panther cham mouth open??

[fangsalot]

ok i know when lizards over heat, they open there mouth for heat exchange,,,but my juvenile nosy baraha panther chameleon is just sittin under the heat lamp,kinda cocked to the side(wich i know is normal) with his mouth wide open!!i thought he was dead and died stuck on the branch with his mouth open!now,if hes overheating,why doesnt he move away from the heat source???anybody know???thanx.

 

[NoS]

How much are you spraying him?
Are you sure its not in a reaction to your presence?
Do you notice anything wrong with his tongue?

 

[fangsalot]

im like 6 feet away from him,,,he cant see me and hes sitting there with his moth open..as i write this.should i turn off the heat lamp????
oh i sprayed him as he sat under the lamp...he clsed his mouth,walked awayfrom the lamp..and 2 mins. later walked directly under the lamp and opened his mouth!!!??

 

[Marcelo]

Hey,

I recomed you not to spray your cham directly, what you have to do is mist your plants and do not put the lamp to close, even if you think is not hot.


I have had chams for several years, they will see you before you see them, remember chams sight is the best weapon they have.

 

[NoS]

Chameleons are use to about 300 inches a year in rain fall. They can dehydrate easily. keeping chameleons is actually very trying husbandry. I recomend you read as much as you can about taking care of them.

It sounds to me like he may be dehydrated. I would get a humidifier and let it mist down on him. They very rarely drink standing water. They like to drink water off of plants. Mine does not mind me spraying directly at him. He actually likes it and comes towards it.

There is a lot of stuff you need to do. What kind of lights do you have?
How much coverage of plants do you have? Are you giving him any vitamins or calcium supliments? What are you feeding him?

 

[fangsalot]

as far as lights i have a 60 watt heat lamp all the way to the back corner(in a 1'long 1'wide 2' high screen enclosure..hes about 2" long snout to vent)i have one of those thin bendable fake vine sitting about 4"under the heat lamp.i have one of those 7% uv small compact lights by ESU.but this is only for the last two days because of the temperature outside, thats where he is usually.on my screened in porch(in his own enclosure)he gets direct sunlight with shady parts,and the best uv available.i spray his whole enclosure once or twice a day.i give him small crix once a day(about 4-7)and i shake and bake them with rep cal without vit d3(because hes outside normally)and herptivite..im a doing good??

 

[Fini]

My bets on dehydration or respiratory infection. Can you hear the cham breathing? Sometimes they make a popping sound while they breathe; this can be associated with an infection.

 

[Marcelo]

Can you post a pic of your cham,

I remember my cham rommel once had a mouth infection, but I cure him giving some medicin?, ( do not remember the name ).

As far as my experience had teach me:

1.- They need plenty of water, dripping system will be great.
2.- flowing air not stagnant
3.- lamp or sun rays to regulate its temperature and process D3. Remember they are cold blooded.

 

[Marcelo]

Forgot to mention

If your cham has swollen eyes, he must be dehydratated