Need help immediately

Picasso touched his tongue on the heat bulb and now the tip is so swollen that he just keeps dropping it out of his mouth and the tip is very large, he is doing some panicking and I'm scared he may be choking, is there anything I can do?

I'm not an expert but read up frequently on majority of threads and im going to assume your going to have to take him to the vet when you can. I also know your not supposed to have your light source sitting against your cage there needs to be some sort of seperation. Still, i dont totally understand how he was able to get so close to the bulb.

Picasso's tongue

This is how his tongue looks....he will drop it way down and act like he is choking,

I sure hate to hear that. Do you have any Medacam? If so you can use that. If he leaves it out be sure to keep it moist until you can get him to a good chameleon vet.

If he does swallow it, you will need to get it out as quickly as you can. When he has it stuck out try to keep him from biting it.

Can't get him to the vet til morning,we are having a snow storm right now and being Christmas, no vets open....we will stay up all night and keep his tongue wet.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do now. Just like when you touch a hot stove or something, the damage is already done. He is probably acting weird because it hurts like crazy!! Like Jann said, an anti-inflammatory/pain med will probably be the only thing you can do for him. But it will just need time to heal. The tongue is very delicate tissue and I worry about permanent damage that may affect how he eats.

I'm sorry, but how was he able to lick a heat bulb anyway?? And why was it not stopped if it was being observed? This is potentially a very, very serious injury.

Not much more I can offer but moral support! Good luck

ferretinmyshoes said:

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do now. Just like when you touch a hot stove or something, the damage is already done. He is probably acting weird because it hurts like crazy!! Like Jann said, an anti-inflammatory/pain med will probably be the only thing you can do for him. But it will just need time to heal. The tongue is very delicate tissue and I worry about permanent damage that may affect how he eats.

I'm sorry, but how was he able to lick a heat bulb anyway?? And why was it not stopped if it was being observed? This is potentially a very, very serious injury.

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It wasn't a heat bulb, it was a light bulb in the lamp, he was wandering around and I saw him hanging from the light shade with his tongue hanging out and just assumed he had touched the bulb, the bulb looked like it had something on it....I have really been beating myself up because of this, I will never let anything like this happen again.

Dayna, could some KY Jelly or vaseline (or a water-based lubricant) be applied to the tongue to keep it moist? In retrospect I wonder if I should have applied something like that to my girl's tongue when she had it hanging out after swallowing it, instead of staying up all night misting her down.

OP, I'm sorry to read this, this is a really awful injury for the poor guy. Burns are terrible! Hopefully he feels much better in the morning.

Olimpia said:

Dayna, could some KY Jelly or vaseline (or a water-based lubricant) be applied to the tongue to keep it moist? In retrospect I wonder if I should have applied something like that to my girl's tongue when she had it hanging out after swallowing it, instead of staying up all night misting her down.

OP, I'm sorry to read this, this is a really awful injury for the poor guy. Burns are terrible! Hopefully he feels much better in the morning.

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I wouldn't use vasoline because it is really thick and tastes bad. That will cause him to lick a lot, which will just irritate the tissue, and I wouldn't want an accumulation of thick stuff in the mouth when he can't use his tongue to swallow normally. That could be a bigger problem. Ky jelly could definitely be used, but I would only use a very small amount - just enough to very thinly coat the exposed part of the tongue. When you go to the vet, which I would do asap, they may have some lidocaine gel you can use (lidocaine numbs) to help ease the pain directly and keep the tongue moist.

lovepicasso said:

It wasn't a heat bulb, it was a light bulb in the lamp, he was wandering around and I saw him hanging from the light shade with his tongue hanging out and just assumed he had touched the bulb, the bulb looked like it had something on it....I have really been beating myself up because of this, I will never let anything like this happen again.

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Ah I see. That's why I don't free range mine. There are just too many dangers. That sucks.

This is not advice, but a question...

Please do not do this unless a vet recommends, but would an anti-inflamatory such as advil be dangerous? I don't think it would be safe for chameleons, but I would want to get something to reduce swelling and pain. What about any home remedies? Dosages? Most would not have medications on hand and I'm wondering what else could be done till the vets. Best of luck till then! Hope he is feeling better.

This may be a really stupid suggestion but would anbesol for babies be ok to use for the time being?

Decadancin said:

Please do not do this unless a vet recommends, but would an anti-inflamatory such as advil be dangerous?

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YES! NEVER give human anti-inflammatories to animals!! Giving Advil or many other NSAIDs to dogs or cats is one of the quickest ways to cause total kidney failure. Considering how small reptiles are compared to cats and dogs I would never, ever advise this. And now you know that's one of the most common things I have to advise against and try to fix as an ER vet.

ferretinmyshoes said:

YES! NEVER give human anti-inflammatories to animals!! Giving Advil to dogs or cats is one of the quickest ways to cause total kidney failure. Considering how small reptiles are compared to cats and dogs I would never, ever advise this. And now you know that ones of the most common things I have to advise against as an ER vet.

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Are there any home remedies you can think of to help with the pain? Ice water? I feel terrible not having advice.

ferretinmyshoes said:

YES! NEVER give human anti-inflammatories to animals!! Giving Advil or many other NSAIDs to dogs or cats is one of the quickest ways to cause total kidney failure. Considering how small reptiles are compared to cats and dogs I would never, ever advise this. And now you know that's one of the most common things I have to advise against as an ER vet.

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Why can dogs have the same arthritis meds and a few others then? Just curious oh and benedryl?

squeekz1992 said:

Why can dogs have the same arthritis meds and a few others then? Just curious oh and benedryl?

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Some medications can be O.K. if monitored. My cat is on Plavix and Atenolol as well as asprin for a heart condition. I know advil can be tough on a human's stomach and liver, but I would love to offer some advice for Picasso.

I know egg whites are good for burns- I dont know if this will help? but I used them on me- it dose take away pain, and makes a "film" over the burn, but PLEASE see if ferretinmyshoe or a vet thinks this is ok for a cham - gosh- I feel so bad for him and you - poor little thing hope he gets better

My heart is just breaking for my boy....I keep him in my or my husbands hands and try to keep him calm, he is breathing easy and his color has not been dark, it is really very pretty color, but he will drop his tongue out and shake his head....I can't help but cry, I feel so bad......thanks for all the help and concern, will keep y'all posted.

squeekz1992 said:

Why can dogs have the same arthritis meds and a few others then? Just curious oh and benedryl?

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Like deca said, some medications are the same in dogs and people. And some are not. Certain ones still have to monitored very closely for side effects even though they are used in both. But Advil and most other NSAIDs (which is why I specified human NSAIDs, not all human drugs) are very dangerous due to differences in how the liver metabolizes the drugs and the kidneys are extremely sensitive to them. Benedryl is very commonly used in dogs.