Veiled can't shoot tongue

Noticed that my veiled wasn't eating much lately and he used to handfeed but seems to have lost interest, he's not getting any larger and possibly looked like he was loosing weight. I got him out yesterday and tried to handfeed and noticed he was trying to shoot his tongue (used to be able to ) and it came no more that a few mm out of his mouth - It didn't look deformed or anything but he's obviously having problems with it. What can I do, and what could of caused this?
Is there anything recommended rather than a vets visit, obviously that's the last option.

Cheers

how old is your cham, chameleons when they are young will generally shoot their tongue out as far as it can go but as chameleons grow older they learn to use less of their tongue.
If your chameleon is quite old then he might have learnt to shoot less of his tongue and will come closer to his food before attempting a shot.

He could also be on a hunger strike, have you changed anything in his environment or have you been over feeding your cham. Their is a lot of reasons he may not be hungry or he may have damaged his tongue (i.e: he may have shot at something and hit his tongue) but if you say his tongue looks ok then it should still be working.

There is no guaranteed way to pinpoint the exact issue unless i have seen him and have all the relevant details. All i can say is try keep feeding him, not always by hand and see whether things change. If he still doesnt come right you may have to get him checked out

Please post a picture of your chameleon and the setup. There is a lot of problem can be associated to tongue dysfunction. One of them is calcium imbalance. Another could be a simple trauma. So, we need a better info to better assess the problem.
In the meantime, it is a good idea to dial your herpvet # and make an appointment ASAP.

If you do not have a herp vet in mind, go to www.herpvetconnection.com to find one nearby your area.

Not sure if vet is possible with my current money situation.
He's trying to shoot his tongue, but it won't go further than half an inch - it used to extend at least the size of his body - I can't exactly pry open his mouth to look but from what i have seen it doesn't look too bad. I've heard of chams getting lazy tongues and I did hand feed him with tweezers routinely - but he did full extend his tongue.
I'll get some pictures up tonight. Also looks a little dehydrated - Vet recommended putting him knee high in some lukewarm water.

Cheers

You have another thread and I posted this answer there...
IMHO its important to dust the insects with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings to help make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus found in most of the insects we use as feeders.

You said..."He had a calcium build up on his nose yesterday which i removed gently with a wet cotton bud but i've come home today and he was bumping into walls and flailing about like he was blink - his eyes look to be squinting not fully open"...I have still never found any proof that the white salts they are expelling from the nose are calcium. Everything I have found seems to make me think that they are salts of other minerals. His behavior concerns me....but from the information you have provided I'm not sure what is causing it. I can say that I would get it to a vet asap though...this behavior is not good.

You said..."Supplements - pets at home brand"...I don't know that brand...what does it have in it in the way of phos., calcium, D3 and vitamin A?

You said..."100w bulb with uvb light on 12/12"...what brand and type (spiral, compact, long linear tube, etc.) UVB light are you using?

You said..."I've turned the UVB off for now"...did you put it back on since this or replace it?

this could be a number of things. the first that comes to peoples mind is calcium deficiancy/ or mbd. but my vield didnt have mbd/ calcium deficiancy but still had this issue ....and because i was supplementing right and he had no diformities and proper enclosure and his grip is rediculasly strong....(and blah....basicly everything i was doing was right) my vet took mbd out of the equasion.....the final verdict was that when i was tweezer feeding one day....i droped somthing went to pick it up wile on a stool ( cage is 7.5 ft tall) he shot and i didnt let go because i didnt see him shoot... causing major toung strain....now in my case he kept eating and still does to this day. his tounge is returning to normal slowly. do a full medical check. start with mbd and go from thier with your vet. rember chams go down fast. you need to get things checked asap. also make sure your supplements / hosung and overall care is correct.

Moz...any changes? How's the chameleon doing?

moz said:

Is there anything recommended rather than a vets visit, obviously that's the last option.

Click to expand...

Actually, I consider a vet visit the obvious FIRST choice, not last resort.

You may like to complete the "how to ask for help" questionnaire - it is a sticky at the top of this health clinic forum subject.

As has already been mentioned, Tongue issues are often a mineral or vitamin deficiency issue, or a trauma/infection issue.

In the meantime, as you think the cham is loosing weight, consider cup feeding so that it can grab food without using its tongue.