WOW! Tongue fell off!

L

Lifelift

New Member
Hello everyone,
I just wrote a post and somehow it didn't show up on this section.

My Jackson's tongue has fallen off! I think he injested it! His appetite was great two days before-I witnessed him catching his regular crickets then so I'm pretty sure he's still hungry.
I need some help on how to feed a chamelion by hand. The recommended vet said to try to hand feed him. WOW I said-this otherwise healthy 30 gram male Jackson's is going to starve!

Please help me with some advise on hand feeding a chamelion. ..if at all possible. He only balks at my efforts.

Thank you,

Will
 
what are you feeding him?

silkworms might be easier to eat particularly because they are so slow

maybe he can just chomp them like other lizzards

Good luck

Sean

PS WOW........ouch
 
Lifelift said:
Hello everyone,
I just wrote a post and somehow it didn't show up on this section.

My Jackson's tongue has fallen off! I think he injested it! His appetite was great two days before-I witnessed him catching his regular crickets then so I'm pretty sure he's still hungry.
I need some help on how to feed a chamelion by hand. The recommended vet said to try to hand feed him. WOW I said-this otherwise healthy 30 gram male Jackson's is going to starve!

Please help me with some advise on hand feeding a chamelion. ..if at all possible. He only balks at my efforts.

Thank you,

Will
Click to expand...

If he ingested his tongue, you may have a major problem with impaction. Did you mention to the vet that his tongue may have been ingested??
 
Yes Guys,

The vet was told everything. I came home after witnessing his tongue dangling the day before and the damn thing was GONE. My boys were there with me(3 and 6 Y/O) so I think the vet did his best NOT to sound gravid in tone so as not to upset them.
Impaction was not mentioned. Damn...something else to worry about.

As far as the worms, my Jackson's has never gone for wiggling worms. He hones in well on the movement of crickets. Other breeds do well with worms, but this guy didn't eat any of the mealworms i've offered him. We've only had Spike four months.

Anyone on this forum gone through this before?

Thanks for ANY help...

Will
 
There's been tongue amputations in the past
for those that have had different "accidents'

The good news is that they can learn quite well to live without their little shooter
crickets are going to be off the future menu
unless you get yourself (and you pet) a pair of feeding tongs
basically you're going to have to start using tongs so that they can grab
their meals with their mouths.

silkworms are a good place to start
as are some of the different roach nymphs.
water can also be provided by glass vs dripper system
as well as holding them by a trickling faucet since they can't lick anymore.

sorry to hear about the mishap but very glad to know that you're going
to take good care of him/her :)
 
Will,
I've been around Chameleons for many years now and can't say I've ever heard of this. One thing I can say is that it's going to be quite a daunting task to be around and continuously offer water to him, as he can no longer lick by the sounds of it. I was actually just reading a thread on here the other day about hand feeding these guys. I seem to recall something about using a flat object to keep the mouth open while providing them with the food. Being that he can see this may not be of use, but he's going to need to learn to get his food without the tongue attack...Have you tried setting some crickets in the cage just to see if he tries to track his tongue for them? Just curious as to whether he knows what he doesn't have...

Sounds weird, but curious.

Cameron
 
none of the three jackson's i have had liked mealworms or even looked at them but the two that i currently still have one apparently wild caugt nearly bit me trying to get a silkie. silkies wiggle but do not move fast i bet your cham would be more interested than in a mealworm

Good luck

Sean
 
Awesome replies Guys,

Tomorrow I will pick up some silkworms and experiment. Do I put them in a dish, Cameron?

Tongs sound interesting. I just checked on him a few minutes ago and he gaped at me-rare for him. I may take that opportunity and drop a cricket or worm in next time.

