First Time Chameleon Owner..

[DEZ2434]

New to the Chameleon Forum!! I recently acquired a female veild chameleon (don't know an age) from the clinic I work at. The owner called informing us that she swallowed her tongue.... again. She was previously seen at another clinic with suspicions of having MBD and for swallowing her tongue. Once she arrived at the clinic the tongue was gently pulled back out. The tongue had very little life to it from being swallowed for a long period of time. One of the other techs watched her overnight. She attempted to bite it early the next morning(I dont have after pictures on how much worse it looked). She ended up needing her tongue to be amputated. A couple sutures and a quick snip. I had to force feed her a mixture of mashed veggies, cricket guts, etc/ also given water by syringe/ oral pain medication. She has healed very well since the surgery and will now eat her gut loaded crickets by hand feeding. She has become very feisty now that she is feeling a lot better. She is currently housed in a large cage that my boyfriend I whipped up. Has a dripper going throughout the day and her cage is misted a couple times a day. She has a red Hibiscus plant/bush for climbing. Does anyone else in this group own a chameleon with no tongue as well??? Any tips on feeder DIY devices to help her eat on her own- I will continue to hand feed her I know that but she acts like she wants to hunt for her food. She just eats crickets for now and has interest in eating Kale. How small or fine do I have to chop her veggies up. What other kinds of fruits/veggies can she have? How often should I feed her and how much?? Looking for some friendly advice

 

[Scottsquatch]

If you get her a feeder cup she will probably start to eat on her own. Do you know about supplements and UV lighting? Do you have a basking lamp?

 

[DEZ2434]

If you get her a feeder cup she will probably start to eat on her own. Do you know about supplements and UV lighting? Do you have a basking lamp?

I will look up n try a feeder cup. She gets dusted crickets: calcium with vitiman D n with out. She has a baskin bulb and a uvb bulb. I may have to adjust the angles n height of lamps.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. A variety of well gutloaded feeders is best for chameleons. She may eat from a feeder cup and with silkworms or small hornworms, if you place them on branches near her she will most likely be able to get them off the branch by herself. She can eat the hibiscus flower and leaves and most greens such as dandelion, endive, kale, collard, mustard and turnip. She can also have small slivers of fruit every now and then. Fruit to them is like ice cream to us so not to often. It depends on her size as to how much food to give her. From the first photo above I would feed her about 3 to 4 feeders, the size of a Cricket everyday. Once she puts a little weight on I would cut her back to 3 to 4 feeders, the size of a Cricket everyother day.

Females lay eggs without a male even being around so she will need a laying bin. If not provided with a proper laying bin they can become egg bound, which can be fatal. Here’s a few links below about keeping a veiled in general and a couple about females and how to make a laying bin.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/egg-laying-and-the-laying-bin.345/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

 

[alan marz]

I had a veiled that lost his tongue. I hand feed him crickets for about three years with tweezers.