Trying to Swallow her TAIL?

[oliveblanche]

Well I just started giving my 15 month old senegal super mealworms, and she loves them!!!! But twice today I have caught her with her tail halfway down her throat!

I feed them to her with bug tweezers & don't let them go free in her cage, but maybe she thinks her tail is a worm? Anyone else have this issue??

 

[oliveblanche]

Anyone??? Thanks!

 

[justjumpit621]

That is very, very odd... I don't really have an answer for you except that she's "special" But I would be careful because that could be a real problem and she could end up injuring herself. Maybe she needs her eyesight checked. My boy Leo pold today was trying to eat me while I was attempting to water his plants, He almost got my finger in his mouth after catching it with his tongue, luckily I was able to evade his jaws and I did catch him licking his tail like a cat yesterday after misting...

 

[msemily26]

Is she actively trying to eat it, or does she attempt to remove it but it's still stuck?? I haven't personally had that issue with my chameleon, but am curious to know more about what she's doing with her tail....could she possibly have food stuck she's trying to clear out of her throat using her tail I wonder??

 

[mcleodschams]

wow thats crazy i have never heard of that very strange i will be watching to see if anyone knows about this cause if it happens to one of mine i wanna know what to do sorry i cannot help that must be kinda scary

 

[ChamBust]

that behavior's a bit odd...not sure how she would mistake her tail, chams are usually pretty smart when it comes to that kind of thing.

 

[mcleodschams]

very good point can you get her mouth to open so you can see ?

 

[mcleodschams]

hmm........

 

[justjumpit621]

I would think she would use her front hands to try to get something out of her throat, I don't believe they would be able to think about using their tail, it just doesn't seem plausible...

 

[MagicEngineer]

It makes me wonder if there might be some sort of parasite that would make his tail itch.

 

[oliveblanche]

It is very odd!!! She just had a vet visit and is perfectly healthy. I didn't watch long enough to see if it was stuck because I panicked and helped it out. Very weird though I'll try and catch a pic if she does it again. I can't believe no one else has seen this. Maybe she is "special."

 

[Solid Snake]

Pics or it didnt happen!
J/K

Did she do any damage to it?
Like was she actually chewing and biting down, or was it just resting in her mouth?
How much was actually in her mouth?

If she thinks its a worm, I could see her shooting her tail, but to not realize that one is eating ones own tail is, odd.

I have never heard of anything even remotely similar

 

[justjumpit621]

thinking, I have seen this once in a dog he had suffered a stroke and his hind legs were paralysed, but when sensations started coming back to them he started chewing it and made a nasty wound. Does her tail function properly? she can grip with the end easily and it is nice and strong? Just throwing ideas out there.