New panther female tongue issue and gapping

esuhgr

New Member
Hi All,

Please see details in below, any help people can get will be appreciated. I have already read alot about RTI's so am worrying abit.

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther, female, had for only 2 days, 3 months old. bought from reptile shop
  • Handling - not very often so far, 30 mins a day, very placid
  • Feeding - Locusts, gut loaded with veg, spinach etc. Dusted with d3 plus multivit on first day, calcium today. Plan to follow d3/multivit once every 2weeks, calcium every day
  • Supplements - arcadia earth pro revitaliseD3 and calciumpro
  • Watering - exo terra dripper, she used it straight away drank for like 10 mins
  • Fecal Description - one dropping on first day, looked normal compared to online photos
  • History - not alot known, very young

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - vivaplus 120x60x60 with added laptop fan at one vent for increased ventilation, set on low
  • Lighting - arcadia t5 6% lights on 9am, off 9pm
  • Temperature - 32C at top of viv, 22-24 in lower 3rd, drop to 23 at top at night and 18-19 in lower 3rd, fan vent also turned off at night
  • Humidity - 60-70%
  • Plants - live plants, fern, yucca, umbrella plant
  • Placement - in conservatory, top of viv 1.8m high
  • Location - uk

Current Problem - when i got her home i tried hand feeding her a locust, she didnt use her tongue but walked up to the locust and grabbed it, a few more attempts and she stuck her tongue slowly out and then pushed it slowly over the locust, missing it. I had to line the locust up with her tongue for her. The tongue didnt seem to grab the locust that well but manged to pull it in and eat it. I have also now noticed her start to gape in her cage and sometimes when out. Not for long maybe 10 seconds at a time. I thought she was nervous but its not an agressive stance and she does this alone in her cage. Whether basking or in a cooling spot lower down.

I have increased the temp from 30 to 32C as shown in the above as was at 30C the first day. Have misted her with warm water which she likes but afraid she may have the early signs of RTI or an issue with her tongue causing issue with breathing, please see attached images which i hope will help.

Shes healthy otherwise, eating and drinking well and has a good grip, just want to nip anything in the bud.
 

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Hi All,

Please see details in below, any help people can get will be appreciated. I have already read alot about RTI's so am worrying abit.

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther, female, had for only 2 days, 3 months old. bought from reptile shop
  • Handling - not very often so far, 30 mins a day, very placid
  • Feeding - Locusts, gut loaded with veg, spinach etc. Dusted with d3 plus multivit on first day, calcium today. Plan to follow d3/multivit once every 2weeks, calcium every day
  • Supplements - arcadia earth pro revitaliseD3 and calciumpro
  • Watering - exo terra dripper, she used it straight away drank for like 10 mins
  • Fecal Description - one dropping on first day, looked normal compared to online photos
  • History - not alot known, very young

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - vivaplus 120x60x60 with added laptop fan at one vent for increased ventilation, set on low
  • Lighting - arcadia t5 6% lights on 9am, off 9pm
  • Temperature - 32C at top of viv, 22-24 in lower 3rd, drop to 23 at top at night and 18-19 in lower 3rd, fan vent also turned off at night
  • Humidity - 60-70%
  • Plants - live plants, fern, yucca, umbrella plant
  • Placement - in conservatory, top of viv 1.8m high
  • Location - uk

Current Problem - when i got her home i tried hand feeding her a locust, she didnt use her tongue but walked up to the locust and grabbed it, a few more attempts and she stuck her tongue slowly out and then pushed it slowly over the locust, missing it. I had to line the locust up with her tongue for her. The tongue didnt seem to grab the locust that well but manged to pull it in and eat it. I have also now noticed her start to gape in her cage and sometimes when out. Not for long maybe 10 seconds at a time. I thought she was nervous but its not an agressive stance and she does this alone in her cage. Whether basking or in a cooling spot lower down.

I have increased the temp from 30 to 32C as shown in the above as was at 30C the first day. Have misted her with warm water which she likes but afraid she may have the early signs of RTI or an issue with her tongue causing issue with breathing, please see attached images which i hope will help.

Shes healthy otherwise, eating and drinking well and has a good grip, just want to nip anything in the bud.




Have just fed her again, please see the videos, give a better description than i could.
 
Welcome to the forum!

The temperatures in the basking area are too warm for such a young chameleon normally...should be around 80F....especially if you're sure it's a female. If she has an RI then the temperatures would be kept a couple of degrees higher to help her get over it. Does she wheeze? Have lots of stringy saliva?
The temperature won't have anything to do with the tongue though.

Not being able to shoot the tongue out can be caused by several things and it's hard to know which one is the problem just from looking.

It could be an infection, a wound/injury or a nutrient imbalance.

It would be best to take her to a good chameleon vets or if you can, back to the store and tell them about it.

One more thing...go easy on the spinach. There are better things to feed the insects such as dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, squash, zucchini, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, etc.
 
Perfect thanks, i'll drop the temp alittle and see if i can find a suitable vet. There has been one small piece of saliva when she opens her mouth but nothing really. I saw there was a yellowish colour at the corners inside her mouth but unsure if this is normal? Hoping shes just hot and easily fixed with dropping the temps but as ive seen her do it in cooler locations just got alittle more concerned.

And thanks for the heads up on the veg.

From what i read I was guess the tongue and the lack of aim is due to lack of D3 but guess the vet should be able to help there. Am waiting for a reply from the store also.

Shes being very good so have attached acouple more, from what i can see i dont think it is more salva than expected?
 

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