cham misses food with tounge??!!??!!!

[jcarty3]

hi my 8 month old female veiled rolo when eating or trying to eat will often miss the food with her toung by i tiny bit to the left or the right, i think it may be because she trys to grab her food from there side instead of just looking down and getting on from its back,

is this normal??

is there any reason??

also i hand feed her most if this makes a difference

 

[Goonie]

the fact that your hand isnt completely still probobly has something to do with it, whenever goonie misses its because my hands arnt the steadyest.
but thats rare, like once every 3 days he will miss one, maby you lil guy needs glasses

 

[Lovereps]

No, it's not normal

My hand is typically a bit shaky when I hand feed my chams and they never miss.
Bugs usually don't stay perfectly still in nature.
Typically, the problem is caused by nutritional deficiencies and, if you correct those now, before the deficiency worsens, then she stands a far better chance of leading a long, healthy life with you.
I looked at your past posts and saw that your cham was eating sand.
Maybe that was her attempt to compensate for something that she's missing in her diet.
Plenty of times people make some or all of the following mistakes:
No UVB bulb or using an old UVB bulb(which prevents calcium from being absorbed)
Not feeding feeder insects a nutritious gutload (chams are what they eat)
Feeding only 1 kind of insect
Too much, too little or the wrong kind of calcium or vitamin supplements
Wrong temperatures

I know it seems like alot, but please post the answers to the How to ask for help form.
If something is wrong, far better that someone spots it and helps your cham, than not.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

I'm grateful for these forums because the good information posted by some has enabled my chams to remain healthy.
If I had only followed the instructions that the pet store had given, they might not have survived.


Sandrachameleon has some very good info about tongue problems in her blog:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

 

[Clifford]

no, its not normal for them to miss very often. Something is not right

 

[vegas shooby]

Do u cup feed him if not u should

 

[Silkyslim]

It sounds like the problem could be a lot deeper. From what I have read and gathered...chams don't miss. If they do something is wrong internally in some form. I would sit and look at all angles of nutritional intake and make sure they are adequate. Lighting as well.

Your best bet for a first step would be to fill out the care card so we can all read the general set up and husbandry you are providing and offer our collective suggestion to help correct any problems you may not be aware of.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

Lovereps eluded to possible nutritional deficiencies. that is a very strong possibility. Lack of Vitamin A can cause tongue problems as well as eye problems. Bad eyesight will impede your chams ability to triangulate its prey.

It can also be a trauma to the tongue or its associated muscles. Often chams will bruise their tongues when attempting to catch bugs on the outside of the cage. Hitting the screen at close range will cause bruising.

 

[chameleon884]

this is not a excact answer, but my prediction is that your chameleon could have mbd. since when a chameleon does have mbd, the bones deterierate and the hyroid bone, which is a part of the tongue, could be causing your chameleon to miss. if you have a uvb light or a calcium supplement, then i highly doubt your cham has mbd. but thats my guess. or she could have injured, or pulled a muscle in her tongue. that would definatly cause her to miss.

 

[sandrachameleon]

hi my 8 month old female veiled rolo when eating or trying to eat will often miss the food with her toung by i tiny bit to the left or the right, i think it may be because she trys to grab her food from there side instead of just looking down and getting on from its back,
is this normal??
is there any reason??
also i hand feed her most if this makes a difference

not normal. many possible reasons, nutritional usually being suspect. Did is start missing all of a sudden, or has it come on slowly with it missing more frequently over time or missing by a greater degree over time?
You may find this blog entry informative:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

Consider completing the how to ask for help questionaire, so we can perhaps provide some insight.

 

[tkilgour]

I received a chameleon that has always missed insects since the day I received her. I took her to the vet had all her levels checked and she had a clean bill of health. I told the vet about her tongue issue and the vet seems to think she damaged her tongue early on and that caused the issue permanently.

The good news is my female can still catch prey. She almost always misses free range crickets, especially if they are far away. However, she will end up catching them by rushing close and snatching them up. I can also cup feed her and she will just go to the cup and grab them easily.

