Woke up to find a stressed Cham!

[nosymitsio]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Panther Cham 4months old and been in cage for 1month
Handling - Not yet attempted to handle
Feeding - Im feeding him Locus Crix silkworms and waxworms he get approx ten to twelve of the above mixed around.
Supplements -He gets calcium 5days a week Nutrobol 2days a week
Watering - Im mist 3 times a day letting dry inbetween with a spray bottle and ive seen him drink almost every time.
Fecal Description - Usual black with a white tip and its everyday about mid day.
History - Got from a well respected breeder.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Its a repti breeze 18*18*24
Lighting - Its a repti sun 10.0 above the screen cage by 2inches and im using a exo terra 100watt heat buld suspended above by 6inches with a porcelin reflector
Temperature - 85f to 86f basking lower end is 77f middle is 81f overnight temp is 65f to 68f measured with a digi thermonitor
Humidity - Misting 3 times a day and have Humidity gauge
Plants - Weeping fig one of
Placement - In the corner of my room at 4foot up also has sides covered up
Location - Scotland

Current Problem - Woke up this morning around half an hour after lights come on and the wee fella was kinda hiding behind a few leafs in that stressed position they usually sit. I noticed 2 crix had managed to hide from me from the night before so i removed them and fed him a loucus he ate fine. Then got up and moved from his hiding but 2minutes later he had puffed up and had his mouth open and he had not even made it to the basking spot yet. Im suspecting he has the start of URI?? Ive up the temps to 90f at the top end see if that drys it out before a need to take to a vet but can any1 else give me there thoughts!

 

[summoner12]

Can you show us some photos? I wonder how he is tomorrow. Can he see his reflection? do you have a bird in the room?

 

[nosymitsio]

Can you show us some photos? I wonder how he is tomorrow. Can he see his reflection? do you have a bird in the room?

I dont want to take a pic cos hes not a fan of my iphone if i can catch him off guard then i will upload some hes eating fine tho

 

[STRYDER]

[/QUOTE]
Your Chameleon - Panther Cham 4months old and been in cage for 1month
Handling - Not yet attempted to handle
[/QUOTE]

Are you sure its not the fact that he is really frightened of you, do you know if any1 has handled him from birth and what situation he was in prior to you getting the lil guy?

I know that if my chams arent held they definitely dont like me being near them and get stressed.

Personally I reckon you must try handle him so that he doesnt stay stressed out like that?

 

[chameleonneeds]

I think he might be experiencing heat stress. He is young and still learning to regulate his temperature.
85-86 I think is too hot. The temperature should be around 75-78 F for the basking spot and an ambient temperature of about 70-73 should be fine.
I dont think putting the temp up to 90 will do anymore good for him.
The UVB you are using might also be to strong, for panthers I recommend the 5.0 not 10.0.
The 100watt basking bulb I think is maybe too strong aswell, try a 50-75 watt.

What colours is he displaying now?
If he can also see other reptiles or animals that might freak him out aswell.

I hope he gets better soon.

 

[nosymitsio]

I think he might be experiencing heat stress. He is young and still learning to regulate his temperature.
85-86 I think is too hot. The temperature should be around 75-78 F for the basking spot and an ambient temperature of about 70-73 should be fine.
I dont think putting the temp up to 90 will do anymore good for him.
The UVB you are using might also be to strong, for panthers I recommend the 5.0 not 10.0.
The 100watt basking bulb I think is maybe too strong aswell, try a 50-75 watt.

What colours is he displaying now?
If he can also see other reptiles or animals that might freak him out aswell.

I hope he gets better soon.

Right now its like a mint green but when he's basking he goes real dark i dont have any other reptiles and he only started this gaping first thing this morning and its not the heat cos ive seen his gape when its to warm this is full on puffing out! then back to normal ive read it could be the start of URI and im starting to think maybe ive been spraying the cage to much?

 

[Jamelon]

How long are you misting when you mist? it should be from a couple of min to 5 min i think so dont go over 5. I think you should try handling him or something or just to get him out of the cage for a bit he might enjoy that. But i think you should wait a day and see how he is. My little guy just got spooked by a bird that he saw through the window, mines only 2.5 months and man ive never seen it change that colour that fast, he was almost white with dark brown patches it was crazy.

 

[nosymitsio]

How long are you misting when you mist? it should be from a couple of min to 5 min i think so dont go over 5. I think you should try handling him or something or just to get him out of the cage for a bit he might enjoy that. But i think you should wait a day and see how he is. My little guy just got spooked by a bird that he saw through the window, mines only 2.5 months and man ive never seen it change that colour that fast, he was almost white with dark brown patches it was crazy.

