Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey,my lil guy whos about 4 months just shed about 4 days ago and now hes actin different..today he kept opening his mouth up half way and was walking back and forth on branches..he wasn't puffed up either..his colors today were mostly black,but yesterday he was starting to show more color on his body(blues,reds,yellow,greens)he also was puffing up a few times and opened his mouth all the way which he normally doesn't do..well hope to hear back from someone soon..kinda gettin worried..could it be caused by him having problems shedding on his feet,which i got off for him..
thanks
jon

hey,just wanted to let ya all know,hes not doing that anymore today,somethin must of been buggin him like crazy yesterday,cause he was not happy at all!!it seems like hes doin better today,but does anyone know why he would walk back and forth on a branch with his mouth half way open??i thought that was kinda weird since i've never seen him do that..hes rarely in a bad mood,but yesterday was the worst mood hes ever been in since i got him..this is my first cham/reptile,sooo i'm not the most experienced person,but i think i'm doin better then most since i did ALOT of research..well hopefully someone knows what that means when my lil guy did that(walkin back and forth with his mouth half way open)
thanks
jon

It sounds like he was really upset by something he could see from his setup. Possibly his reflection in the tank glass? If the light angle is just right he can see himself constantly. Yet another reason to get him into a screen cage. If he was too hot and gaping, his color would be pale, not dark. If he was starting an upper respiratory infection he would be dark and gaping, but not moving around at all. So, it sounds like stress/fear/anger to me.

hey,thanks alot carlton..you've helped me quite a bit in the past..your the man..but i don't have him in a glass enclosure..all screen..i think he was just really mad about somethin(you can rarely tell what theyre thinkin)the glass cage that you saw him in,in the pics was his feeding cage when he was very small..and i mean very small..haha..i stopped putting him in there about 2 months ago..i thought it'd be a good idea since he was sooo small and i could help him alittle bit by giving the fruit flies/crickets less room to move around.hes been doing very good lately,very friendly and likes being held..he acually changes more colors when i hold him..not black though,mostly bright red,blue,green..he even has had all those colors at once and his spikes on his back were green-yellow..but i do think he was just mad,because i did think of all the other reasons why he could of been doin that,but he seems like he is very healthy..i put ALOT of time into keeping him happy with a good home
thanks again carlton
jonny blaze

Im in agreement that is was likely an aggression or stress display. But there's a small chance it was trying to rid itself of some piece of stuck skin about the mouth?
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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

Glad I could help. BTW, when you handle him and he turns bright colors, this is also a stress display. Chams don't really like to be handled and exposed to view. He's learned that you won't eat him and he will tolerate your presence, but he's still not going to be "happy" to be held. As you get to know him over time you'll learn the subtle differences between good stress "oh goodie, the snacks are coming" and "man, do I have to be social again?", to "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and "get your intruding hand out of my space".