My cham cut her lips and can't open her mouth

[Amanda S]

She rubbed her face on the screen of her cage a couple months ago. I lined the cage with poultry fencing but moved her for a weekend a couple weeks ago into a cage with no fencing and she rubbed her snout raw on the screen. The scab is healing but she is chasing crickets by getting as close to them as possible and then when they run away she gets scared and jumps back. She cannot seem to open her mouth. I spent some time holding her and messing with it, usually she will gape at me threateningly but she can't.

It's like her lips are sealed together at the scab. What can I do? Put her in the shower to loosen it up and then try? Can I use neosporin?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

She rubbed her face on the screen of her cage a couple months ago. I lined the cage with poultry fencing but moved her for a weekend a couple weeks ago into a cage with no fencing and she rubbed her snout raw on the screen. The scab is healing but she is chasing crickets by getting as close to them as possible and then when they run away she gets scared and jumps back. She cannot seem to open her mouth. I spent some time holding her and messing with it, usually she will gape at me threateningly but she can't.

It's like her lips are sealed together at the scab. What can I do? Put her in the shower to loosen it up and then try? Can I use neosporin?

Aww poor thing

You can try the shower to soften the scab and put a little neo on it. But if it is causing her that much trouble you may want to get to a vet.

Or try to call one to see of they can offer some advise.

 

[beeze]

If you can get some Zymox or Silvadene that would be even better than the neosporin.

 

[Sang]

problem with silvadine is its prescription product and not easly obtained *at least in my experience.*..

the best bet would be to get the scab wet with humidity and treat it with iodine *or that other product similar to iodine* and neosporin.

 

[Dsignrguy]

agreed, soften the scab w/moisture. if that doesn't work, off to the vet.

 

[Amanda S]

She can now open her mouth but she's being odd....granted she did fall 4ft onto tile two weeks ago....but is there any reason a chameleon would not use their tongue to catch food?

She keeps going up to crickets and opening her mouth at them and trying to scoop them up. That obviously won't work. They run away.

 

[Sang]

she might have damaged her tongue.

 

[Amanda S]

How do I treat that? What can a vet do? Does it heal naturally?

 

[Sang]

hmm, im not really sure, nor the one to ask, i have heard of over extending a tongue were they can't pull it back in.

if you have to hold the cricket for her to eat from your hand. see if she attempts to use her tongue.

 

[sandrachameleon]

If you break the jumping legs off the crickets, and put the crickets in a cup close to her / her favourite perch, you may find she is able to grab them in her mouth without using her tongue. Slower moving prey, like silk worms, may also be a good temporary option.

Tongue issues are often the result of injury and/or nutritional imbalances. Possible causes:
- trauma from getting the tongue wrapped around or entangled or caught on something in the enclosure;
- damage to the tongue by a live prey item;
- puncture wound from hitting something sharp in the enclosure;
- hand-feeding injuries (if the feeder accidentally grabs or pulls the tongue when it makes contact with the fingers);
- something caught or lodged in the mouth or tongue tissue;
- tongue infection;
- dehydration;
- mouth abscesses;
- hypocalcaemia or vitamin deficiency - Nutritional deficiencies are typically a slower, more chronic loss of tongue function, not something that happens overnight
- and finally, old age can sometimes cause poor tongue control or reduced muscle in general.

I suggest you Seek Veterinarian advice.

 

[kinyonga]

Is there any sign of infection in the wound area on the lips? Swelling, etc? Does the tip of the tongue look normal? It might just be that her mouth is too sore to shoot the tongue out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have her see a vet in case she should be on an antibiotic.

Hand feed her...holdin the cricket for her. (When I do this for a chameleon with mouth issues, I squish the head of the cricket first so it can't bite the chameleon. Sounds gross...but...it works.)

 

[Sang]

i still don't understand how the tongue mechanism works, i know there is a small bone in there *from what i understand* as a brace,base point, then the tongue has the long stretching material and the food grabber.

now does the food grabber have a umbrella affect and reverse on its self over the food, or is it just a sticky like mass that absorbes the food into it.

 

[lbesok]

i still don't understand how the tongue mechanism works, i know there is a small bone in there *from what i understand* as a brace,base point, then the tongue has the long stretching material and the food grabber.

now does the food grabber have a umbrella affect and reverse on its self over the food, or is it just a sticky like mass that absorbes the food into it.

The chameleon tongue mechanism is an intricate process, that is very fascinating. You are correct, the hyoid bone is the base for both the retractor and accelerator muscles, that propel and retract the tongue.
Here's a quote that answers your particular questions from Martin's Masters of Disguise
"The tip of the tongue resembles a club. covered w a sticky saliva, its abrasive surface also grips. High speed photographs of the tongue in flight reveal a flap of skin trailing the head of the club. The flap wraps partially around the prey on impact. Wet worms or slugs, however, frustrate the system b/c the saliva won't adhere to their slimy surface."
I hope this helps. This area is Chris Anderson's expertise. Here is a TV program with him in it that was brodcasted over in Canada, that does a pretty thorough job of explaining the tongue mechanism:
http://www.xplanefreeware.net/cameron/Chameleon.mpg

 

[kinyonga]

Another site...
http://webhost.ua.ac.be/funmorph/anthony/chameleon.html

 

[Amanda S]

I will take her into a vet, I had no idea there could be so many things wrong with her tongue. It looks fine, there is no swelling or obvious irritation around the site of the wound. The inside of her mouth does have a scab on it, she has just about split her face in half by rubbing it on the screen. The skin on both sides is fraying like it could be pulled off. It is a bad cut. I wasn't sure if it just had to heal naturally, the neo has been helping, and I will take her in ASAP, maybe she does need antibiotics.

 

[Sang]

yah from the sounds of it, id definatly take her to the vet,

if there is a deep soar or if you see blood would be a good notion to head out for a vet visit, you don't want to get an infection.

you have raw and then you have a sore.