can't stick tongue out after vet

[Eamon]

chammy has been showing symptoms of a RI for the past week, open mouth breathing, raspy, up warded tilted head. so I took him to the vet and took some xrays, all good no signs of a RI which is a little confusing but good anyway, they still gave me some antibiotics anyway just incase. giving injections is the saddest thing I've had to do in a long time i gotta hold his head still while he's hissing and vibrating then stick a needle into his arm, how tf do vets do this everyday. I don't know how I'm going to be able to do that. well anyway I took him home put him back in his cage and tried to give him a mealworm which is his favorite treat but when he tried to stick out his tongue he could barely get it out 2 inches and he kept trying over and over until I just put it right infront of his mouth. seeing that i called the vet and they told me it was likely just stress, so i go "ok" and i go to give him a hornworm to see if its still happening and yes. does this sound like stress or something more serious? I'm planning on trying again in an hour or two and see if its still happening.

also goddamn vet visits are expensive, 500$ for a checkup and xray. wtf

 

[kinyonga]

This might help…

 

[kinyonga]

Let us know about the tongue.

 

[Eamon]

This might help…

the vet showed me how to do it and then let me practice with water, what I meant by "I don't know how im going to be able do that" is like put my guy through that for the next 10 days, he's gonna hate me so much

 

[Eamon]

he refused to eat, will try again tmw

 

[MissSkittles]

I don’t know enough to say if the tongue issue is related or not. It doesn’t seem like it would be, but . I feel ya with the injections into those poor little scaly arms. Make sure to alternate the left and right, front arms only. I always tried to give a yummy treat after they’ve calmed down. I found it easiest to not remove my cham from his enclosure and just held him gently on his branch while I gave the poke. My poor shy male veiled hated me and is the only time he ever bit me when I had to give him injections. He has forgiven me since and is trusting me again.

 

[Beman]

So, I am one of those keepers that does not believe in medicating unless they actually find something. I feel that the risk to their bodies is not worth it. But that is me. It would be one thing if they actually found signs of an RI but they told you they did not.

Per the tongue I am guessing that he may have injured it during the visit. Typically things like this resolve fairly quickly. You do have to make sure you are feeding him so he is not hyper extending it though. Meaning you need to bring the food up to his mouth.

 

[Eamon]

So, I am one of those keepers that does not believe in medicating unless they actually find something. I feel that the risk to their bodies is not worth it. But that is me. It would be one thing if they actually found signs of an RI but they told you they did not.

Per the tongue I am guessing that he may have injured it during the visit. Typically things like this resolve fairly quickly. You do have to make sure you are feeding him so he is not hyper extending it though. Meaning you need to bring the food up to his mouth.

do you have any idea why he would have his head tilted upwards and mouth open breathing if he didnt have a RI?

 

[Eamon]

I don’t know enough to say if the tongue issue is related or not. It doesn’t seem like it would be, but . I feel ya with the injections into those poor little scaly arms. Make sure to alternate the left and right, front arms only. I always tried to give a yummy treat after they’ve calmed down. I found it easiest to not remove my cham from his enclosure and just held him gently on his branch while I gave the poke. My poor shy male veiled hated me and is the only time he ever bit me when I had to give him injections. He has forgiven me since and is trusting me again.

He hates me already . just walked in my room and he puffed up and opened his mouth at me, also he wont eat from my hand anymore. I wish I could do the injection while he is still in the cage but he is a squirmy guy, when I open the cage he usually makes a beeline for my hand or the top of the open door but I will still give it a shot.

 

[Beman]

do you have any idea why he would have his head tilted upwards and mouth open breathing if he didnt have a RI?

It can be something as simple as your daytime humidity temps are too high or basking temps are too high.

 

[Eamon]

It can be something as simple as your daytime humidity temps are too high or basking temps are too high.

I knew about the heat but not so much the humidity, I live in Florida so its hard to get the humidity down so the lowest I get is around 60%. I even have a van running across the bottom of the cage to dry up any pooled water. I'm assuming when I upgrade to a 4x2x4 it will get easier? I use a ceramic heat emitter that has one of those smart controllers so the basking spot is always at the same temp, i've heard these arent the best but will it work?

