cham not drinking

[jimsta]

My 4.5 month old panther seemed to have stopped drinking. I think it is effecting his eating also. His tongue seems to have lost some of its stickyness. The tongue has also lost its firmness, if he shoots anything far(1.5+ inches) away his tongue can't stretch, it just seems to shoot out and then go limp. This has just popped up in the past 2 days and I am worried about it.

I think I am doing everything right because my 3 month old veiled is a champ at eating and drinking. He seems to have no prob catching any size cricket either.

 

[Montezuma]

Vet visit may be in the chams best interest.

 

[jimsta]

I think that I will take him to a vet. He seems to be getting worse, he drank some but I am not sure if that helped, he can't hit a cricket that is 1" in front of him.

 

[stevereecy]

I think that I will take him to a vet. He seems to be getting worse, he drank some but I am not sure if that helped, he can't hit a cricket that is 1" in front of him.

Hey, thats one of the first signs of MBD. If your UVB lighting is inadequate, that might explain why the younger animal is doing well, but not the older one. You should up the natural sunlight, up the calcium, and take him to a vet regardless because without a high dose of calcium now (if this is the problem), he might die. Or, the tongue is infect...either is bad.

FWIW, chams can eat without a working tongue. Use any slow moving prey item or even crickets without legs.

Steve

 

[jimsta]

I give him calcium 4 times a week, Cal w/D3 once, and herptivite every other week and he not only has a 5.0 flourescent in there but he also has a UVB basking lamp that he has had since I got him.

Also, his grip is very firm, wouldn't that mean he was doing alright in the calcium and UVB area.

Just giving you guys the whole story so we don't miss something.

 

[stevereecy]

I give him calcium 4 times a week, Cal w/D3 once, and herptivite every other week and he not only has a 5.0 flourescent in there but he also has a UVB basking lamp that he has had since I got him.

Also, his grip is very firm, wouldn't that mean he was doing alright in the calcium and UVB area.

Just giving you guys the whole story so we don't miss something.

That ought do it! Must be an injury or an infection then. Vet time.

 

[jimsta]

I think I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow. I gave him a shower today for like 20min. Then let him bask in the sun for a few hours(with shade optional), just to see if it would help.

Thank you for all the help and please if anyone else knows anything chime in.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

What part of the country are you located?

 

[jimsta]

South Florida

 

[jimsta]

Just an update on the sick cham.

I took him to the vet and they did not know what was wrong with it, they gave me calcium drops to give to it twice a day, and sent me on my way.

I am not sure if the drops have helped but I do know that the cham is doing alright. He still can't shoot things from far away and he still misses alot. But he has learned to hunt the crickets down instead of waiting for them and hitting them from afar. He still eats 10-12 crickets a day(thats all i feed him) and he now drinks like a champ at every misting.

My question is: If he still has the tongue problem, but has learned to work around it, should I still worry about him? I don't want them to cut his tongue out, like I have heard they do, because he still uses it.

 

[stevereecy]

Just an update on the sick cham.

I took him to the vet and they did not know what was wrong with it, they gave me calcium drops to give to it twice a day, and sent me on my way.

I am not sure if the drops have helped but I do know that the cham is doing alright. He still can't shoot things from far away and he still misses alot. But he has learned to hunt the crickets down instead of waiting for them and hitting them from afar. He still eats 10-12 crickets a day(thats all i feed him) and he now drinks like a champ at every misting.

My question is: If he still has the tongue problem, but has learned to work around it, should I still worry about him? I don't want them to cut his tongue out, like I have heard they do, because he still uses it.

I've heard some chams have lived a long time like that with a partially working tongue still in place. But I've often wondered if a tongue infection could cause similar symptoms, but kill them off due to the lack of tongue health. I think the key is to monitor their weight. If it maintains its weight, its probably OK as-is. If not, you gotta do something else.

Steve

 

[stevereecy]

Just an update on the sick cham.

I took him to the vet and they did not know what was wrong with it, they gave me calcium drops to give to it twice a day, and sent me on my way.

I am not sure if the drops have helped but I do know that the cham is doing alright. He still can't shoot things from far away and he still misses alot. But he has learned to hunt the crickets down instead of waiting for them and hitting them from afar. He still eats 10-12 crickets a day(thats all i feed him) and he now drinks like a champ at every misting.

My question is: If he still has the tongue problem, but has learned to work around it, should I still worry about him? I don't want them to cut his tongue out, like I have heard they do, because he still uses it.

Oh, BTW, if you have the brand name of those calcium drops, I'd sure like to know what it is. My local vets won't even consider selling me meds for a cham without a visit...and half the time, I know what the problem is. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the best reptile vet in these parts...but I'm not a vet.

 

[jimsta]

It looks like they are re-bottled drops. The drops are ....Calcium Glubionate Syrup 1oz. The 1oz that they gave me would probably last me a good 8 months, but I don't think I will be giving them to Soho (my cham) that long.

I don't think he needs the drops if he is already getting calcium dust from crickets, and more calcium from the calcium enriched gutload.

If you would like I can send the drops to you after a few weeks or so.

 

[kinyonga]

In my experience, the drops are to give your chameleon extra calcium...above the dusting....so if the vet told you to use them, the vet must feel your chameleon is lacking calcium and that's why the tongue is giving your chameleon problems.

If the tongue is not working properly because of a calcium deficiency, the only reason for amputating it would be if the chameleon shoots it out and can't retract it. If left hanging out the chameleon will either bite it off or maybe end up swallowing it. Also, if the tongue is not kept moist if it hangs, it will become necrotic.

stevereecy...you can buy liquid calcium sandoz or calcium gluconate in a pharmacy....no prescription needed. Just be careful if you use it because its kind of syrupy and harder than water for the chameleon to swallow.

 

[jimsta]

The vet said that he had no idea what was going on with his tongue. And the calcium drops were just an "in case" type of deal. On my follow-up visit I brought my dusting supplements and told him my dusting schedule and he said that it should be plenty of calcium.

Just to make sure I am doing it right, how about an opinion from you guys on the forum.


Straight calcium dust.........4 times a week
No dust...........................once a week
Calcium w/d3....................once a week
Miner-All O(outdoor)..........once every 2 weeks
Herptivite........................Once every two weeks.

Any suggestions?