Healthy, Young Chameleon Not Shooting His Tongue

[Supercilious]

1. Chameleon Info:

o Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled. Male. 4 months. Since 12/29/17.

o Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Around Once a week

o Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Crickets, 10-15 small, I cup feed. Crickets are gut-loaded with Flucker’s Orange Cubes, Flucker’s cricket diet, carrots, apples, kale.

o Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Exo Terra Calcium, Exo Terra Multi Vitamin, Reptile Calcium with D3. My vet told me to do the following at the moment to try and rectify the issue. Exo Terra Calcium (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat), Multi Vitamin (Tue), Repti Calcium with D3 (Thur).

o Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a dripper at the top of the cage. I mist twice a day; building an auto mister. Never seen him drinking.

o Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Solid normal brown/black waste, White droppings for urinates, all is well here. Never been tested for parasites.

o History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I received him on 12/29/17 and have never seen him eat. Gave him space to adjust to his new home. He has been cup feeding since I got him as he was very small and in an adult cage since day one.


Cage Info:

o Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen, 24” by 24” by 48”

o Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 UVB, Two standard light bulbs for heat.

o Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Lowest temperature is around 70 towards the bottom. Basking is around the low to mid 80’s. Standard thermometer.

o Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Usually above 50. Normally 50-70. Humidifier in the room. Humidifier reader.

o Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes, Golden Pathos

o 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? Upstairs office. No fans, room is isolated and warm. Top of the Cage is about 6’ 6” off the ground.

o Location - Where are you geographically located? Northern Illinois.


Current Problem – I have never seen Reptar eat with his tongue. I gave him a lot of privacy when I first got him. He was very young when I got him and in an adult cage so I have been cup feeding him from day one. I tried to hand feed him two weeks ago, but he will only lounge at the cricket and attempt to bite it out of my hand. He will eat them this way, but he will not attempt to shoot his tongue whatsoever. I took him to a vet and like I thought he is fully healthy. I switched up the supplement schedule a little but it’s been over a week and no change. I am not overly concerned but I want him to be able to chase his prey as he gets older and act like a normal chameleon. I also read about “lazy cup”. Any suggestions? Has anyone have a similar experience?


Thanks,

Nick

 

[Graves923]

Does he attempt to shoot his tongue at all? I've seen vitamin deficiencies cause them to not be able to shoot far or accurately but not at all is new to me. Only ever seen chameleons with tongue amputations learn to eat without shooting the tongue.

Hopefully someone with more experience in tongue issues with chime in soon.

 

[Graves923]

Can you post some recent photos of your cham too?

 

[Supercilious]

Both of these are very recent, but he was on the prowl in the second one so it isn't the best. No, his tongue doesn't come out at all. He's in great health and the vet thinks the new supplement schedule should fix the issue. It's just bizarre. He's eating, happy and growing like a champ; just eating like a dog.

 

[Graves923]

hmm. He does look healthy. Did the vet say how long to use this supplement schedule? I'd dial it back to D3 and multivitamin every 2 weeks after a week or two to prevent overdosing certain vitamins and dust plain calcium with every feeding.

 

[Decadancin]

Sometimes an injury can cause this, but it seems odd that he isn't even attempting to use it. If all else fails, you could try something like a Black Soldier Fly that would require the use of the tongue to catch it. Some chameleons can't resist a flying meal.

 

[Decadancin]

I would recommend some variety anyway. Just crickets will not be sufficient for a healthy cham. You could use silk worms for starters.

 

[kinyonga]

Are you sure he has a tongue? Have you seen it?

 

[Supercilious]

hmm. He does look healthy. Did the vet say how long to use this supplement schedule? I'd dial it back to D3 and multivitamin every 2 weeks after a week or two to prevent overdosing certain vitamins and dust plain calcium with every feeding.

Yes, that was my normal schedule.

I would recommend some variety anyway. Just crickets will not be sufficient for a healthy cham. You could use silk worms for starters.

Yeah, I agree. It's just been crickets for now. I know meal worms aren't great for them. Any other suggestions for a guy this young?

 

[jajeanpierre]

hmm. He does look healthy. Did the vet say how long to use this supplement schedule? I'd dial it back to D3 and multivitamin every 2 weeks after a week or two to prevent overdosing certain vitamins and dust plain calcium with every feeding.

I suggest you not second guess the vet @Graves923. Poor use of tongue is a sign of calcium deficiency.

@Supercilious sometimes poor tongue function is nutritional. It is one of the first symptoms of low calcium and MBD. Sometimes it is from an injury. Injuries may or may not heal. Occasionally, a chameleon tangles their tongue on a branch and they can rip them out. Did the vet check that he does have a tongue?

 

[kinyonga]

If the chameleon's tongue is missing altogether then it will have to eat insects the same way lizards such as bearded dragons, geckos, etc do by chasing them down. Most learn to do this. Handfeeding helps.

If the tongue has had an injury, it will take time to heal. You can hand feed it for a bit to give it a rest

If there's an infection then a vet will need to treat it. It will likely need antibiotics.

If the tongue is not being used because of a mineral/calcium I'm balance then the supplement schedule you are following is not enough to fix it. The chameleon will need a liquid calcium supplement like calcium sandoz or calcium gluconate to be given to it daily at a dose recommended by the vet until the bone and muscle strength is back to normal and then a regular schedule of supplements used along with appropriate basking temperatures to aid in digestion, good hydration, a diet of well fed and properly gutloaded insects is needed to keep it from returning. For roaches, crickets, superworms, locusts dandelion greens, collards, kale, endive, escarole, squash carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc and a SMALL amount of fruit such as berries, melon, apple, pear, etc can be used for a feed/gutload. Using a variety of insects is good too.

 

[Supercilious]

Thanks for all the insight, he is now using his tongue. It's not as quick as my previous chameleon; perhaps he is still recovering from the supplement change. I am off tomorrow, so I will hand feed him and see how that goes. Also, going to take a camera and watch him come feed tomorrow because he is gun shy.