Be very careful about hand feeding

[kongchi]

The other day I was hand feeding Sebastian a Butterworm and when he shot his tongue to catch it, he latched on to my finger instead of the worm. At this point it was falling off his branch to pull in an object that wouldn't move, If I had moved my finger with his tongue and back into his mouth, it would have been quite a bloody finger for me, and a mouth full of my blood for him. I kind of (and I don't remember exactly how it came off) put the finger that he latched on to close to his mouth and it went in itself. Boy those tongues are sticky.

What I wanted to warn about hand feeding is that after that event, his tongue shot out only an inch long each time. He did go for that worm again, but his tongue only shot out exactly one inch each time. AT THIS POINT I WAS DEEPLY WORRIED THAT I RUINED MY CHAMELEONS TONGUE. I put the worm near his mouth and he got it and for some reason, that fixed the problem. I'm guessing it's the liquid from the worm lubricated his tongue and made it go back to normal, needless to say I don't want this happening to anyone nor their chams.

 

[Jonah S]

A few weeks ago, Larry shot my hand instead thinking it was feeding time. Long story short, I panicked because he could barely use his tongue for the rest of the night. He was better in the morning but I had never felt so bad since I thought I maimed him. Live and learn.

 

[Mr Wilson]

My ambi finds a way to shoot my hand/fingers often. He is honestly such a fat ass he will try to shoot and eat anything you put in his cage
Here a pic of him trying to eat my camera (didn't stage this pic, he's really trying to eat the camera 3x his size)

Def not a good thing. just be careful, try to stick out one finger with the feeder on it so your cham really only has one finger to choose from

 

[Eszzie]

This is the reason my veiled died...

He got stuck on my hand when feeding a Pachnoda marginada larva. The larva bit him in his tongue and after a long way of not being able to eat and eventually surgery he died..

People have to be very careful when using tweezers or hand feeding.

 

[summoner12]

Most like you strained his tongue when he tried to pull your finger in. This heals after a bit of time.

What people need to realize about hand feeding is that yes, they will catch your hand or finger. DON"T get scared! Even if you did let your cham bite down on you it wouldn't be a bloody mess unless he thrashes his head. I've been bit when a cham thinks your finger is food. It hurts, but a firm bite isn't all that bad. It's when the cham moves it's head and lacerates your skin with it's teeth. I was bit by my female melleri once when she thought my finger was a hornworm. She bit down firm and my finger hurt for a bit, but not following my instinct and pulling away, saved me from any real damage to my finger.

 

[carol5208]

Lord, I think I'll quit hand feeding!!!! Never happened to me...yet

 

[OOOst16]

Unfortunatly, this happened to yogg, he hit the feeding tweezers instead of the insect, i didn't pull away, however I didn't notice he shot in the first place because I was looking down because I dropped somthing, so he was trying to real it in like a fishing line....this caused stress on the tounge and made him only able to shoot about 1 inch. He's been living fine and healthy for the past 6 months with his defective tounge. I've learned my lesson.

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Pedro did this to me too
I think he might have realized what he did because
I put my finger right next to his mouth hoping
he'd let go and he closed his mouth and dislodged his tounge
and didn't try to take a chunk off me

 

[tigress4529]

speaking of shooting tounges and catching weird places...i have a dark mole on my neck...i had just gave my little dude a waxworm snack...and as i was outting him back in the enclosure he tried to go for my mole! (its not a gross mole...its little and "un-hairy...just making sure no one winces...lol) i pulled away thank goodness...but trying to open the door again he zoned in and stuck his tounge out again...got him again...and managed to get him back without damage to either of us. BTW waxworms are a good food for em right? Not too fat like mealworms?

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Waxworms are high in fat and shouldn't be fed to often.
Mealworms are also pretty fatty an have alot of chitin which could
cause impaction.

Super worms a still not the healthiest thing but I believe their shells are softer than meal worms and are a good alternative.

 

[reptoman]

When I first got my ambilobe female I was hand feeding when the cricket got loose from my fingers and ran up my wrist. She shot her tounge and got it tangle in my arm hair (am I am not a particularly hairy guy). The tounge was really stuck. She had to climb out onto my hand and bite my arm until it she was able to pull it loose. It left tiny bits of fleshy tounge in my arm hair but she recovered with no ill affects. And it did not hurt much. I was in a state of shock watching all this play out so that might have something to do with the lack of pain.

 

[FroggtheCham]

4 out of 5 of my Veileds hand/tong feed. Charley shoots the tongs at least 3x a day. It doesn't matter how I hold the bug, he insists on shooting the shiny part!!! I don't pull, as soon as he hits the tongs and I feel the pulling I guide the tongs to his mouth for him to let go.

 

[Jscott0731]

my veield shoots at my lower eye lid all the time it like his "thing" it never seems to hurt him or anything and most of the time i catch him focusing and back up befor he shoots but some times he lands one and instantly releases ive convinced my self he loves me lol

Edit:wow sorry for reviving such an old dead thread did not realize till after i posted

 

[Psychobunny]

If your cham's tongue sticks to your finger when hand feeding, here is a
little tip; wet your hands first, then put the feeder on it and he will not stick
if he misses the target

Same with cup feeding, lightly mist the inside, then add the dusted feeders
and hold the cup up to your cham. Need to hold very still, and if they are looking directly at you, instead of the feeders, he is not comfortable yet.

If he looks at the food inside the cup (or on your hand) more then you, thats
a good thing. But if he does not zap any food, try turning your head away
so you are not staring directly at him.
I discovered that they do not like us staring at them