Yes, hydration is going to be interesting. Anyone know which feeder has the most moisture content? Mabe I can make them a more regular part of his diet.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you,

Will
 
i think i sound like a broken record but silkworms are used to rehydrate chameleons (at least according to my vet). you could probably just put one one a brach near him and see

Sean

PS keep us posted
 
Also, are you postive that it is GONE? I can't imagine that an ingested tongue is a good thing...maybe he's just hiding it?
 
i really dont think impaction is really a huge concern. The tounge is soft tissue and im sure if he ingested it, it would digest just fine. I know ive read threads about users chams not having tounges and they've learned to live just fine without them.
 
I think feeding from a dish is almost a must. Chameleons give up speed in exchange for a long-range weapon. He wouldn't be able to hunt much without that tongue. My chameleons will use their tongues even if being hand-fed from point blank range. A misting system would probably make hydration MUCH easier, but I guess that's true in all cases.
 
Yea Kat, I can't believe it either! His mouth has nothing in it-completely empty. He's gaping more than usual lately. This may be my ticket "in" so to speak.

Sean, silkworms are on my agenda tomorrow. I just hope he responds.

I'm glad to hear that Nicodemayo. Thank goodness. This gives hope to a what was a quite GRIM situation a few hours ago. Until I received all of this advice from you guys I was very bummed out.

.....much hope for tomorrow. Thanks to all for your help. I will be THRILLED if he eats ANYTHING tomorrow.

Austa laMana...

Will
 
My male Jackson's sticky doesn't always work, so he has learned to take directly from my fingers. I hold the cricket by it's back legs. Just one leg and the cricket can usually break off from the leg and escape. Anyway.. the main thing is that by holding it by the back legs you still get the wiggle needed to entice.
Also, phoenix worms are real wiggly and full of protein. Small but satisfying. I'm sure your Jackson will make the adjustment. I would just stay with him and feed throughout the day for the first week or so, until he gets the new routine down so he doesn't loose any weight. Best of luck and health. :D
 
He shouldn't have any problem eating. None of mine will eat mealies but will kill you to get a silkie or hornworm. Hornworms really wiggle alot if you hold them with the tongs and just squeeze a little bit. That might help get his attention and then slowly put it closer and closer to him. I've done that with one of my boys that had an eye infection and he couldn't see to focus to well, so i just put it almost right up to his mouth and CHOMP. Also, as far as dehydration goes, hornworms are awesome for that as well. You can also just spend a lttle more time spraying him. I notice mine will put their head up and open their mouths just barely open their mouths and i can see them swallowing. I can spend over 30 minutes visiting with them while they drink. In fact 1/2 of mine do that and don't even use their tongues. Maybe a mister would work good for you if you don't have time to sit there 3 times a day to make sure he gets enough fluids. Do you have any idea as to how that happened? Did the vet give you any clues?

Debby

Debby
 
If a tongue is not working, there is usually a reason. If its not due to an injury, you need to look at your husbandry IMHO.
 
I've dealt with Chams before that can't use their tongue. If there is no infection to worry about, the animal will adapt with your help.

Silkies are a good start. If he will take them from your hand great! If not just put it on the branch right in front of him, he'll most likely just bite it and solve the problem. Your choices for food items have been narrowed down to items you can hand feed or things that don't move much.

Watering...I used to use a pipette to make sure enough water was taken. It's a labor of love to hand water everyday. In some cases if the animal can just walk up to a drip tube they'll still get the water in. It takes time to help the animal adjust but if there is no infection to worry about the animal will adapt.
 
kinyonga said:
Swallowed or amputated tongue...
http://www.adcham.com/html/veterinary/vet-tongue-problems-kramer.html
http://www.mythicalchameleons.com/vetcases.htm#tongue

When missing the tongue, most chameleons will take food that is held out for them because they are hungry. If you hold the food further away each time/day the will learn to move towards it and eventually figure out that they can't shoot out the tongue and chase the insects like other lizards have to.
Click to expand...

I just want to say that Kinyonga is exactly right, I have used this method before on some injured chams that I acquired. One still had his tongue and learned to use it again and the other learned to chase down crickets like an anole.

Good luck will!

-Chris
 
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