Tongue swallowing

[CleaTheChameleon]

Wow ! Very interesting! I wish Charlotte and you the best tomorrow. Thank you so much for keeping us informed that this could happen! Who knows. Maybe one day one of our chameleons will start doing the same thing. I wonder if females are only capable of doing this? Or males to? I see tongue problems on here all the time and the majority of them are from female chameleons. I know that sounded really stupid but I'm curious. Anyways good luck tomorrow ! Dr.Alfonso is great! Fingers and toes crossed for you 2 !

 

[Syn]

I wonder if females are only capable of doing this? Or males to? I see tongue problems on here all the time and the majority of them are from female chameleons.

Interesting idea considering females lay eggs. Could have to do with that, most of their nutrition going to their eggs rather themselves. Perhaps female chameleon husbandry isn't great after-all.

 

[kinyonga]

I've had males that have had to have their tongues amputated. I'm sure some of the females have the problem due to nutritional issues though.

 

[AMGChams]

Best wishes and and a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted.

 

[Miss Lily]

Olimpia, I am thinking of you and Charlotte - poor l'il gal! It's horrible having to leave them at the vets and the wait for that one important phone call seems never ending and tortuous! Have everything croosed for both of you.

 

[chams1]

Olimpia, as discomforting as it is, thank you for posting this and for keeping us updated! I have not had this misfortune, but I find it very important to post things like this in case someone else ever does. My prayers are with you and your cham!

 

[radstusky]

I think something similar to this happened with my panther a while ago. Although in my case my cham was able to reverse the tongue back to normal before he swallowed it. I posted about it here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/had-bit-scare-44896/

I'm sorry to hear about this Olimpia, and I hope your cham is able to make a full recovery!

 

[Olimpia]

Thank you everyone! In an unfortunate coincidence I have awaked today with what seems like the plague and am as sick as a dog. But I managed to get her dropped off and am just waiting for a call back now. Poor thing had a super uncomfortable night because even though I put her in my pitch black bathroom she was still awake most of the night.

I'll update tonight when I have her home.

 

[pinocchiosmommy]

I'm so sorry that this happened. Is it just the speed that they fly their tongue back that it just goes too far? Not sure but it is very scary and something to watch out for.

 

[Dez]

Well what happened at the Vet??!!?! How is she?!?!?! I been thinking about that poor girl ALL DAY LONG.

I have one of her sisters, Anna and I gave her a thorough look over today after reading this thread. Charlotte looks so much like my Anna.

Please give us an update as soon as you can

 

[Olimpia]

No updates yet, I never got a call back from them this afternoon (who is not Dr. Alfonso, unfortunately. I was MUCH too sick to make it to orlando this morning so I had to take her somewhere local), and when I called the office had switched their phones over to the after hours answering people, who know nothing. So I have to call first thing tomorrow to see what is going on with her and why no one bothered to let me know what they were doing.

 

[camimom]

No updates yet, I never got a call back from them this afternoon (who is not Dr. Alfonso, unfortunately. I was MUCH too sick to make it to orlando this morning so I had to take her somewhere local), and when I called the office had switched their phones over to the after hours answering people, who know nothing. So I have to call first thing tomorrow to see what is going on with her and why no one bothered to let me know what they were doing.

WHen it comes ot vets, no news is good news. When my dog was hospitlized for 4 days, the doc told me if no one called, it was a good sign. So try to think of it that way. If there was a problem, they would have to call you to find out what you wanted done, if theres no problem, no need to call you (in their opinion) (when in reality you're freaking out cuz you have no clue if she's ok)


Good luck!

 

[AMGChams]

No updates yet, I never got a call back from them this afternoon (who is not Dr. Alfonso, unfortunately. I was MUCH too sick to make it to orlando this morning so I had to take her somewhere local), and when I called the office had switched their phones over to the after hours answering people, who know nothing. So I have to call first thing tomorrow to see what is going on with her and why no one bothered to let me know what they were doing.

Olimpia,
I am keeping you and Charlotte in my prayers, wishing you both the best and a speedy recovery.

 

[Olimpia]

Ok sorry for the delayed update, being sick has meant that unless I have to drive to the vet or something, I'm in my bed sleeping off this fever.

I finally have Charlotte home again. Monday was spent with the vets giving her anti inflamatories to see if they could bring the swelling in her tongue down to the point where she could get it back in her mouth. The Tuesday they tries a couple more things to see if they could save her tongue and then they finally amputated that afternoon. I was able to pick her up this morning and she looks really good considering the ordeal.

Today I let her relax a bit, seeing as I can imagine that the last two days have been horrible for her. I will begin feeding her tomorrow if that is what Dr. Alfonso recommends. I'm waiting to hear from him what the best course of action is now for getting her to eat and drink while she adjusts to the change.

But like I said, so far she looks really good considering everything. I'm sure she's going to pull through just fine with a the extra care.

 

[Dez]

poor girl, I have been thinking about her a lot and actually bugging jann for any updates.

Get well soon! Both you Olympia AND Charlotte

 

[kinyonga]

At first she will likely think that she can still shoot her tongue out so you will likely have to hand feed her until she learns to chase the insects down...but hopefully Dr. Alfonso will be able to tell you all about it.

 

[jannb]

How is Charlotte today? When I was at Dr. A's yesterday we were talking about Charlotte. He was saying that she'll have to learn to drink differently also. Hopefully he will get back with you today.

 

[AMGChams]

Glad to see Charlotte is back home. Yes please continue to update us. I am sure she will adjust and bounce back just fine. She has a loving mother to see her through the tuff times.

 

[Olimpia]

Thank you for the continued support everyone! I'm happy to report that she has already learned how to drink and eat (liquid diet right now, for at least 7 days) vertically, like Dr. A told us she would have to learn to do. It took her all of 5 minutes to figure it out and she's already drinking and eating a little without much problem. She's not a fan of the syringe feeding, of course, but her poop and urates look good, so she's getting enough food and water in her system.

So far so good guys! Fingers crossed that the switch to insects again is as smooth for her as this has been so far. I'll have a nice order of delicious butterworms ready for her next week when she's ready to start eating solids again.

 

[jojackson]

Thats great news Olly, keep us posted, pics later if poss.