tongs/tweezers?

[mandy74]

Hi
while feeding Kermit a mealworm before, he missed and his tongue stuck to the tongs/tweezers (I'm a scaredy cat!) is this ok? I then put some on a branch and he ate them off there.. he seems fine but I'm worried if it happens again, could it cause damage? need to get over my fear of crawlies!

 

[camimom]

It coudl cause damage yes, if you try to pull the tongs away, he can hyperextend his tongue.

but if its back in his mouth now, just keep an eye on him to make sure he has no trouble using it.

 

[pssh]

If he gets a hold on the tweezers and wont let go, bring them back to his mouth until he lets go. He might need to do a quick bite on them to realize it's not prey. It can damage his mouth biting on something hard though, so avoid it as much as possible.

 

[Ulrich]

Try to put them into a feeder box (like a tupperware container) next time. I personally have no problem with insects so if I hand feed - it really is from the hand. Or I release them in the cage as my chams like to hunt.

 

[Olimpia]

This has happened to me before with my panther male, his tongue is a lot stronger than I expect sometimes. I've had him grab the tweezers and send them flying across the room before, with no harm to him. And then a couple times he's grabbed them into his mouth and then I slide them out of his mouth while he adjusts to start chewing the insect.

I try not to make a habit of it, but when you hand/tweezer feed a few times a week for several years accidents are bound to happen now and again. Your chameleon will probably be fine, but be careful to keep a grip on those tweezers! I certainly try to, but those adult males sometimes have a great deal of tongue strength lol.

Also, try to grab insects as far back as possible, since chameleons aim for the head. The farther down on the butt of an insect the tweezers are the less likely he is to hit the tweezers while going for the head.

 

[mandy74]

Thanks so much for the super fast replies, i didnt pull them away just kept them where they were and he 'let go' and hes been fine still feeding etc, didnt know about them shooting for the head so thanks for that

AND ive just held a mealworm for him to feed eww!! still have to get them out the box with the tweezer tho now to get over my fear of cricks and locusts!!

Heres a pic of him, he's settled in so well its been 2 weeks today since Ive had him

 

[stephen gedman]

cute guy

cute little guy, my daughter was like you, she hated crix & locusts, now it doesnt bother her at all. dont forget what crix he doesnt eat by lights out to take out or they can bite him while hes asleep, thats if your freeranging your crix, you can leave locusts in .

 

[Moody Veil]

He's beautiful