Opening mouth

[Vnessinessa]

Hey everyone, so I dont know if I am just being paranoid because of a glass enclosure, but I do see my chameleon have his mouth gaping quite often. I do not hear any sounds, and there is some saliva, but I have no clue if that is normal or not. Now, I do have the ventilated exo terra 24 x 38 x 24 glass tank. I have it set up as bioactive. Sometimes I use a tiny desktop fan to cause some better ventaliation when I see when he is opening his mouth more often. I have my concerns for that as well, so I try not to use it too often. Like for a few hours for a number of days. I have live plants, and my humidity is usually between 70 and 80 for my panther. I do have a 150 watt basking bulb because I cant seem to get my temps up. With that, I am still only hitting about 85 to 92. Should I be worried or is this normal? I did notice that when I turned the heat up, so it could be his way of cooking off? Thabks for your input

 

[lycan_megura0523]

I would take him to the vet to rule out a respiratory infection.

 

[Vnessinessa]

Ugh... i hear you, and I will probably take to a vet but it is tough when I have taken him to the vet atleast 5 times within the last two months for eye problems...eye is perfect now that I have switched to the linear UVB, but yea... I am slightlynconcerened over the mouth...is it really that uncommon to open mouth? Again, there are no sounds, and not s crazy amount of saliva

 

[lycan_megura0523]

There are a few things that could cause a cham to open its mouth. One is that it could be close to shedding. Or stress but the most common reason is a respiratory issue. I know it can be difficult taking them to the vet often especially after other issues such as his eyes but i would rather be safe than sorry especially with possible respiratory issues. It is our responsibility as owners to make sure our babies stay healthy.

 

[carol5208]

Something doesn’t seem right....you have a 150 watt in a glass tank and your temp range at basking is between 85-92? What are you measuring your temps with?. You should be using a laser gun and directing the beam on the branch under the light where you chameleon sits. He may be overheating and thermoregulating which would explain why he is opening his mouth if it is too hot. What is the ambient temp of your house? I don’t like that your humidity is that high either. Does it ever drop or does it stay at that constant????