My 10mth old male panther is eating but he is not extending his tong, Its almost like its stuck , he opens his mouth and his tong moves a little but it is obvious he is trying to extend it, so now he is getting as close as possible to his prey items and basically licking them up like a gecko or something, he is being treated for a skin problem with baytril and chlorhexiderm rinses witch seems to be working well , I took him to the vet for his check up today and told the vet about the tong problem so she looked in his mouth felt his body and didnt really know what to say about it, could he have a pulled muscle or something along those lines, has anyone ever experienced anything like this, its been going on for a few days now and its really starting to freak me out
tong problems
- Thread starter Joe A
- Start date
Tongue issues can be either from issues such as (but not inclusive to) an injury, an infection, dehydration or a nutrient imbalance.
What supplements SPECIFICALLY do you use and how often for each?
What do you feed to the insects SPECIFICALLY?
What UVB light do you use? Please give the BRAND AND TYPE (COMPACT, SPIRAL, LONG LINEAR TUBE, ETC.)
What supplements SPECIFICALLY do you use and how often for each?
What do you feed to the insects SPECIFICALLY?
What UVB light do you use? Please give the BRAND AND TYPE (COMPACT, SPIRAL, LONG LINEAR TUBE, ETC.)
he eats mostly crickets and superworms, i dust them with rep-cal calcium with d3 usually every day and rep-cal herptivite multivitamins with beta carotene usually 2 times a week, lately i give the feeders frozen mixed veggies usually a mix of carrots, corn, green beans, peas, lima beans and an orange wedge. I have a spiral uvb i forget the brand but its about 5mths old so i think i will replace it with a reptisun 5.0 linear tube asap, i live in Florida so i place his cage outside often. after his first vet visit for his skin problem the vet gave me (Lafeber's emeraid psittacine-omnivore elemental diet) to give him if he wasnt eating. I used it a few days then stopped when he started eating again he hasnt had any for at least a week, when he first started eating again i could tell his tong wasnt shooting out like normal but it seems to be getting worse instead of better, he also seems confused and frustrated about his tong not extending, could he be dehydrated from the meds he is taking baytril once a day and gets a chlorhexiderm wash twice a day, i leave his dripper on all day and water him with a spray bottle at least twice a day, he gained 14g in the 12 days in-between vet visits , im just really confused about this and dont know what i can do to help him , plus my vet didnt really have any good advise for me either.
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy Joe,
I'll just touch on a couple of things
.
I've used Lafeber's emeraid before and if you are not tube feeding it down into his gut and dribbling/squirting it into his mouth instead then it may be getting stuck down in his tongue storage area. Down in there, it could be irritating the outer lining of the tongue to the point that things become non-functional. If this is the case then you and your vet may need to think about ways to rinse it out of there -- just a thought.
It sounds like he is getting plenty of outdoor, unfiltered sunshine which means he shouldn't be getting any D3 supplements at all or there is a risk of "pushing" too much D3 into his system. Try using just calcium w/o D3 and use it somewhat sparingly. Maybe back-off the Herptivite to twice a month or so. Your switching to a Reptisun 5.0 linear tube is a good idea.
Depending on your chameleon's weight and build, it may be time to begin thinking about feeding him less -- maybe a few food items every other day.
I'll just touch on a couple of things
.I've used Lafeber's emeraid before and if you are not tube feeding it down into his gut and dribbling/squirting it into his mouth instead then it may be getting stuck down in his tongue storage area. Down in there, it could be irritating the outer lining of the tongue to the point that things become non-functional. If this is the case then you and your vet may need to think about ways to rinse it out of there -- just a thought
.It sounds like he is getting plenty of outdoor, unfiltered sunshine which means he shouldn't be getting any D3 supplements at all or there is a risk of "pushing" too much D3 into his system. Try using just calcium w/o D3 and use it somewhat sparingly. Maybe back-off the Herptivite to twice a month or so. Your switching to a Reptisun 5.0 linear tube is a good idea.
Depending on your chameleon's weight and build, it may be time to begin thinking about feeding him less -- maybe a few food items every other day.
You said you used lafeber's emeraid psittacine-omnivore elemental diet and that the tongue problems only started after you used it...it has D3 and preformed vitamin A...both of which can build up in the system and may interfere with each other....and could be part of the problem. Also...IMHO you are giving it D3 supplements too often...I use phos.-free calcium at most feedings and only use the one with the D3 twice a month. When D3 builds up in the system it can give symptoms similar to MBD. I'm not a vet though and you need to check it out with your vet to be sure.
I don't know how often your UVB light is supposed to be replaced...check the box.
I don't know how often your UVB light is supposed to be replaced...check the box.
I think i might have an inexperienced vet , i was giving him the emeraid by squirting it in his mouth with a siring no needle of course, the vet said the supplements seemed ok , and didnt know what to say about a tong prob ,how should i flush his tong without hurting him thats probably the problem , should i squirt extra water down his mouth to try and flush a toxic supplement buildup out of his system, i feel so bad i was doing what my vet had told me , i had a checkup on him when i had him for a few weeks and he was a little over 5mth old told the vet the sups i was giving then and now and was told that sounds ok , i will def back off on the sups , he weighed 36g at 5.5mth 84g at 9.5mth 98g today at 10mth hes an ambanja panther, do these weights seem healthy/average , whats the proper feeding rate for him now i have offered 6-8 crickets and a couple super worms daily but he leaves some half the time so i will wait to feed him till the next day but he always has a few crickets in his cage to eat each day.
Just to let you know...if you are squirting it in his mouth, you might be getting it into his lungs...you should always ease things in a syringe into the mouth slowly a bit at a time so they can swallow it without getting it into the lungs.
You can't water down the supplements already ingested in the past by giving him extra fluids. Just cut back on the one with the D3 to twice a month and use the phos.-free calcium at most of the feedings. The only way you will know if your chameleon has too much of certain nutrients would be through tests done by the vet....but correcting the way you use the supplements should help if that's what's going on.
You can't water down the supplements already ingested in the past by giving him extra fluids. Just cut back on the one with the D3 to twice a month and use the phos.-free calcium at most of the feedings. The only way you will know if your chameleon has too much of certain nutrients would be through tests done by the vet....but correcting the way you use the supplements should help if that's what's going on.
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is there possibly something i can use as a mouth wash to help flush any residue or irritants away and/or help sooth and heal his tong? Im going to stop the supplements for a week then countinue with them sparingly , i will get some calcium without d3, should i be giving him a mineral supplement? do the mixed veggies and oranges ive been giving my feeders sound good? are there any veggies or fruits to stay away from?
thanx everyone for your help i really apreciate it, i think i might have to find a better vet
thanx everyone for your help i really apreciate it, i think i might have to find a better vet
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