I noticed my male chameleon. Trying to tongue a cricket at close range. Usually sometimes escape the cup. Lately been missing ones on the screen. An getting really into the cup to eat them. I know chameleons can shoot there tongue the length of there body or sometimes more. This type of tongue issue can it be reversed? Thinking that's why hes on thin side. Temps been in low 60's here amp temps. Maybe causing the issue as well. With a tongue issue like this can it be reversed? Or would he be stuck with it rest of his life. An if so how do you feed a chameleon with this issue. Hes also dark in color even under the heat lamp.
Chameleon tongue issue.
- Thread starter LoveGun78
- Start date
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello and welcome! Please fill out the husbandry form below, the more information you can give us the better! Its possible those cold temps are causing his tongue issue but there are other things that may cause it as well so its best to look at everything. That being said you baby needs his ambient temps to be 78 degrees to 72 degrees during the day. 60 degrees at night are perfect but where he is cold blooded he regulates his temperature, body functions from the temps of his environment.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem -
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem -
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
He’s a beauty. What are his basking temps at? What supplements are you using and what is their schedule? I have an older lady that prefers to mouth grab her food rather than shoot her tongue, and a male recovering from poor health that also mouth grabs his food. I contain their feeders in the shooting gallery feeding station, which makes it easy for them to do this. https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/shooting-gallery-chameleon-feeder-1/ You guy looks younger and healthy, so this is something I would suspect a supplement issue or possibly how the cooler weather is affecting basking temp. Another suspect would be if his tongue got pulled by either tong feeding or grabbing a hornworm that had firmly stuck itself to whatever it was sitting on.
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
@MissSkittles I had that problem with Bolt but turns out I did not have enough heat. I was basking him at 73 because I was afraid of him getting burned by screen climbing. So I rearranged his heat lamp added a higher basking branch but placed the branch( father from uvb) to avoid over exposure. He immediately started eating more.
@LoveGun78 after you follow the advice of the experienced keepers it a good idea to chart things. Charting will also help you know if you need a vet. If you have a scale start charting his weight. Charting poop (color and texture) and amount of feeders eaten. A feeder run also helps the Cham see all of his little buggies moving in a concentrated area. Cup feeding did not work for my Baby Panther. I switched to a feeder run which caught his attention. I still feed him silkworms one at a time because he's spoiled rotten and will not eat them from the feeder run. I lay the silkworm on a branch or leaf one at a time. After he eats one, I provide another one. I think he has me wrapped around his little claw!
@LoveGun78 after you follow the advice of the experienced keepers it a good idea to chart things. Charting will also help you know if you need a vet. If you have a scale start charting his weight. Charting poop (color and texture) and amount of feeders eaten. A feeder run also helps the Cham see all of his little buggies moving in a concentrated area. Cup feeding did not work for my Baby Panther. I switched to a feeder run which caught his attention. I still feed him silkworms one at a time because he's spoiled rotten and will not eat them from the feeder run. I lay the silkworm on a branch or leaf one at a time. After he eats one, I provide another one. I think he has me wrapped around his little claw!
• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther male an 3 months old. 2 weeks
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Haven't until today to try get shed off his nose.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mostly crickets an bsfl flies. Wont eat dubia. 15 an daily. Collard carrots bug burger green beans an squash for gut load.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? Repashy supercal NoD an the calcium plus LoD NoD every feeding an the LoD twice a month.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Misting an dripping with ice cubes. An never seen him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Egg shaped poop an pure white urates. Never been tested.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Just shed two days ago. An been missing his target feeders.
Cage Info:
• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen an 24"24"48" tall
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 75 watt heating bulb by arcadia an the arcadia 6% t5 from petsmart. 8:30am to 8:30pm
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 84f Basking an 67-70f mid to floor bottom. 61f overnight. Temp gun an digital probe.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Don't measure them an just a fogger near the cage.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Potho's an another forget name but is on safe list.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Its in a quiet bedroom with no high traffic. Sometimes dog goes in there but only once. Cage is on the floor.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Central America Illinois
Current Problem -
Tongue isn't coming out the length of his body.
I have a motion camera watching him. He seems to want to eat. But having alot of trouble grabbing the prey.
ChamelaChameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Im sorry you are having this problem.
