mouth breathing caused by RI, significantly causes some dehydration by evaporation of fluids in the mouth.
 
So jo jackson do you suggest to stop the misting system for awhile? Or just keep it to morning and before sleeping hours? And do you think it would cause a uri from misting and the temperature dropping to 60 degrees?
 
I went back and read some of your older posts and you said that the cage was near a heat vent and that you have a misting system...perhaps he is getting a chill from being wet and then having the heat blow on him and then shut off?
 
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