Short Tongue

[Chameleon Loco]

I have had my veiled over a year and have noticed his tounge isnt quite as long as some other members veileds. Mine does not have trouble catching food if he misses his prey he just leans in a little more and shoots and hits his mark

 

[chamtrainer]

Some just have naturally short tongue's.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Some just have naturally short tongue's.

Where did you come up with that exactly?

Some captive chameleons will cease to project their tongue their full distance due to a lack of use, trauma or nutritional issue. It has nothing to do with them being naturally shorter. Often this is the result of keepers using feeders without forcing the chameleon to project its tongue at longer distances, hyperextension or lack of proper nutrients. It typically is not a fatal issue. Just make sure your supplementation is correct, try to free range your feeders or make it so the cham needs to project its tongue at varying distances and keep an eye on it to make sure it is eating in case trauma is the issue.

Chris

 

[jannb]

Where did you come up with that exactly? You might consider only giving advice on things you know anything about...

Some captive chameleons will cease to project their tongue their full distance due to a lack of use, trauma or nutritional issue. It has nothing to do with them being naturally shorter. Often this is the result of keepers using feeders without forcing the chameleon to project its tongue at longer distances, hyperextension or lack of proper nutrients. It typically is not a fatal issue. Just make sure your supplementation is correct, try to free range your feeders or make it so the cham needs to project its tongue at varying distances and keep an eye on it to make sure it is eating in case trauma is the issue.

Chris

Chris, I'm so glad that you posted this. You know that I free range and cup feed or hand feed Luie all the time and he just doesn't project his tongue like he use to. I have mentioned this to my vet several times and he always tells me not to worry about it that he's just lazy but it makes me feel so much better to hear it from a second source. Thank you!

 

[Chris Anderson]

Chris, I'm so glad that you posted this. You know that I free range and cup feed or hand feed Luie all the time and he just doesn't project his tongue like he use to. I have mentioned this to my vet several times and he always tells me not to worry about it that he's just lazy but it makes me feel so much better to hear it from a second source. Thank you!

No problem, Jann. Its fairly common and rarely anything to worry about.

Chris

 

[chamtrainer]

Well, i can never argue with someone of your amount of knowledge Chris, but i do have to say that some chameleons do in fact have shorter tongues than others. Maybe the chameleon that she was talking about was just lazy. I dont know. But not all chameleons of the same species have the same size tongue. I varies a lot.

 

[kinyonga]

Chamtrainer said..."some chameleons do in fact have shorter tongues"...How did you test this to prove it?? Or did you read about a test being done to prove it?

 

[Chameleon Loco]

My cham has never had a serious injury, he is always given suppliments as directed by the care sheet on this forum, though I can say that though I do free range his food he never has to use his tounge for catching food from long distances? Is there any way to make his tounge long again?

 

[Elizadolots]

Well...looping back to the original post....

It sounds like the chameleon takes aim at something and fails to reach it, so leans in closer and tries again.

mine does not have trouble catching food if he misses his prey he just leans in a little more and shoots and hits his mark

That would suggest he's aiming at things a bit beyond his range, however, that doesn't mean his tongue is short, it just means his expectations are high.

I've never seen an "average length of a veiled male chameleon's tongue" anywhere. As the length is probably related to the size of the animal and there are loads of variable on that, there probably is no such statistic.

I'd say if the chameleon can nab his prey--with the occasional second shot--he's doing pretty well.

**edited to note that Chameleon Loco posted while I was composing**

 

[kinyonga]

As Chris said, the tongue will cease to be fully extended due to trauma, husbandry or lack of use...so if your chameleon is not cup fed and hasn't injured it then it might be a husbandry issue.

I know you said you are following the supplement schedules here, but can you please post the specific supplements you use and how often for each. Also, the temperatures in the cage and what you used to feed the insects.

 

[Elizadolots]

Chameleon Loco, do you know for a fact, that in some earlier time your chameleon could nab the far away insect without "leaning in" for a closer target? Have you seen a change in your chameleon's ability to grab insects?

The way I read your post, you were just thinking your animal shouldn't be having to lean forward and take a second shot.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Well, i can never argue with someone of your amount of knowledge Chris, but i do have to say that some chameleons do in fact have shorter tongues than others. Maybe the chameleon that she was talking about was just lazy. I dont know. But not all chameleons of the same species have the same size tongue. I varies a lot.

Care to cite your source?

Chris

 

[Chameleon Loco]

90 basking 70 to 80 normal 70 at night crickets feed cricket crack and carrots and leafy greens
Suppliments Zoo Med Reptil Vite Without D3 1x a week
Zoo Med Repti Calcium Without D3 2x a week

 

[Spathotan]

Chris Anderson, thank you so much for the info in this thread. My 5 month old Veiled, Leon, has been doing this for the past 3 weeks. When he was tiny he would extend his tongue out full, now he just creeps up to the crickets (an inch away, 2 at the most), and almost bites it instead of using his tongue. BUT he does use his tongue just fine when drinking and eating superworms. Hes probably just bored with the crickets.

 

[reptoman]

In my observation, I have seen my panther hit crickets only when they climb up within his comfortable range which is around 6" away, but when I put a cabbage moth in the cage and it is fluttering across the top of the cage he will hit it no matter how far away it is. I believe that chams will get used to certain routines including where their food is. If he knows he does not have to shoot the entire length of the cage to eat a cricket why should he expend the energy?