cham not using tongue to hunt! need advice

[benthirty2]

Hey guys and gals and chams,
Bob, my veiled is no longer using his tongue to hunt, after being a free range feeder since he was a baby. Hes not lethargic at all, still eats but eats from a cup now, and still drinks regularly. He eats all the right foods, has the proper lighting, temp, and humidity along with misting at least 2 to 3 times daily. I dont know if he bit his tongue off or what, but when some of the crickets escape from the cup he tries to catch them by getting as close as he can, which is about 2 inches away and just sticks his tounge out with out any action like hes just trying to use the stickyness of his tongue to do the job. This works for him maybe 1% of the time. I dont think he bit his tongue off cause im here all day long cause im disabled, so i watch him constantly. Ive heard of lazy tongue, but like i said hes always free range fed. Hes about four years old, so hes just into adulthood correct? Is there any that his tongue could have disconnected itself from the bone that it slides over and just needs a vet to reattach it. I mean Im totally clueless guys. Hes in perfect health except for this. Any ideas or thoughts on what i should do to correct the prob or just contiue cup feeding like I have for the past two months or do the vet thing? Please help...we all know that chams live to hunt, so help give Bob his since of pride and dignity back!
Thanks folks,
Ben and Bob
email me @ [email protected]. Thanks once again!

 

[sandrachameleon]

Did this happen suddenly, or slowly over time?

You may find this blog entry informative:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

 

[benthirty2]

chameleon not using tongue

well it started out like this: you know how 90% of the time a chameleon always catches his dinner with his tongue. That number started to decrease and then one day I noticed that he wasnt striking the prey as usual but trying to get just inches away and then just sticking his tongue out about 2 inches hoping to catch them by just the stickiness of the tongue alone. So I went to using a cup thats about five inches deep and he just sticks about half of his body, head first, down into the cup and gobbles up what he can. He still tries to go after the ones that managed to hop out of the cup using the same method and every now and then he does manage to get a cricket every now and then, but not very often at all. I wish i could show you on video but the lights make it to bright for my cheap web cam to focus.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

my wc west usambara didnt use his tounge when eating, he would catch it with his mouth and would take him a while to get the food down. this was definciency. i uped in calcium, added more to gut load, and gave water alot more often. worked for me. he now uses his tounge perfectly fine

 

[kinyonga]

What specific supplements do you use and how often for each?
What specifically do you gutload/feed the insects with?
What UVB light (brand and type) do you use and how old is it? Is there any glass or plastic between it and the chameleon?


If you are seeing anything sticking out of the mouth, then he hasn't bitten off the tongue. If the tongue was bitten off, there would only be the (thin) hyoid spike left that you might see...but I doubt he would stick it out far enough that you would see it.

 

[sandrachameleon]

well it started out like this: you know how 90% of the time a chameleon always catches his dinner with his tongue. That number started to decrease and then one day I noticed that he wasnt striking the prey as usual ....

To me this suggests a nutritional issue. Did you check that link I gave you?

Tell us about what you feed your chameleon (what types of bugs, what you feed to those bugs), and what supplements you use (what brand, how often), as well as whether you take that chameleon outside or what UVB tubes you use and how often you change those tubes.