Tongue shooting short - is his UVB lamp too close?

[huwpoo]

Hi all,
My chameleon has been having some tongue problems and is shooting very short and needing to be close up to get his insects. We're wondering if perhaps his UVB supplementation isn't correct. Could his UVB lamp be too close?
All his eating and diet remains fine and he's still eating.
His Viv dimensions are:
H: 3ft
W: 2ft
D: 2ft

His highest perch to the lamp is 7inches away.
The UVB bulb has no mesh and is a forest t5 lamp 24W 22".
Any help would be much appreciated!!
See picture below of Viv setup below:

 

[Steve A]

I'm not sure what would cause the tongue to not shoot as far as it should. Dehydration or under supplementing is what I would be thinking, but hopefully some more experienced keepers can assist with that.

I just want to point out that your UVB absolutely needs to be outside of the cage. The distance of your UVB accounts for being on top of mesh. So not only is your UVB completely exposed.... it's really close, considering. I don't know if that would have anything to do with your chameleons tongue, but it's something that definitely needs to be fixed. Your enclosure looks really neat and from what I can see your chameleon looks great!

 

[JacksJill]

How much supplement are you giving him? How many times a month?

 

[SteveH]

Many times tongue issues are from injuries or inadequate supplements. What supplements are you using and the schedule ?

 

[Beman]

And note he can get far too close to his UVB. A T5HO in a set up like this for a cham would produce far too high of a UVI exposure. Honestly I would retrofit the cage. Cut out a large portion of the top and add aluminum window screen then have your lighting on top of the cage.

Please add the supplements your using and the frequency. If you can post pics of the labels this would be helpful.

 

[huwpoo]

And note he can get far too close to his UVB. A T5HO in a set up like this for a cham would produce far too high of a UVI exposure. Honestly I would retrofit the cage. Cut out a large portion of the top and add aluminum window screen then have your lighting on top of the cage.

Please add the supplements your using and the frequency. If you can post pics of the labels this would be helpful.

Hi thanks for getting back to me, here is the supplementation:

Adult -1 Year and 4 months old

Feeding schedule: 2-3 Feeder insects (Usually locusts, sometimes Dubia roaches) every other day. Morioworms/wax worms as treats occasionally -

Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding

Repti Calcium with D3 & Nutrobal vitamins x2 per month

labels:

Does the supplementation seem suitable?


The previous owner of the Viv had a t8 bulb inside the cage without a mesh, following research we saw t5 was advised for panthers, so we will look into adding the aluminium mesh!

Thanks again

 

[Beman]

Hi thanks for getting back to me, here is the supplementation:

Adult -1 Year and 4 months old

Feeding schedule: 2-3 Feeder insects (Usually locusts, sometimes Dubia roaches) every other day. Morioworms/wax worms as treats occasionally -

Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding

Repti Calcium with D3 & Nutrobal vitamins x2 per month

labels:

View attachment 345671
Does the supplementation seem suitable?


The previous owner of the Viv had a t8 bulb inside the cage without a mesh, following research we saw t5 was advised for panthers, so we will look into adding the aluminium mesh!

Thanks again

Hi there so it may very well have to do with supplements. Nutrobal has really high levels of fat soluble vitamins. It also has D3. So your over supplementing with D3 right now. I would switch your multivitamin. Can you get repashy Calcium Plus LOD version (it has a jackson chameleon on the label). If you can get this one you would use this 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Then you would not use the nutrobal or the calcium with D3.

If you can not get it then you want to drop the calcium with D3. And I would not use the nutrobal more than once a month due to the higher levels it has in it.

It will take time for the fat soluble vitamins to reduce in his tissues. Anywhere from 6-8 weeks to see a difference in function.


The T8 in the cage the way yours is set up would be better than having the T5HO in the cage. I still prefer all lights on top though. Much safer in the long run for a chameleon because they are going to want to climb as high as possible. They really do not understand when something is too hot or dangerous for them. I have seen people use a jigsaw and cut out the top leaving like a 1 inch edge of the top so it maintains the structural integrity of the cage. Then put the aluminum window screen hooked on top of that frame. With a 6% bulb in a T5HO fixture this would then make is so that you could safely have branches 8 inches below the fixture with the fixture sitting on the aluminum window screen.