Need help!

[DannCandynBender]

Any advice?
Our chameleon has normal color normal eating habits but as of yesterday started doing this thing where he just drops his tongue out of his mouth. Full tongue he'll put it back in within a few seconds. We checked for dehydration but his eyes aren't sunken in and he's drinking fine. I can't find anything on the internet in regards to this. He's sitting in here tree currently perfectly fine the tongue thing is happening sporadically but it's very alarming and he does appear to be bulging his lower jaw out some.
Diet:crickets, greens, calcium dust
Habitat: 4ft enclosure organic dirt bottom with fountain

 

[kinyonga]

How often do you dust the insects and with what brand of calcium? Is it phosphorous-free?
Do you use a UVB light? Is it new? Any other supplements? D3 or prEformed vitamin A in anything?
What greens do you use for the insects? Do you use anything else to feed/gutload them?

 

[DannCandynBender]

How often do you dust the insects and with what brand of calcium? Is it phosphorous-free?
Do you use a UVB light? Is it new? Any other supplements? D3 or prEformed vitamin A in anything?
What greens do you use for the insects? Do you use anything else to feed/gutload them?

We use the repti calcium with D3. He doesn't eat greens so we stopped attempting to give them to him. His main diet is crickets and I lightly dust them every feeding. We just placed him a couple weeks ago in a larger enclosure and all other symptoms of anything wrong are nonexistent. I mist his enclosure a few or more times a day because its large.. 4x2x2. His light is Daylight Blue reptile bulb for heat daylight and UVA. And it is placed approx 5-8 inches from his favorite spot. I do keep his light on at all times he is in his enclosure. He is shedding on regular basis. And he is about 5 months old

 

[kinyonga]

If the chameleon doesn't eat greens or anything but insects that's fine...but what I asked is what do you feed and gutload the insects with specifically??

If you give the chameleon too much D3 it can build upmin the system and lead to MBD....so you should be dusting the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium powder and only twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder. You can also use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene (prOformed) sources of vitamin A twice a month.

Lights should not be on at night...not even a red one. I would replace the blue one with a regular incandescent household bulb for basking and ditch the red light altogether. You said you use a UVA light ...it should be a UVB. I recommend the long linear Repti-sun 5.0.

You want to get this tongue issue fixed ASAP before it has to be amputated or he swallows it.

 

[DannCandynBender]

If the chameleon doesn't eat greens or anything but insects that's fine...but what I asked is what do you feed and gutload the insects with specifically??

If you give the chameleon too much D3 it can build upmin the system and lead to MBD....so you should be dusting the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium powder and only twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder. You can also use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene (prOformed) sources of vitamin A twice a month.

Lights should not be on at night...not even a red one. I would replace the blue one with a regular incandescent household bulb for basking and ditch the red light altogether. You said you use a UVA light ...it should be a UVB. I recommend the long linear Repti-sun 5.0.

You want to get this tongue issue fixed ASAP before it has to be amputated or he swallows it.

Wr
We feed the crickets FLUCKERS CRICKET QUENCHER calcium fortified. Thank you so very much for replyin.. I will def follow your advice. I love my little Bender and want him healthy and happy.

 

[kinyonga]

Imho you need to feed insects like locusts, crickets, superworms, roaches a wide assortment of greens and veggies such as dandelion greens, kale, escarole, carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc. and get rid of the commercial feed.

Correcting the supplements is needed but if it's an imbalance that is causing the tongue problem you still have to bring things back in balance. I'm not a vet and can't be sure that's what the problem is. If it is a calcium issue you will need to give it some liquid calcium sandoz or gluconate until its back in balance.