Chameleon misses his crickets?

[HameFall]

Hi, first of all sorry if I misspell some words second langauge.

So I bought A T. quadricornis about 5 weeks ago and he's 9 months old and he can't aim when I serve him crickets or mealworms. He doesn't even try to aim, he just stretches out his tongue and touches the crickets / mealworms for them to get stuck on his tongue.

Does anyone know why he does this? ( It's my first chameleon, I've only had Bearded Dragons before )

 

[camimom]

What do you supplement with?

 

[HameFall]

What do you supplement with?

I supplement with Zoo Med's Reptile vitamins with d3 and Zoo Med's Repti Calcium + I gutload the insects with Repashy Bug Burger.

 

[camimom]

How often?
is that a calcium without d3?

what about a multivitamin?

 

[HameFall]

I use the calcium 6 times / week and the Reptile vitamins once / week.
Yes the calcium is without d3. but I dont use any multivitamins, I thought this vitamins were the only once he would need. If I've missed giving him something he needs for 1 month I will feel so bad...

this is pictures of the supplements:

and

 

[camimom]

I do not know the supplement schedule for quads- but I would PM Laurie, as I think she has several.

 

[dakoda5]

i would only use reptivite twice a month. i typically give my cham calcium every other day. 6 times a week may be a little to much. i lost my first cham because of to much supplements. try giving a little less and see if it makes a difference. also what bulbs are you using?

 

[HameFall]

Okey thanks
Is it dangerous to have a waterfall in the terrarium? I've heard that it can give them mouth rot.

 

[camimom]

No waterfalls!

it will grow bacteria. Its best to just remove it.

It really wont do any good anyway.

Chams wont drink from it anyway.

 

[Kate]

No waterfalls!

it will grow bacteria. Its best to just remove it.

It really wont do any good anyway.

Chams wont drink from it anyway.

I have had two veileds that have drank from waterfalls, but I agree they breed bacteria, best remove it.

 

[Psychobunny]

No waterfalls!

it will grow bacteria. Its best to just remove it.

It really wont do any good anyway.

Chams wont drink from it anyway.

No, but they do make great little cham toilets, if you could only get them to flush

 

[Hoj]

with my Quads I only use a d3 and or multivitamin about 2 times a month. also I have seen tounge issues with the quads when they are dehydrated.

 

[sandrachameleon]

with my Quads I only use a d3 and or multivitamin about 2 times a month. also I have seen tounge issues with the quads when they are dehydrated.

agree.
I believe dehydration can cause tongue issues in all types of chameleons.

This blog entry provides a list of common tongue issue causes:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

 

[nick barta]

agree.
I believe dehydration can cause tongue issues in all types of chameleons.

This blog entry provides a list of common tongue issue causes:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

Hydration is most probably the issue, if the feces is yellow and not white, give the cham lots of water with long periods of misting.

I have seen chams strain the tongue by latching onto the branch the food was on. Typically the tongue use came back after a few days.

Until you get a solution, hand feed so the cham will still be eating.

Sandra, your other avatar was prettier...

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Hi, Im just gonna add my thoughts on the problem. A tongue injury could be the reason why he is not using his tongue effectively. Chameleons don't have sticky tongues. They use small muscles to grab onto insects with the tips of their tongues. If it is at least eating, I would wait the problem out. Make sure that he is hydrated and that you are not over-supplementing him. Too much calcium can cause powder to accumulate around their nose and mouth.

Another thing that could be wrong is eyesight. The cham might have some eye problems. There has never been much info on the subject of heat bulbs and whether or not they could cause eye problems. I have had a suspicion that they could, similar to staring at a light bulb all day, I feel it could cause some eyesight issues, but that is just my opinion.

Waterfalls with chams can cause a lot of bacteria, but not if cleaned periodically. I use repto-filters and they work great at keeping the waterfall clean for longer periods. Chams look cool when they drink from the waterfalls too. If you feel safer though, use a dripper with a mister.