His tongue won't work

fredismyboy

fredismyboy

New Member
Your Chameleon - Jackson's. He is 1 yr. I have had him 5 months. male.
Handling - rarely
Feeding - feeding him crickets and silkworms
Supplements - calcium d3 once a month. going to the pet store to get some calcium
Watering - i haven't seen him drinking for two days. i use a drip system.
Fecal Description - healthy. brown poo, white pee


Cage Info:
Cage Type - 33x18x24
Lighting - swirly UVB. no cover.
Temperature - 70-85. I use heat at night is its colder than that.
Humidity - Its very humid in south fl.
Plants - one real hibiscus. the rest fake.
Placement - on floor. in bedroom.
Location - south florida

Current Problem - Lego could only stick his tongue out 2 or 3 inches from his mouth. (this only started today.) and after repeatedly not being able to strike far, he appeared to "puke" his tongue out. He hunched his back, and stuck his tongue fully out, while making a terrible wheezing noise. it sounded as if air was escaping. he then tried again to get the silkworm, and he could only stick it out 2 or 3 inches again. He had to go over and eat the worm with his mouth. Once in his mouth, Lego stuck his tonge out about two inches with a hunched back. Am i worried? YES!
 
I have read that tongue problem can be caused by a supplement problem or sometimes a problem with their eyes. If they can't see well they could have problems shooting. He needs plain calcium (without d3) at every other feeding, calcium with d 3 twice a month and a multi vit. such as Rep- Cal Herptivite once a month.
 
I read the blog. I feed my little guy with tweezers. I hold on to the crickets with their back leg, and USUALLY he pulls the leg off and into his mouth the cricket goes. Sometimes the leg doesn't pull off and the cricket is in my grasp and in his. I let go as soon as possible and he takes it in. Is that bad? He like sticks, waits a second, then has it.

Thanks
 
has he been getting any calcium or d3 during that time and has he ever had a multivite (like herptivite or reptivite)? a tongue issue is likely to be lighting , supplemental or possibly hydration related. for long term health of your animal you will need to learn and grasp supplementation issues, not just rely on what others have given you, but (as a recomendation only) a resonable starting regimen would be (assuming you are going to use rep cal products) rep-cal no d3 2-3x a week, rep-cal with d3 about once every three weeks and a single dusting of multivite (like heptivite) every 8 weeks or so. imho if you are using anything other than a reptisun LINEAL 5.0, you are eventually headed for trouble, https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplements-jackson-39194/ https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-mbd-looks-like-38000/index3.html https://www.chameleonforums.com/updated-info-cf-uvb-lamps-29318/index2.html i also wondered about a ri , and it is certainly not off the table, whatever the problem is, the info given seems to suggest a lack of calcium/ d3 or both, and probable lighting issues, if using a cfl, but ri is certainly a possibility, before treating for a ri , i would get him proper lighting and established on a viable supplement schedule. jmo
 
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I am wondering about a respiritory infection?

Check to make sure he didn't swallow his tongue. Try and get his mouth open. don't pull at his skin, gently pinch near his lips and pull down on his jaw. he might just open up if you put your index and middle finger on either side of his head.
 
Ellron said:
I read the blog. I feed my little guy with tweezers. I hold on to the crickets with their back leg, and USUALLY he pulls the leg off and into his mouth the cricket goes. Sometimes the leg doesn't pull off and the cricket is in my grasp and in his. I let go as soon as possible and he takes it in. Is that bad? He like sticks, waits a second, then has it.
Thanks
Click to expand...

I think this (feeding with tweezers) could potentially cause a strain injury.
A sudden loss of tongue shooting ability isnt usually nutrient caused, at least not from what I have learned. A sudden change is more likely an injury related issue. Or something stuck in his throat. Let him cup feed or grab things with his mouth for a few days, see if it improves. If possible, have it looked at by a vet.
What brand is the swirly CFL UVB bulb? Some of them are known to cause vision troubles.
 
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more good possibilities

all 3 of the previous post are good possibilities that i did not consider, yes tweezers could be a probable source of injury and yes, the higher you can get your basking spot the better , xanths are most comfortable when their basking spot is at eye level or above. jmo
 
I bought rep-cal herpitivite at the pet store, but they have no calcium without d3, so i will have to order that online. I fed him some crickets and silkworms before i left this morning, and his tongue seemed normal. He got a 5-6 inch range while striking a cricket, and he got it the first try. I am going to change the lighting and try lifting his cage any way though. The only unusual thing now is he appears to gag when he is chewing the cricket.
 
more multivite???????

all anyone here can do is advise and offer opinions, its up to you to listen or not. the last thing he needs is more multivite. a matcheads worth of cricket dusting of any multivite is good enough to last him for a couple of months. since the info given seems to indicate he has had an excess of multivite, i would not give him any more multivite for at least 2 months. gaging while eating could be a lot of things, including too large of feeders, or the previously mentioned ri, if he has an ri, he cant swallow and breath at the same time. but based on the info given so far, i would say it is probably a precursor to gular edema from an obvious excess of multivites (most notably the preformed vitamin A from the reptivite) did he ever get setup with a genuine LINEAL reptisun 5.0 ?, did you ever get him set up with an appropriate uva/basking light and get his basking spot created and dialed in? those things plus proper supplementation would be crucial in helping him recover from any issue, but especially the likely ri thay was already mentioned. jmo
 
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