I agree with @CalamityCrow your boy still has quite a bit of growing to do. Typically they will curb down on their own around 9-10 months old.
Chameleon Tongue Problems
- Thread starter Mitcchar
- Start date
So today I fed him about 10 BSFL, 1 superworm and 4 dubia, and he ate them all, which is good. The problem is he keeps climbing into the feeder run and barely using his tongue at all, he’s pretty much getting as like 3 or so inches away and then shooting his tongue. Is this a problem or is he just trying to make it easy on himself?
So it does not matter how he is eating as long as he is still. If he is having issues with the tongue then the worst outcome is for him to go off food. So him getting as close as he can is perfectly fine. I would put some more branches right up to the feeder so he does not have to stand on the plastic. He may utilize them to target from a bit farther away as he feels capable to do so.
Honestly that is going to depend on what the actual issue is... If it is not linked in to husbandry then it may just resolve on its own over the next few weeks. But say your UVB output on your bulb or something is not working quite right then it would get worse not better. This would also be the case if it is an actual wound to the tongue, as in bit by a feeder or cut the tongue on perhaps the edge of the feeder run. If it is a wound then you would more then likely need antibiotics.
I doubt it is husbandry because we have looked through all the main points on that one.
If it is just a matter of him hyper extending it then I have seen in the forum it take days to a week or so depending on degree of injury. I have seen them hyper extend when trying to pull a hornworm off a branch or solid surface as well. Hornworms do not tend to release immediately. Its why I feed these very small and only by hand.
It would be pretty obvious if there was a wound. If you manage to get a video or pics we can see if it shows anything though.I was literally getting a slo-no video for you too see if you see anything in the tongue, but my phone died,and I didn’t get a good shot
Well from what I can see there I am not seeing any sign of a wound... Color of tongue visible there looks normal.
Normal coloration and veining
Ok so it’s been a while and I’ve been strictly cup feeding him, but he still has not shown much improvement. Today I tried to so some trust building work with a small superworm, and he came up and tried to shoot his tongue at it, from like 3-4 inches away, and he missed. After that he just kept trying to walk up and bite it off my hand. Is it possibly that my UVB needs changed? Like maybe if I got a dud?
Yes, change uvb just in case. And you want to measure 8-9 inches from fixture to branch. You want a branch to run parallel to the UVB fixture. There is a very specific area of usable uvb. So if you do not have a branch right below it then he is not going to get the UVB levels needed.