Just been told by the breeder that nosy mitsio's tend to go thro a fase of getting a bit to territoral and that hes maybe to comfy in his surrondings and im to try handle him and let him out for a little bit! Al keep ya posted anyway.

 

[Jamelon]

Just been told by the breeder that nosy mitsio's tend to go thro a fase of getting a bit to territoral and that hes maybe to comfy in his surrondings and im to try handle him and let him out for a little bit! Al keep ya posted anyway.

I just think you spoil him too much haha thats why hes being mean

 

[cantgetagoodsn]

the 10.0 is definitely too strong as well as with the 100W. Those are even stronger than what I use in a 2'x2'x4' cage. you need a 5.0 linear tube, and 75W max on the basking light. You should change these in the next day or two...

 

[Manik6]

Forgive me for not knowing as i havent heard the term uri as long as ive been on the forum. What does it mean? My full grown male jacksons has been gaping alot lately. Temps are fine, hes not very territorial unless I put my hand next to him which he starts head bobbing nothing more. i hope he doesnt find me attractive. Lol!

 

[nosymitsio]

the 10.0 is definitely too strong as well as with the 100W. Those are even stronger than what I use in a 2'x2'x4' cage. you need a 5.0 linear tube, and 75W max on the basking light. You should change these in the next day or two...

I've used a uv reader and it's reading exactly 5.0 from the basking spot mesh filters out up to 50% of uv and to get the perfect heat gradient I had to up the wattage of my bulb. It's also suspended 6 inches above the mesh this was all done thro trial and error

 

[summoner12]

I've used a uv reader and it's reading exactly 5.0 from the basking spot mesh filters out up to 50% of uv and to get the perfect heat gradient I had to up the wattage of my bulb. It's also suspended 6 inches above the mesh this was all done thro trial and error

The meter read 5.0? What kind of meter are you using? You should see something like this with your meter:

Be sure to angle the heat lamp and not point it straight down.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

You dont need a 10.0 uvb bulb. Im not saying it cant be used but its overkill. I have only used those tubes if I was going to hang my fixtures 6-8 " over the cage and with my enclosure being 6ft tall. 60 watt incandescent will be more than sufficient for basking. Your cooking him thats why he's gaping. Unless you keep your home ac set on 68-70 all the time you dont need all that heat. Its not a bearded dragon. Ive been keeping panthers since the mid 90's and I dont ever use the store bought basking bulbs for chameleons. They produce way to much heat.

 

[cantgetagoodsn]

I've used a uv reader and it's reading exactly 5.0 from the basking spot mesh filters out up to 50% of uv and to get the perfect heat gradient I had to up the wattage of my bulb. It's also suspended 6 inches above the mesh this was all done thro trial and error

If you're going to post to the forums ASKING WHY YOUR CHAMELEON ISNT RIGHT, don't ignore people's advice please. 9 times out of 10 (if not more) people will tell you your set up is too strong for him. 10.0 should only be used for desert animals. And the basking light is definitely too strong unless you are in a state where it's freezing, and it's summer. 75W should be max. You may need that to achieve the gradient, but in return you are cooking your cham. Not being too hot is probably more important than having a 10* temp gradient.

 

[Gensen]

Uri

Forgive me for not knowing as i havent heard the term uri as long as ive been on the forum. What does it mean? My full grown male jacksons has been gaping alot lately. Temps are fine, hes not very territorial unless I put my hand next to him which he starts head bobbing nothing more. i hope he doesnt find me attractive. Lol!

Upper respritory infection

 

[facelesdoll]

the lights are probably to much like stated. he turns dark as dark retains heat. and then he gapes his mouth when he is just to hot and needs to cool off. the also show their stressed overheated colors when venting, typically speaking. good luck id like to see pics to further help

 

[Texas Panther Man]

9x out of 10 if he has an uri then he's going to be making popping and wheezing noises when breathing. And often will seem to drool when trying to breath. If he's merely gaping then 1. He's too hot or #2 He's stressed by something in the room or in the cage. Bottom line all aspects of your husbandry need to be checked, starting with the lighting...

 

[nosymitsio]

I'm listing alright am in Scotland and it's cold! Plus my breeder says my set ups perfect and when you read this then u would get a 10.0 http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm my heat bulb is on a lamp clamp and is angled yes I've had him out and there's no popping noise my cage dose sit on top of a cupboard 6 foot up so maybe he was just warning me away??

 

[chameleonneeds]

It may be cold there but that doesnt mean you need to up the temperatures even more.


And I agree with you cantgetagoodsn