wanting ot gaping mouth..

[chamitch]

my veiled was gaping his mouth. but he was under the basking light.. no colors.. aslo evertiem i come around he get out of what ever he is doing and wants to coem out.

thanks for your help

[dank7oo]

i am a little bit confused ... are you asking a question? lol
kinda seems that way than not -lol

its great to hear that your veiled wants to come out! i can only get my dwarfs out without a fuss - :) lol
keep of the great work!
JAson

[chamitch]

well he like claws that he wants out.. yea im asking. and gaping mouth with no colors in teh basking spot. thanks. yea its cool he wants to come out but i feel bad. he is in a 85 galloner and still sub adult!!

[dank7oo]

hmmm ... i am by far not an expert but the basking is normal! when you say no colours you mean that he is dark in colour? if so, it prollly means the spot is not warm enough, and he is dark to absorb more heat. The clawing to come out .. i only have heard of trace's chams doing this, but i guess it wouldnt hurt to take him out ... especially with a veiled, you may want to handle him more often than not ...

:) good luck

Jason

[chamitch]

yea like 3 times a day i have to. no hes nto dark tahts what i dotn get. and if u was too hot why in teh baskign spot? hmm crack head chameleon

[dank7oo]

well .. if he is bright in colour than thats normal .. he is just basking like any good cham
also, you dont HAVE to take him out if he scratches - lol

Jason

[Trace]

If he's got his mouth open... it generally means two things. Either he's too hot, or he's got a URI. Do you have your Veiled in a tank?

Trace

[chamitch]

yea its glass. URI? doesnt soudn good

[chamitch]

upper respitory tract infection. hope not. i have a fan blowign over the corner.

[dank7oo]

zing .. i though you meant reptarium chm ... sorry
uhh .. i suggest a glass tank ASAP ... glass is ok for neonates, but sub adult veiled and most other chams really should be in a screen enclosure ...

[Trace]

Firstly... what is the temperature in the basking spot? Any idea?

Secondly... chameleons should NOT be kept in a tank. Aquariums heat up very quickly and do not provide a proper thermal gradient. Also because of the lack of airflow in a tank, it can lead to mold, fungal and bacterial growths which then the chameleon breathes in.

Please! Click here (http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chcalyptratus.html) for a good caresheet on Veiled Chameleons.

Trace

[chamitch]

yea i know i decided to keep him in a tank because i live in a very cold adn dry part of the world. i knew i should of went with mesh but teh guy at teh pet store who breeds them said to get a glass. the temperature gradeant is good. 22-23 C at the bottom corner. and about 30 some in the baskign spot. cant tell u exactly right now teh thermometer fell of a week ago. i do have a small comp fan running over the top corner of it.

[chamitch]

i know now after experience veileds can handle more then i thought. dry and cooler. but i jsut wanted to keep teh baby safe. grrr. im mad that thing and lights cost me 400 bucks..

[Trace]

LOL! Don't get upset! I, and some of the other chameleon-gurus are here to help. I can also say that the set-ups for my animals certainly cost me more than the actual animals themselves.

I live in Canada and therefore it's cold 364 days a year! So I do have the same problem as you, but I keep all of my chameleons in screened enclosures. They just seem to do better in them. I do suggest you look into buying or making an enclosure with at least 2 sides being screen.

"30 some" is a little high for a basking spot temperature I think. The optimal temperature there should be 80-90F (26.2-32.2C). Beyond the fact that he may be overheating, you run the risk of thermal burns as well. Maybe you can raise his basking light a bit from the top of the tank?

Signs of a URI in a chameleon would be clicking sounds, heavy breathing, mucous in his mouth and around his nostrils. Does your guy have that? I'm assuming, and I could be wrong, he's just overheated. The gaping and his lighter colours signal to me that he's too hot.

I haven't really addressed the issue of him wanting to come out. I figure if does want that, then take him out. Some of my male Veiled's LOVE the attention and some are just idiots and would rather be left alone. So if your guy doesn't seem stressed by handling, then take him out once a day for some exercise.

Cheers!

Trace

[dank7oo]

cold 364 trace? no kidding .. especially the winters
i find the nights harderest to keep warm, but i guess my dad has the heater on :)

and cham .. you really are lucky to have a cham who likes to come out .. many people wish to be as lucky as you :)

Jason

[chamitch]

haha im glad he comes out. somtimes he gets a little mad when i put him bck in and he climbs on the fixture top. haha almsot hop off my hand.. there are no other prob liek mucas at all thank god...

but i can make one side, teh front side mesh and the top is mesh. my mom took care of my came for awhile wehn i was in victoria. bugered up teh timers and the lights ddint come on so she put a space heater real close and busted teh glass. :o)


im in northern sask and it is colder and drier then where u are from unless yor from manatoba. haha

ill make teh front mesh and perhaps make it a little bigger too. so he wotn want to come out as much. i guess i coud get soem red eyed tree frogs for in it hmm that woudl be cool.

thanks

[Trace]

im in northern sask and it is colder and drier then where u are from unless yor from manatoba. haha

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, you gotta wonder about those Manitoba folks! ;) I'm in Ottawa, so I'm sure it doesn't get quite as cold as it does for you in the winter. I have the bonus of being able to spit at the politicians too!

I'm glad you are considering building him a bigger cage, with a few more screened sides. I honestly think he will be happier and healthier for you.

Those tree frogs are pretty cool too, but I wouldn't put them in the cage with him, just in case the frogs give the chameleon diseases or vice versa. I'm certainly not the frog expert around here, but I think the husbandry requirements are different for both. Chameleons are solitary animals and don't require other chameleons or other animals in their cage for security or happiness. Get yourself a cheap aquarium for the frogs.

Do you have any pictures of your chameleon? I'd love to see him.

Cheers!

Trace

[chamitch]

i just have not very good baby pics. cant hook up my camera to this comp yet i lost the software.

yea i mean only tree frogs in teh aquarium. the cham would try and eat them forsure. he tried to eat my necklace one time. haha

hes really cool eats dirt and tries to eat ficus and actaully eats teh habiscus al teh time. haha bit marks all over teh ficus. i even give him a varity of food and gut loads.


it get -30 and 0 humidity here in winter. average day -20 btu the winters have been really wierd.


thanks for the help. so glad he doesnt have uri.

[dank7oo]

-30? we rarely get -30 mostly in the -teens range ... summers are crazy too ... we got up to 40 several times last year ... i think we are the only city with a freaking 70 degree temp range :)

Jason

[chamitch]

no we got up to 40 some this year too it was nuts. we also somtimes havnt had snow for xmas. really getting drought here hard..


later