Why is my velted chameleon opening her mouth and not closing it..

K

korrie

New Member
my chameleon is about 7 months old and she eats about 15-20 crickets a day.i mist her everymorning and chang her water about every outher day.neways to the point .she had been walking around with her mouth open all day.why
ok sorry
cage is a flexarium 65 gl
i am using a 5.o uvb and a sun glow bulb
heat i am not sure i couldnet aford a thermoter.
humidity also not sure couldent offord a meter
i am using facke plants becides the branches
the cage is located in the corner of the dining room(not used alot) there is a fan abouve the table always on(cross wind)

she is a velted chemelion about 7-8 months
i am feeding her 15-20 crikets a day also feed her meal worms when there is some in the city(cant find any anywhere) i put them all in the morning
i use clacium powder every outher feeding
i did mist her every moning but now i am misting her moning lunch supper and night.i also have a water dish at the bottem that she ocaunally goes to
she is a pale green with some darker green markings when she is jist chilling but mad or scared she has brown marking with darker green
i had no problem with her befor she always was normal with everything the same
no she isnt pregent becasue there is no outher chemelion hear and she hasnet cam in contact with one sence i have owned her (5-6 months) i had her checked for eggs and she isnt eggbound.
and what is uri
i stared with a driping system the outher night cup with a needle hole
her mouth looks the same as it alwuas did(when she hissed at me when i went to hold her)
there i hope that helps i didnt read how to ask for help sorry please help
 
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Korrie,

Sounds like alot of things but to be sure tell us about your husbandry. She could be super full with food, over heated, or possibly could have contracted a URI.

Edward
 
Is the mouth open only when basking? Or walking around with it open? See anything that is not normal inside the mouth?
 
Does she have a place to dig to lay eggs in her cage?
What colors is she showing? Does she look plump or like she's been gaining weight lately?

Is she pooping? Do you have a substrate in the cage?

As was already asked/suggested it could be a URI or overheating or it could be a number of other things...we need more information.

Go to the Health Clinic and fill out the list of questions there in the "sticky" about how to ask for help please.
 
why is my veiled chameleon opening her mouth

Your right we need more info, but she sure sounds upset. Don't wait to fix it if you really think something is wrong, bring her to the vets asap, it doesn't take long for them to be critical, just days. NO WATER IN CAGE, drippers only and change the water everyday, they need fresh water, have it dripping onto a plant leaf every 45 secs or so, the movement will catch their eye and they lap it up. Could she be pregnant? Why so many crickets are you giving her ones that are too small? Mix it up and give her some silkworms or butterworms. Also mist her cage 3,4,5 x day with warm fresh water.

5 Veils
4 Panthers
1 Muellers
15 Tortoises
3 Dogs
2 Cats
and 4 grandchildren.
 
My Veiled started doing the same thing this evening. I fed it 6 Meal Worms this morning, and when I got home I knew he would eat some more so i put 4 more in. It ate three and went to go drink from the water fall imetiately after. Within 5 minutes of the eating, it started gaping his mouth and all that junk. Its been doing it for about 20 to 30 minutes now. Is it possible that it is just full and is basking?

My Veiled is about the same age as the original posters, about 6 to 7 months old. I have an Exo Terra screen cage thats about 2 feet long by like three feet tall. I know its not that big but im planning on upgrading soon. It has a lot and lot of foliage everywhere. Its filled with like 5 or 6 silk plants and one live Ficus. It has a one of those exo terra stirofome jungle walls with a biult in waterfall, and a Fogger that fills up the bottom of the Cage with a full screen of fog. So the humidity is always high about 60% or more at all times. The Temperature at the top of the cage is about 80 to 90 Degrees. I have no substrate at the bottom. I have to clean the botton all the time because it gets backed up with water from condensation from the fogger and the waterfall.I use reptivite dusting vitamins every other feeding, And dunk the food in ESU Carnivore Calcium as well every other feeding. He is a male Veiled. I have a mister with goes off every 3 hours for 15 seconds. I have 1 reptivite 5.0, 1 reptivite 10.0, 1 mystic flourescent light, and a basking light that are all on at once for about 12 hours a day. I usually feed him about 6 to 9 meal worms and/or crickets a day.

Please Help.....
 
Korrie,
Thermometers and humidity gauges can get quite expensive but there are cheap ones out there that go for 6 bucks (non-digital). Although they lack some accuracy it will give you a general idea of what your temperature is at. I'm not to sure about your situation but it seems like your chameleon is thermoregulating. I would suggest that you take him to a vet if he continues to gap also read up on the symptoms for a URI and be on the look out.

JDunk,
You stated "it started gaping his mouth and all that junk. Its been doing it for about 20 to 30 minutes now." I'm not to sure what you mean by that. Did he start yaking or did he just gap after he ate? To test if its overheating just relocate all heat supplies further away from the cage and observed whether or not the gapping stops. Remember that too much humidity can be a problem especially with a species like C. calyptratus.

Edward Kim
 
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Taken from the ADCHAM site..."the veiled chameleon occupies the wadis and agricultural lands of this otherwise arid region"...contrary to popular "belief" they do NOT come from the desert.
 
My veileds occasionally sit at the top with their mouths open. I figure that if they're too warm then can always move lower in the enclosure to cool off. Sometimes when I see this behaviour I just give them an extra misting.

Also ... that seems like a lot of food to me. Mine only get about 5-7 large crickets a day plus one nice sized silkworm each about 4 or 5 days a week. I'm feeding 2 male veileds - 4+ yrs. old and around 8 months old ... and 2 female veileds ... both approx. 7 months old. Perhaps that's not enough but all seem to be healthy. I don't want them to get too fat & lazy!! ;)

Dyesub Dave. :D
 
ok when i get paid i will got bouth a temp and humidity gadge....will my chameleon get more colors as she ages ......and my crikets are only small thats y there i am feeding so many
 
I'm pretty sure he'll get more colors as he grows. Post some pics when you have time i'll be on the look out.

Edward
 
I didn't see a answer to a previous question about if she has a place to lay eggs. Accodring to experts, opening of mouth more frequently is a sign of a possilbe need to lay eggs. Is she near the bottom of the cage alot or scratching on the walls, plater pots, anything in a attempt to dig a hole?

I hear they can be ready to lay eggs as early as four months old and lay them twice a year.

If your not sure then it could not hurt to put a sand box 10 x 8 x 8 of play sand in her cage and limite the number of live feed on the loose as she eats them so not to get live feed in the sand and possible sand digestion.

If she has no place to lay them she will keep them inside herself and eventually they will crush her lungs and she will die.
 
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