 

[Elizadolots]

hi my 8 month old female veiled rolo when eating or trying to eat will often miss the food with her toung by i tiny bit to the left or the right, i think it may be because she trys to grab her food from there side instead of just looking down and getting on from its back,

is this normal??

is there any reason??

also i hand feed her most if this makes a difference

This sounds to me like you're holding the insects below her, but she doesn't want to hunt that way. I've had one chameleon who liked to grab food from below, but the one I have now prefers to have them at eye level or above. Have you tried holding the insects up at her eye level? It might be worth a try.

 

[jcarty3]

i dont think she has mdb she has proper lighting and a multi calcium supplement and a vitiman d supplement it might have something to do with the vitamin d as i never had it before and just got it about 2 weeks ago

when she misses it is not drasticaly a miss its like so close somtimes she even hits a leg but dosent stick she will get it after like 2 trys tho

 

[Lovereps]

Please keep in mind that the people on this forum want to help you to have as healthy a cham as possible.
Maybe she has MBD and maybe she doesn't, but it sounds like your gut feeling was that something is wrong, since you decided to post the question.
We have no idea how long you've had your cham, whether she has always been a bit off in her aim or it has just started and whether or not she gets a multivitamin or just calcium--or how often she receives the supplements.
D3 should not be given daily, nor should a multivitamin, but both are essential.
Just about every one of us has made one or more husbandry errors due to lack of information or misinformation that was given when he/she got their cham.
The most important thing is to determine the cause of a problem and to correct it before it's too serious for your cham to be able to recover from.
Unfortunately, chams aren't the hardiest of creatures.
There are nutritional deficiencies besides MBD and, even though you have been supplementing with calcium, there are reasons why the calcium would not be absorbed, which you may not be aware of.
Being a pet, your cham only has you to make sure she is getting all that she needs to be healthy and live a good, long life.

 

[Chameleon Loco]

I have a veiled with a short tongue

He has been in my care for a year and a half At about a year his tounge became shorter due to little vitamin intake. I have taken him to the vet who says that he shows no sigh of MBD but I should start coating with Repti Vitamins more.

 

[jcarty3]

i have pure calcium it has on and d3 i do not give daily pure once a week or twice d3 i read you shouldnt give regularly i have only ever give her 3 cricket dusted in d3 which was about 2-3 weeks ago

 

[Annum]

I hate to sound ignorant and lazy (because I know I could look it up), but I will ask the question anyway. What is MBD and is it reversable? Once the cham has it, can you help them recover from it?

 

[Michael Ryan]

I hate to sound ignorant and lazy (because I know I could look it up), but I will ask the question anyway. What is MBD and is it reversable? Once the cham has it, can you help them recover from it?

MBD is where a chameleons bones weaken due to lack of calcium intake or uvb exposure. These are not the only ways a cham can get MBD, but it is probably how the majority of chameleons in captivity acquire this illness. What damage that is done by MBD cannot be reversed. However, yes it can be stopped and they can recover from it.

 

[iLik3LIzards]

I had this problem back in the day. Someone suggested I buy one of those reptile calcium spray bottles they have at petco. Use three drops (use a dripper of some sort dont spray it) orally. Directions are on the back, simple and works. It fixed the problem.

 

[kinyonga]

MBD is metabolic bone disease...and its a calcium imbalance (in short terms) that causes the bones to weaken.

Calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A and D3 all are major players in bone health and they need to be in balance.

Most insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phos. so we dust the insects with phos.-free calcium at most feedings to help make up for it.

D3 can either come from supplements or from exposure to UVB light/sunlight (that does not pass through glass or plastic). D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues (and even resemble MBD in some cases) but D3 produced from exposure to UVB from either a UVB light or sunlight shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB. Most of us dust with phos.-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it and it leaves the chameleon to produce the rest from its exposure to the UVB.

Any damage that was already done when the treatment was/is started for MBD will not likely be reversible (crooked/broken bones)...but it will be stopped from getting worse.

We also dust with a vitamin powder. Since prEformed vitamin A is another vitamin that can build up in the system, I use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A because beta carotene (prOformed) sources will not build up in the system. Beta carotene has to be converted by the lizard into prEformed vitamin A as needed. Now...here's where the problem comes in...its controversial as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene (or convert it effectively enough)...so some people give their chameleons a little prEformed once in a while to make sure that they are getting it. Also, excess prEformed vitamin A may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD.

When you are trying to balance the nutrients you need to look at what you feed to the insects, what you feed to the chameleon and what you supplement with.