 

[Beman]

I knew about the heat but not so much the humidity, I live in Florida so its hard to get the humidity down so the lowest I get is around 60%. I even have a van running across the bottom of the cage to dry up any pooled water. I'm assuming when I upgrade to a 4x2x4 it will get easier? I use a ceramic heat emitter that has one of those smart controllers so the basking spot is always at the same temp, i've heard these arent the best but will it work?

so how are you determining your humidity levels? And you are saying the lowest is 60%. What is the real percentage that it is actually sitting at? Because I have had Veileds gape at 60% humidity. They do not like high humidity. They do well in 30-40% levels during the day.

The CHI bulb you need to replace with a plain white incandescent bulb approximately a 60 watt. The CHI are not good for chams and can create temps that are hotter than you want. They also have a higher risk of thermal burns due to this.

What is your basking spot set at and is it a probe you hooked to the branch below the heat fixture?

You said upgrade to the larger cage. Is he in a 2x2x4 now?

 

[Eamon]

so how are you determining your humidity levels? And you are saying the lowest is 60%. What is the real percentage that it is actually sitting at? Because I have had Veileds gape at 60% humidity. They do not like high humidity. They do well in 30-40% levels during the day.

The CHI bulb you need to replace with a plain white incandescent bulb approximately a 60 watt. The CHI are not good for chams and can create temps that are hotter than you want. They also have a higher risk of thermal burns due to this.

What is your basking spot set at and is it a probe you hooked to the branch below the heat fixture?

You said upgrade to the larger cage. Is he in a 2x2x4 now?

I'm using a humidity sensor with a probe inside the cage, and yes 60 is the lowest I can get it, starts at 75-80% in the morning and reaches 60% by 1-2. I know high humidity during the day is bad but I just cant find a way to bring it down, right now I have multiple fans and I'm ordering a dehumidifier today. the temperature probe is 6-8 inches below the lamp and its set to 81 cuz when i had it set to 86 I used one of those temperature gun things and it showed that his back was like 92, so I lowered the temp. ill look for a incandescent bulb lamp tonight. also yeah he is currently in a 2x2x4 and I'm going to build him a 4x2x4 once his meds run out.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m also in Florida and humidity has been a struggle at certain times of the year. I do have 3 double sized chameleon enclosures in a smaller bedroom, which doesn’t help things. Whatever humidity is too much for the central ac, I have a room dehumidifier to use. Since all are screened enclosures with the entire fronts open and fabric shower curtain fabric blocking the backs and sides loosely, there is plenty of ventilation, which also makes a big difference. I also have a room ac unit which I have used in that room before, but it didn’t make much difference and the venting for it let in unwanted bugs.
What part of Florida are you in? We have two excellent vets for chameleons around Orlando and one which would be better if they only stopped thinking that chameleons benefit from being soaked in warm water.

 

[Eamon]

I’m also in Florida and humidity has been a struggle at certain times of the year. I do have 3 double sized chameleon enclosures in a smaller bedroom, which doesn’t help things. Whatever humidity is too much for the central ac, I have a room dehumidifier to use. Since all are screened enclosures with the entire fronts open and fabric shower curtain fabric blocking the backs and sides loosely, there is plenty of ventilation, which also makes a big difference. I also have a room ac unit which I have used in that room before, but it didn’t make much difference and the venting for it let in unwanted bugs.
What part of Florida are you in? We have two excellent vets for chameleons around Orlando and one which would be better if they only stopped thinking that chameleons benefit from being soaked in warm water.

I live near cocoa beach so my house is literally on a island the humidity here Is no joke, we get upwards of 80% for like half the year. also the vet I went to didn't seem like chameleon expert but they deffently knew what they were talking about. im also in the process of buying a dehumidifier right now.

 

[MissSkittles]

Oh…ok. I’m in Brevard too…Cocoa. I have the ac on just about year round so that helps immensely with humidity. My humidity stays around 45-55%, which is a fair enough compromise since I have panthers and veileds. There was an ok vet at Cocoa Veterinary Hospital that was decent enough with chams for basic stuff, but she had to move back north. My favorite vet partially retired a few months ago, but he does still do a day or two a week in Kissimmee. Another vet who is awesome with chams has a mobile clinic for Orlando area, but every so often has a clinic day at a pet store in Lakeland and one in June in Ocoee. There is Exotic Animal Hospital in Orlando, who is ok, but ignore when they say to soak your cham.