I have a 6 month old Ambilobe Panther and he has tongue problems. He can not aim his tongue correctly to hit his food. We have been working to try to help him but from what I understand it is a genetic disorder that can not be corrected. We have been hand feeding and using a feeding cup so he eaI have heard that certain vitamin such as B complex might help with this condition. I would just like the forum's feedback on this condition and if anyone has had any success with correcting the problem...even a slight improvement would be helpful.
Tongue problems- Ambilobe Panther Chameleon
- Thread starter ilovezeke
- Start date
JoeVet
Established Member
Tongue problems can be from injury, metabolic bone disease (calcium deficiency), gout, or infection. Eye problems can also lead to inaccurate tongues. I'm not aware of a genetic cause or vitamin cause. When did the problem start, how long has it been going on. Did it start suddenly or has it been slowly getting worse? Is he having trouble targeting, projecting or retracting?
A good place to start is by filling in the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ information so the forum can help with any husbandry problems. A photo of setup and the chameleon helps as well.
A good place to start is by filling in the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ information so the forum can help with any husbandry problems. A photo of setup and the chameleon helps as well.
Thank you for your reply. That very interesting info , we got him from a reptile convention hosted in Las Vegas. It is our first reptile so we knew nothing going into it. We didn't even think to ask about any health problems and unfortunately we were not informed of his condition by the owner. When we got him home we noticed he was having a hard time eating because his tongue was going in the wrong direction when he would fire. The problem seems to be targeting his food- he projects and retracts his tongue just fine. We have only had him one month and when we purchased him we were told he was 5 months old. We have been hand feeding him- he will miss a few times then when his mouth opens we put it so close to his mouth he can not miss it. The problem has not seemed to be getting worse or improving. On an occasion he can catch a cricket since he LOVES to hunt for them in his cage. He basically has to corner them in order to actually get them. Overall he seems healthy other than that issue but he eats well, poops regularly, shy but seems to be getting used to us a little more as each day goes by. We do dust his food daily with calcium and then once every two weeks with calcium with vitamin D and the Herptivive.
I think that is most likely the case too. I guess it could be his eyes. We have yet to take him to visit the vet since his overall health seems great aside from that problem.
Both the video and the photograph was taken on Tuesday July 7th. We noticed he always turns his head to the side to eat. He always starts by shooting his tongue- sometimes his aim is too high, too far left or right etc. It is not always consistent on the direction in which his tongue travels incorrectly. As you can see in the video when he is ready to eat and frustrated with using his missing tongue, he can somewhat easily reach down with an open mouth and catch the worIVDk&feature=youtu.be[/MEDIA]
Both the video and the photograph was taken on Tuesday July 7th. We noticed he always turns his head to the side to eat. He always starts by shooting his tongue- sometimes his aim is too high, too far left or right etc. It is not always consistent on the direction in which his tongue travels incorrectly. As you can see in the video when he is ready to eat and frustrated with using his missing tongue, he can somewhat easily reach down with an open mouth and catch the worm. m.
I have seen this in several panther chameleons who were otherwise completely normal. I don't think it's genetic unless it's a late-onset disorder; these certainly exist in humans. The "tongue-darting," previously normal, becomes very short-range and inaccurate. It may be a neurologic problem, although I've seen it in several chameleons with no other neurologic abnormalities. (I gut-load my crickets with Repashy Superload and dust them at regular intervals with calcium, and less frequently with vitamins). I suppose it could be a muscular problem, but being isolated to the "tongue muscles" would be bizarre. In any case, I've seen it persist through the rest of a chameleon's life (and the lifespan doesn't seem shortened). Would love to know if anyone has a reliably effective "cure" for this!
junglefries
Avid Member
On the positive: I once, had a Nosy Be that injured his tongue during shipping to me. He, too, was a 'manual' hunter as you described. He would chase his food down and bite it. He was very healthy and had a good disposition. It is possible for yours to lead a long healthy life. Good luck.
photos below...thank you
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
He is very beautiful!. I am sorry he is having problems. Hopefully it will resolve itself eventually. If not, he can live a happy and healthy life with a tongue that does not shoot right, providing there is not some type of infection going on or something of that nature. Have you looked inside of his mouth by chance?. You might have to hand feed or give him a shallow cup to eat out of. Not as cool as watching them fire their tongue, but he can still exist.
Also to add to Zekes tongue issue, his tongue does not fire very far. We do hand feed, and I built him a feeder cup. Its sad though because sometimes he will miss his target and his tongue will get stuck on the cup and he his head flys forward. Sometimes I feed him by holding a cup filled with roaches or crickets. I let him zap at it an eventually he will hit one of them. Its like the dart/balloon game at the carnival.
The thing that upsets me the most is the vendor did not let us know about it.
The thing that upsets me the most is the vendor did not let us know about it.
When we purchased him, the vendor said she was giving him REPASHY Calcium plus but we arent certain. We dusted his food with it for about 2 weeks.
After some research, we decided to get him on:
Rep-cal with no D3 (Everyday except Sunday)
Rep-cal Herptivite (1st and 3rd Sunday)
Rep-cal with D3 (2nd and 4th Sunday)
good luck to us. hopes he recover soon
Dez
Chamalot Chameleons
I had a chameleon that had bad aim since I got him as a 3 month old baby. He shot too high and no matter what supplements I tired the problem never corrected and last into his adult hood
Later I was supprised to find out that several other chameleons from the same bloodline had the exact same issue with the tongue not aiming properly.... So it lead me to believe it WAS a genetic issue
Later I was supprised to find out that several other chameleons from the same bloodline had the exact same issue with the tongue not aiming properly.... So it lead me to believe it WAS a genetic issue