I am a new keeper (1 year). One of the experienced keepers will help you with the tongue issue. They will need pictures of your supplements and ingredient list. Also they will want to see photos of the entire enclosure including lights - top to bottom. They will want to know your on/off light schedule. The more pictures you post of youe chameleon and enclosure the better.
The products are the usual repashy ones. But can take photos of them of needed. I posted mostly everything in the care list.
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MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Unless I’m missing something, your husbandry looks great to me. Has he always been doing this the whole time you’ve had him? Have you ever seen him fully shoot his tongue out? Have you at any time fed him from tongs? Have you fed him any hornworms? If he’s been doing this the whole time that you’ve had him, possibly he had a tongue injury prior to you getting him. If you went thru a breeder, definitely ask them about it. Hopefully it is just a temporary problem that will resolve on its own. The young ones are lightening fast when they shoot at their food, so if their tongue were to stick to anything it could very easily get ‘pulled’. Of course a vet visit is always a good idea if it doesn’t resolve within a week or so. Make sure to have a fecal too, just in case. In the meanwhile, if the crickets are jumping and escaping his cup you may need to find another way to contain them for him...maybe buy or craft a feeding station like those sold or even a half size deli cup would work. Perhaps another member has some other ideas and input.
Hes been like this since i got him. Day one put the cup in there. An he climbed to the top. Eat the 12 crickets small all i had. Others are half inch size for my other chams. An he eat them but had stick half his body in cup. Just to eat them. Never seen him use his tongue over a inch. Will be at a vet soon. For fecal check an wellbeing. Going to do that next week. Just strapped on funds until next pay period. Had to treat dog for his vomiting issue. I use 3 inch small cups an bird feeders i got at petsmart. Any recommendations with that. I don't like free roaming feeders. But the chameleon seems to like it. I mostly feed small dubia to my others. Alot easier but he seems not to like them. Silkworms are best with my research. But very hard to come by an expensive. He likes bsfl flies but hard to feed them. Only had 4 flies today to let free. Day before none. Just doing best I can for him. More used to my other boy. That will eat anything when given. But limit his feeders to every other day. Just save on his kidneys. He's almost a year old. But very big in size.
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elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
For the most part your husbandry looks great. There are a few things I would suggest changing. See below:
- Temps - panthers need higher temps during the day than what your baby is currently getting, his ambient temps should be 78 degrees (top) to 72 degrees near the bottom of his enclosure. I wonder if maybe his targeting is off due to him being too cold.
- Humidity - I would strongly suggest getting something to check your humidity levels at, this is as important as knowing their temps. Baby should have 50-60% humidity during the day and ideally 80-100% humidity at night. This is what I am currently using to check temps and humidity during the day and at night.
This wouldnt be in relation to his targeting but I would strongly suggest putting his enclosure on something to make him higher. Height equals safety for chameleons. For example my enclosures are all up on bakers racks or tables so the top branch in the enclosure is above my head. You want your chameleon to be able to be up high and look down on you with his judging little eyes
Lastly if your baby isnt liking the bird feeder cup (mine use these as well) I would suggest getting either a feeder run or a shooting gallery. My Jackson's wouldn't eat out of the bird cups but once I got a feeder run he started eating very well. Here are a few you could check out:
Shooting Gallery
Lunch Log
Feeder Run Cup
- Temps - panthers need higher temps during the day than what your baby is currently getting, his ambient temps should be 78 degrees (top) to 72 degrees near the bottom of his enclosure. I wonder if maybe his targeting is off due to him being too cold.
- Humidity - I would strongly suggest getting something to check your humidity levels at, this is as important as knowing their temps. Baby should have 50-60% humidity during the day and ideally 80-100% humidity at night. This is what I am currently using to check temps and humidity during the day and at night.
This wouldnt be in relation to his targeting but I would strongly suggest putting his enclosure on something to make him higher. Height equals safety for chameleons. For example my enclosures are all up on bakers racks or tables so the top branch in the enclosure is above my head. You want your chameleon to be able to be up high and look down on you with his judging little eyes
Lastly if your baby isnt liking the bird feeder cup (mine use these as well) I would suggest getting either a feeder run or a shooting gallery. My Jackson's wouldn't eat out of the bird cups but once I got a feeder run he started eating very well. Here are a few you could check out:
Shooting Gallery
Lunch Log
Feeder Run Cup
