chameleon tongue problems

[teslalyfe]

hello all, I am new to the forum and chameleon world. did months worth of research, bought a nosy be panther chameleon (6months old), and have been loving every day with him. however, since the day I have gotten him home, its painstakingly obvious that he has a serious tongue problem. at first I thought it was cute, but now I'm just concerned. when he goes to shoot his tongue out, it doesn't come out very far, and always shoots all over the place like he cant control it. He then has to get within an inch or so to try and get it. over the past week ive been hand feeding him crickets, dubia roaches every other day, and a waxworm every other day. he takes them without hesitation which is nice, but I would like to see him get better if possible have been dusting with calcium (with d3) and has a uvb bulb in place. I bring this up as my only assumption is a calcium deficiency of sorts like mbd could be the cause? any help would b sincerely appreciated sorry for the rant!

 

[paulkaranik]

Not usually calcium related . Sometimes a torn or sprained muscle is the culprit. A visit to the vet is in order ..

 

[teslalyfe]

thank you, looks like I will need to set up a doctors visit then :/

 

[jajeanpierre]

Not usually calcium related . Sometimes a torn or sprained muscle is the culprit. A visit to the vet is in order ..

While I don't dispute that this is likely an injury, what exactly could a vet possibly do about it? Microsurgery? Not trying to be flippant, but vets don't have a lot of answers for a lot of problems. Sometimes the animals has to heal itself. A vet visit might be useful for a new owner to reassure them and to go over the husbandry with the owner, but many vets don't have a clue about chameleon nutrition/care.

 

[Lathis]

I suspect it very much could be nutrition related. If he can't launch his tongue, that might be an injury. If he can launch it, but the tongue misses or is floppy, that could be a nutrition issue, particularly an imbalance of nutrients that control muscle function, like calcium and others. I went through this with my first chameleon - vet saw nothing wrong with his tongue, no sign of injury and suggested it could be diet related. I was able to correct the issue by improving the quality of my gutload, supplementing well with PLAIN calcium (no d3) almost every day (I had a Jax, for a panther, I would use plain calcium every day), rotating in a multivitamin, and providing a good variety of insects. It took a while to slowly get better.

If the vet doesn't see anything wrong, I would suspect that maybe the little guy hasn't been getting a well balanced diet. Start adding Bug Burger, Cricket Crack, or another premade gutload to you insect food, make sure you are using the proper supplement rotation, and give him a good variety of different kinds of bugs. You can use the traditional "Plain calcium with no D3 every day, D3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month" routine or look into one of the Repashy all-in-one calcium powders with low levels of vitamins and D3. I have moved to the LoD formula for my chameleon but still cycle in plain calcium, too.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

 

[niels99]

Hmmm. Could indeed be a nutritious problem which makes it hard for him to focus on stuff. Shooting everywhere except the target u said huh? you also noticed he had it ever since you got him. So an kind of syndrom could be an option to. I have seen this once by a cham. He had trouble keeping balance. Did not have the normal zigzagging eye movements and was shooting like crazy. If its something in his head. Theres very little you can do. Just sit and wait and provide the best care. I agree with jajanpierre on the vet point. If hes eating then i would wait a few weeks with that.

 

[teslalyfe]

I suspect it very much could be nutrition related. If he can't launch his tongue, that might be an injury. If he can launch it, but the tongue misses or is floppy, that could be a nutrition issue, particularly an imbalance of nutrients that control muscle function, like calcium and others. I went through this with my first chameleon - vet saw nothing wrong with his tongue, no sign of injury and suggested it could be diet related. I was able to correct the issue by improving the quality of my gutload, supplementing well with PLAIN calcium (no d3) almost every day (I had a Jax, for a panther, I would use plain calcium every day), rotating in a multivitamin, and providing a good variety of insects. It took a while to slowly get better.

If the vet doesn't see anything wrong, I would suspect that maybe the little guy hasn't been getting a well balanced diet. Start adding Bug Burger, Cricket Crack, or another premade gutload to you insect food, make sure you are using the proper supplement rotation, and give him a good variety of different kinds of bugs. You can use the traditional "Plain calcium with no D3 every day, D3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month" routine or look into one of the Repashy all-in-one calcium powders with low levels of vitamins and D3. I have moved to the LoD formula for my chameleon but still cycle in plain calcium, too.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

thnk you all for the advice I ordered cricket crack a few days ago as well as bug burger. I will order some calcium without d3 as well as some multivitamins. have also been gutloading the crickets and dubia roaches with a premade ice cube I found on youtube consisting of collard greens, mustard greens, squash, sweet potato, carrots, and an apple. have yet to see them really eating it but some swear by the stuff. fingers crossed he will get better. not a big deal having to feed him, however, finding someone while on trips/vacation may prove to be difficult.