Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

I have an adult male panther chameleon which I am pretty sure has a respiratory infection. Should I just boost the temperature for his immune system or is there anything else I can do.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

What are his symptoms? How long has this gone on? If you've just noticed trouble for a day or so you could try upping the basking temp, but if he's been off for longer than that I would have a vet check him over and give you antibiotics. If he's not spending more time under his basking light now (often a sign of respiratory problems), he may not respond to increased temps and could get burned, so be careful.

As we don't have all the details of your husbandry and his past history it will be pretty hard to rule out other problems that might be present.

I actually work in a pet store and my boss just got him in for the store a little over a week ago. Symptoms are typically a little bit of open mouth gaping, but not too much, and also a lot of saliva and bubbly discharge from the mouth. When he drinks when we spray him, it is like an intense drooling he does. He does bask a lot, so maybe I will just put a higher wattage bulb on him and see how it goes.

Thanks for the input.

If the bubbling and drooling ONLY happen while he's actively drinking, it's a sign of thirst. I once had a wc melleri who drooled an amazing amount every time he drank. He was always thirsty which suggested to me that he was in the early stages of kidney failure. He was a rescue and in pretty bad shape overall.

If he sits for long periods under his basking light and stays a darker color, rests with his head tipped straight up, swallowing and blowing out his throat over and over, in addition to bubbling and mucous in his mouth, it is a sign of a respiratory infection.

If he gapes only after basking for a while (and his color turns lighter) he's just releasing excess heat.