WC Panther-Tongue problem

So today I finally seen our new juvenile WC panther "attempt" to eat... Well I think I figured out why he is so skinny; He has an issue with his tongue. He can shoot it, but not far enough to get his food. The whole tongue is there, it just seems like it wont shoot the remainder of the length. Id estimate he can only shoot it 1/3-1/2 the actual length. Ill be making an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but I wanted to see if anyone has had this issue before/knows anything of it. I also noticed while he was gaping at me, his gums in the corner of his mouth looked slightly swollen. No rot, just swollen. I can post the help form but I figured it was kind of pointless since he has only been with me almost a week. I checked his set-up multiple times prior to his arrival, so I know everything is spot on...

Edit: I tried getting a video of it, but by the time I got my phone out and started recording he seemed to just give up on it..

Sorry hes having issues man. Could you estimate the length he can shoot? Like inches/cm?

I dont have any advice on the tongue issue....But what locale is he & where did you get him? Can we see.....Huh.... pleeeze..?

Solid Snake said:

Sorry hes having issues man. Could you estimate the length he can shoot? Like inches/cm?

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Yeah, about 4-5 inches. He is about 6 inches snout to vent..

possible:
1. injury
2. lack of calcium or proper uvb to break calcium down
3. lack of proper nutrients..vitA in particular.
4. dehydrated

Davonat said:

I dont have any advice on the tongue issue....But what locale is he & where did you get him? Can we see.....Huh.... pleeeze..?

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I dont know his locale, he was sold to me as a Nosy Mitsio, But upon receiving him he clearly was not.. Hes showing colors that could be a few different locales but I probably wont know til hes older. I got him off kingsnake. Just took a fresh pic...

/\/\/\/\All I can think of, and more/\/\/\/\/\(what ataraxia said)
Dont really have "info" other than that is short.

tounge issues

My ankaramy ,n one my Ambilobe females have the same problem,it can b lack of vitamin a ive been told.I'm not an expert but I have two like that. What I do is I disable the crickets so its easier for them to eat.I try not to feed them like babies so they don't get use to it.I don't put a cup so they don't get use to it. When I don't c them eat I make sure I hand feed them a few crickets,or Silkworms etc. Good luck.

ataraxia said:

possible:
1. injury
2. lack of calcium or proper uvb to break calcium down
3. lack of proper nutrients..vitA in particular.
4. dehydrated

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He came to me pretty dehydrated, solid orange urates and one of his eyes seemed slighty sunken. His eye no longer appears sunken, and his urates are getting better. He is already very thin, I am afraid if I put him on any meds he is not even going to attempt to eat.. Hopefully the vet can figure this one out

tounge

Looks like a nosey faly to me

you may have to force feed while on meds.

ibdragons said:

My ankaramy ,n one my Ambilobe females have the same problem,it can b lack of vitamin a ive been told.I'm not an expert but I have two like that. What I do is I disable the crickets so its easier for them to eat.I try not to feed them like babies so they don't get use to it.I don't put a cup so they don't get use to it. When I don't c them eat I make sure I hand feed them a few crickets,or Silkworms etc. Good luck.

Click to expand...

ataraxia said:

you may have to force feed while on meds.

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Prior to noticing this I tried dropping a small superworm in his mouth when he was gaping at me and he had absolutely none of that; spit it right out. Ill try some small crickets tomorrow.

haha, hes gonna be fun

bug guts concoction in your future.

ataraxia said:

haha, hes gonna be fun

bug guts concoction in your future.

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I'll be on the couch for who knows how long if my gf sees me put ANY insect in the blender

What about a "Slap-Chop"?

if she finds a cricket leg in her next milk shake...just tell her you are trying to help her out with her complete nutritional daily intake. she will understand.

ataraxia said:

if she finds a cricket leg in her next milk shake...just tell her you are trying to help her out with her complete nutritional daily intake. she will understand.

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lmao!.. Must have been a "cherry stem"

With a WC I would look more to dehydration or injury than vit deficiency, or calc UBV issue. Like they say hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I have been told by several with lots more experience than myself that they usually try to give lots of privacy and hydrate for 1-3 weeks before even trying to treat for anything unless they really start going down hill before that.


LOL on the blender....looks like you need to invest in a magic bullet for the chams along with the scope

coldbloodedAL said:

What about a "Slap-Chop"?

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I dont see that going well

Ziplock bag, get them in the corner, fold it over, to where their contained in the corner.
Mash the crap out of them!

Cut the tip off the bag, and squeeze into chameleons mouth

clarkrw3 said:

With a WC I would look more to dehydration or injury than vit deficiency, or calc UBV issue. Like they say hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I have been told by several with lots more experience than myself that they usually try to give lots of privacy and hydrate for 1-3 weeks before even trying to treat for anything unless they really start going down hill before that.


LOL on the blender....looks like you need to invest in a magic bullet for the chams along with the scope

Click to expand...

Mentally I kind of ruled out the deficiencies for the WC reason, But i think its slightly possible depending how long he was held wherever prior to import. But I know he is still dehydrated and getting plenty of water atm. Should I wait it out, and keep trying to get him to eat as is or get him to the vet?