Jackson's Cham - Tongue Issues = Nutritional Imbalance?

[Psychobunny]

One thing I have noticed with my chams, and esp. my jackson's, is that if they do not get enough water, teir tongue will not work very well.

Noogie was haveing trouble zapping flies once, and I thought his mouth looked a little dry, I gave him a good "rain" shower and he drank quite a bit.

Right after that, he whent back to zapping flys, only now that his mouth was moist, he was able to shoot his tongue much better.

I see this happen also with my panther, though to a lesser extent.

Just thinking out loud

 

[Seiryu]

Glad things are getting back to normal!

I honestly only do d3 once every 5-6 weeks, with vitamins once a month. Calcium 3-4 times a week.

He is under a 6% arcadia though.

 

[Lathis]

One thing I have noticed with my chams, and esp. my jackson's, is that if they do not get enough water, teir tongue will not work very well.

This was a concern of mine as well. I've been vacillating back and forth whether or not I need both the dripper and the MistKing (https://www.chameleonforums.com/eliminating-dripper-use-jacksons-cham-113415/). I think I have finally settled on "yes, I need both". My Jax just doesn't seem to drink well from the MistKing, even with long sessions and plenty of opportunity. I am going to modify the tubing this weekend to auto-fill my dripper reservoir.

 

[Crusher3horn]

tongue issues

my Jackson chameleon is having troubles using is tongue I posted something on my page about it because I don't really know how to make posts but if you want to look at my page u can see it but I can always copy and past it over

 

[Lathis]

Hi Crusher,

I found in the long run that the health of my Jax tongue function was very closely linked to three very important things:

1. Calcium supplementation. I suggest dusting every cricket and superworm with PLAIN calcium (no D3). Also offer other bugs high in calcium like silkworms. I also think switching to Reptivite brand multivitamin once a month made a difference.

2. Good hydration. Jax like a lot of water, far more than some other types of chameleons. My Jax far preferred dripping water to bring misted. I recommend running a Little Dripper for a few hours every day plus regular mistings of 2 to 5 minutes 3 or 4 times a day.

3. Gutloading Quality. The quality of there good you feed your bugs the day before your chameleon eats them is very important, and my Jax was very sensitive to gutloading. I settled on a combination of a premade gutload that I bought Bug Burger (but Cricket Crack or others will work, avoid the stuff you buy in a pet store or anything in "cubes") plus a variety of fresh fruits and veggies. I would rotate turnip greens, apple slices, bell pepper, carrots, and other veggie scraps from dinner. With Jax, you can't be lazy about the gutloading. It's a pain, but it's important.

I would suggest that if your Jax has a tongue that seems weak or floppy, and he is missing his food, look very critically at the three above things and let us know if you have any questions about specifics.

Good luck!