Throat blockage??

[ijag2]

Hey, My 8 month male veiled chameleon appears to be having trouble swallowing..
He hasnt eaten in about 8-9 days now.. Although he did start to shed about a week ago, so i thought this was normal behavior.

I was feeding him large crickets which in retrospect are too large for him.

When i introduce a cricket or superworm to him, he becomes very interested, and then turns away, and usually looks straight up while trying to swallow..
He will also try to start drinking water after i show him the food.

What I have is a video of him doing this swallowing, and more or less what I am asking is if what is pictured in the video is a blockage from a large cricket, or an 'Adams apple' type thing.

 

[carol5208]

Is he holding his mouth open at all? When they have a respiratory infection they will swallow and hold their head up in the air. That is just a possibility. Can you look inside the mouth at all and down his throat to make sure there is not anything lodged in there. At 8 months(unless he is extremely small)he should be able to eat large crickets no problem. Can you see any kind of stringy saliva that is out of the ordinary.

 

[windex]

There is no adams apple on a chameleon lol.. doubtful that its a blockage either. Are you seeing him drinking? Dehydration can actually cause swelling in the tongue.. If he's not hydrated enough he could have problems swallowing

 

[ijag2]

http://tinypic.com/r/4q5y8g/5

 

[ijag2]

He is not holding his mouth open, just when trying to swallow. I also aggitated him the other day to get him to hiss at me, and could not see any puss, redness, weird saliva liquid or anything like that..
And yes i do see him drinking.

 

[ijag2]

Also, 8 months is just an approximation. the pet store was not sure on the age but said deff under a year.
He was doing fine with the large crickets, but I had read that you should only feed them food that could fit between their eyes, and these large crickets are mucchhh muchh bigger than that.

Also, how long should i wait for him to start eating again before stepping in and providing CarnivoreCare ..? today may be the 10th day without food..

please and thanks for all the help, and the speedy responses

 

[teoo OoT]

I have a 7-8 month veiled as well. sometimes he falls asleep with his head in the air, not sure if thats what you have going on. Its nice he doesnt mind the water bottle either, lol if that was my cham he'd be running from the water.

 

[carol5208]

Chameleons can and will go on hunger strikes. If he was just not eating, but acting normally, I would say this might be the case. Seeing that he is have trouble swallowing, I think 10 days is long enough and he should be seen by a vet. A vet may look in the mouth and see something with his tongue or mouth that you may not be aware of as abnormal.

 

[ijag2]

I dont know for a fact that he is having trouble swallowing.. that is why i posted the video so someone can tell me if that is generally normal or not.

As far as the vet goes, on average what have you paid to be seen by an exotic reptile vet?
And how would you reccomend transporting him there with the least stress possible

 

[teoo OoT]

I'd say a large enough container throw a branch of vine in there and drape it with something so hes docile and in sleep mode. Might be wrong but that would probably reduce the stress factor.

 

[carol5208]

Sorry, I did not see the link for the video. That is definitely not normal and I would get him to a vet. I transport on a plant in a small cage if they are active. If they are sick, in a box with a towel. If you don't have a cage, I would put him in a box with a stick to hang onto and cover it so it is dark.