Hi all,
Recently Mowgli has been having some tongue issues. It seems like he's perfectly healthy in every other way except this. He's been passing poo fine and just pooped a huge, healthy looking, hydrated poop today. I'll post pictures of that, too, in case the poo isn't as healthy-looking as I suspect it to be. The white stuff is skin. He just finished going through a perfectly normal shed and there was some loose skin left around his vent. His eyes and pads seem healthy-looking. He eats about 6 crickets, mealworms, etc. every 2-3 days. I dust his food with supplement every 3rd feeding or so. I get him to drink a good amount of water about every other day from a spray bottle, so I know he's drinking. The issue is when he eats, every time he shoots for the first insect, his tongue shoots out fine. After that, sometimes it flops short of the insect out of his mouth as if it's tired or something. Recently when he goes to shoot sometimes it looks like the back of his tongue is extending out instead of the front so he can't shoot it. There are some days when he finds insects in his cage about two body lengths away and shoots and catches them fine. When he goes to just lick the surface of things with the tip of his tongue it seems fine, too. It's just some days it almost seems like his tongue is broken. Is there anything we're doing wrong or anything we can do to help make his tongue healthy? I attached a video to show the issue. Thanks in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKilyWa51Ok&feature=youtu.be
 

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Tongue problems like these are often nutrirional problems. I would recommend dusting with plain calcium on almost all meals. Use a multivitamin/mineral supllement once every two weeks. Some people would also recommend calcium with d3 once every two weeks but I'm not a huge fan of d3 myself. A good uv lamp and the sun should suffice if you ask me.

Tounge issues van also sometimes be B-vitamine deficiency related. Adding a b-complex to your dusting might work out wonders.

Goodluck
 
Hi, tongue problem are a result of any or some of the following. 1) Incorrect supplement regimen. 2) Infection. 3) Trauma.

To fix #1. Be sure you are giving him the correct husbandry standards. From what you have stated about supplement every third day. I would start here first. Here is a good read. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

To fix #2 or #3 a Vets help will more than likely be needed.

Note: That urate indicates you need to step up the misting schedule. You can add a dripper, mist for longer or more times a day.
 
ataraxia, we have a mister that sprays throughout the day, but we literally have never seen Mowgli drink off the leaves. We've tried bumping up the length and amount of mistings, but he only drinks from the spray bottle. Are you saying we need to up the mister because he needs to drink more or for more humidity? I'm just not sure it would get him any more hydration because he doesn't drink off the leaves.

We also have a range of heats from about 65-70 in the cold spots of his cage to 85-95 under the basking light/uvb bulb.
 
I say just for peace of mind go to the vet and have blood work done. This will tell you a lot! My cham had tongue issues and because of the blood work showing slightly elevated calcium; it turned out my D3 contained an EXTREMELY high D3 content. I neglected to check the IU's :( Good Luck! Hope he's better soon.
 
If he only drinks from the spray bottle, then minimize the use of the automatic mister and use the spray bottle more. It's about him getting enough to drink, the humiditt should be fine. Too much humidity can cause respiratory problems.

How long does it take for him to retract his tounge?
 
How long has this problem been going on? Just a few days or are we talking a few weeks?
 
ataraxia, we have a mister that sprays throughout the day, but we literally have never seen Mowgli drink off the leaves. We've tried bumping up the length and amount of mistings, but he only drinks from the spray bottle. Are you saying we need to up the mister because he needs to drink more or for more humidity? I'm just not sure it would get him any more hydration because he doesn't drink off the leaves.

We also have a range of heats from about 65-70 in the cold spots of his cage to 85-95 under the basking light/uvb bulb.

What i do for stubborn closet drinkers. Set your mister to go off for 30 or so seconds. Then have it turn off for 1-2 minutes and then turn it on for the real session 3-5 minutes. I would do this for 3 times a day.

Depending on your techniques of providing water. Humidity can play a factor in how much your chameleon will need to drink to stay hydrated. This is something you will have to monitor and adjust accordingly. Using the recommended 3-5 minutes, 3 times a day misting schedule. Humidity should not be something to worry about. I would try the suggestion of getting him to drink from my first paragraph above.
 
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