has anyone got a chameleon with no tongue??

[Stacey5089]

I was reading a thread about this erlier and i was just wondering if this is possible and if a cham could still eat without a tongue?

 

[camimom]

I dont remember who they are, but I know there are members here whose chams have had to have their tongues amputated for one reason or another.

The chams still eat, the owner just has to either hand feed or the bugs have to be disabled (like pull legs off a cricket) and the cham can eat like a bearded dragon does.

 

[dasPantherchamaeleon]

it´s possible.. a friend of mine has a girl like that..

you have to feed them by hand.. it´s a bit complicated but it works well..

 

[Stacey5089]

Thanks so they just get used to eating like a beardie! i had never heard of a cham without a tounge before i didn't realize this could happen and they can be perfectly fine its good to know

 

[camimom]

It takes practice, and some chams never get the beardie eating thing down, so the owners always have to hand feed.

But if taken care of soon after injury, the cham can lead an almost normal cham life.

 

[Stacey5089]

What about infection if the cham has bitten his or her tongue off ive read this happens quite often will it not hurt the cham? And how soon after would they want to eat again? Im realy worried about this now i hope this never happens!

 

[camimom]

usually what happens is the cham hyper extends the tongue, usually after food, and the tongue gets stuck, or they cant retract it for some reason. though some chams have bit through the tongue as well.

it doesn't happen nearly as often as you think.

of all the members on here with chams (and with most of us owning more than one) I think only a few have chams with no tongues.


dont worry about it, its not a common occurance.

 

[Stacey5089]

Thanks ill try not to worry just seems realy horrible

 

[Olimpia]

This has happened to one of mine. A few years ago my female veiled swallowed her tongue for reasons no one understands and it was so damaged by the stomach that it had to be amputated.

She did develop persistent infections in the mouth, despite being put on antibiotics. It was probably due to the degree of trauma and the length of time she suffered through it until I noticed (maybe 16 hours or more) and until someone would see her the next morning.

Had she bitten off the tongue I would have seen it immediately, as I walked past her cage several times. But because she had swallowed it, it was imppossible to see until feeding time. So had I noticed immediately and put her on antibiotics the same day, she probably would have done better.

In the end she died 8 months later, not having really adapted (she never learned to eat on her own, partly due to the discomfort of the infections) But mine is the only sad story I know, I think most people get their chameleons to do really well following an amputation.

And it's not something that happens every day. It's a freak accident usually. Just be careful of their tongue if tong-feeding or whatnot, but there's no need to turn their cage into a padded room.

 

[Stacey5089]

That sounds awful sorry about your cham and we wouldn't even know if this were to happen until feeding that worries me too!!

 

[pssh]

I have one. He had an infection in his tongue and swallowed it before the vet could see him. He is fine now, and mostly has to be tong/hand fed. He can eat large hornworms and large silkies by himself, but anything that is slippery (mealies, supers), hard (dubias), or fast (crickets) he needs to be tong fed. He certainly tries though! He just can't quite get them as easily as he would like.

But yeah, having these sorts of issues are pretty rare and I only know of a handful of other keepers who currently have a chameleon without a tongue, and only another handful who have ever had one in the past.