help! cham's tongue doesn't work well!

[stinax182]

brother gave me a small female Jackson chameleon. she's roughly 5" and maybe a year old.

she had a good screened in, open enclosure but she was kept in a basement where the ambient temperatures wee very cold (and she had a regular 100w bulb)

now i have to save her and i noticed her tongue only comes out like an inch, it's not very sticky and it moves far too slow to catch crickets. she doesn't get any calcium supplements so I know she has mbd.

i will begin giving her supplements (calcium, vit d), correct lighting (uvb, uva and a che) and husbandry, but is there anything extra i can do?

i have to rip the legs off the crickets and put them in a small dish. even then, she basically picks them up with her mouth rather than her tongue. she has an appetite and tries, but they're too fast

 

[BeBoSON]

Have you tried hand feeding them?

I would have to say a vet visit is in order.

 

[stinax182]

yes a cricket with tweezers and she did eat it. I'm getting her some butter worms now

 

[BeBoSON]

Ok, that's good. Hopefully with eating, she will be able to regain strenght and be able to use her tongue again.

 

[stinax182]

alright, i wasn't sure if it was reversable or not. it may also be the fact that even when her tongue was fully functional, she still prefers to eat with her mouth over her tongue. if you don't use it, you lose it. but i know because it's not pink, it's almost a purple or black...just dark. but she still tries to use it.

 

[stinax182]

have switched her to a 10g tank with a screen top. a 75w regular bulb and a reptisun 5.0 tube uvb.
ambient temp: 78
basking temp: 87
humidity: 67%
her lights are on 10 hours a day.
she eats crickets which are gut loaded, butter worms, miliworms and wax worms....or that's what she will eat when she's feeling better

 

[sagemoon2004]

I purchased a veiled, Saki, from a young man who did not tell me his tongue did not work. He lived with us for almost two years, (recently passed on, i believe his age was also much older then originally stated), and despite correct supplementation, lighting,etc..never did extend his tongue once. I fed him out of a suspended feed dish in his cage and he did just fine. There are so many factors that can effect the tongue, including injury. I think the vet visit is the right way to go, since correct supplements in this case may be just what is needed. I wish you the best of luck, but don't feel life is over for your gal if the tongue doesn't repair. It just makes them more special.

 

[gary90]

it could also have to do with the humiduty as well right? ive had crested geckos and if they did not have the correct humidity they would slide all over the place.. i know it two different reptiles but who knows

 

[stinax182]

thank you for replying i got her 4 days ago so i will keep everyone updated. i feel like maybe she just needs a few days to adjust to the drastic change of surroundings and temperatures. after the initial failed feeding right after she arrived, i let her warm up and her tongue was a bit faster but still with little reach.

 

[Lovereps]

What could be better than an article about treating MBD , written by a veterinarian who is also cham owner?
A quote from it is:
"Metabolic bone disease takes a long time to develop, and conversely takes a long time to resolve. Correcting your husbandry and providing adequate calcium, nutrition through gutloading, and UVB is the first critical step. However, the deficit of calcium needs to be addressed with additional supplementation before the body can function normally and begin to heal. A small drop of liquid calcium (without D3) can be given twice daily for a month to replace the calcium deficit. A vet may have to give injectable calcium to replace the deficit in more than mild cases. UVB, especially in the form of unfiltered sunlight, is essential."
I wonder if this is the same amount to give a Jackson's with MBD or not. Perhaps you can ask her or Dr O.
Here it is:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wha...ase-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

Phoenix worms/calciworms (both are brands of black soldier fly larvae) are high in calcium and might be a wise addition to her diet

Your most often used calcium should be free of phosphorus and free of D3. Typically dusting every other feeding at most but an MBD cham must need more than the usual.
Phosphorus free calcium with D3 should only be used once or twice a month.
Vitamin dusting of food once or twice a month.
Too much supplementation is bad for Jackson's--much has been written on this forum about that--but nursing one back to health who has MBD might require more specific advice from a vet --maybe our forum contributing vets will add their advice on this.

Additionally, you might want to know that a 10 gallon tank is really too small for her and does not offer enough ventilation (can lead to pneumonia/respiratory infections). An 18 x 18 x 36 or larger screen cage is a far better choice for her.

Wouldn't your brother give you the screen cage?

LLL Reptile has nice cages which might go on sale on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving)
http://lllreptile.com/

Here's a good link on Jackson's cage and care requirements:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/amanda509/581-basic-care-jacksons-chameleons.html

As the veterinarian Ferretinmyshoes mentions in her article, she may need a vet to inject her with calcium to help her to heal.

 

[stinax182]

thank you for the great advice! i am looking into breeding Phoenix or hornworms. and i have the 10g in her bigger screened enclosure with no top and vines and plants coming out so she can climb out. it's just she came from a basement where it was freezing all the time and they'd turn the lights off at night with no che! I'm SO surprised she isn't dead. i just want her to be warm and she has free range of the entire cage but seems to prefer the tank, possibly because it's warmer. i definitely plan on putting her in a screened enclosure soon because i have to replace my veileds and she can just have his. i noticed after she warmed up her tongue was a little better.

 

[ponders]

I had a panther that did not shoot is tongue when I got him, I do not believe it was an injury. He would run up to the cricket and grab it. I was told by a breeder that vitamin b deficiency contributes to tongue problems. I gut loaded the crickets with healthy breakfast cereal and his tongue improved over several months.

 

[Lovereps]

I had a panther that did not shoot is tongue when I got him, I do not believe it was an injury. He would run up to the cricket and grab it. I was told by a breeder that vitamin b deficiency contributes to tongue problems. I gut loaded the crickets with healthy breakfast cereal and his tongue improved over several months.

Ponders I've never heard of a vitamin B deficiency in chams before.
It seems like every day I read about good gutloading of feeders helping chameleons with issues.
My favorite is veterinarian Ferretinmyshoes blog on gutloading
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

I found a good blog by the very knowledgeable Sandrachameleon about tongue issues
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

 

[ponders]

Ponders I've never heard of a vitamin B deficiency in chams before.
It seems like every day I read about good gutloading of feeders helping chameleons with issues.
My favorite is veterinarian Ferretinmyshoes blog on gutloading
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

I found a good blog by the very knowledgeable Sandrachameleon about tongue issues
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html

Could have been coincidence, but a good gutload always seems to help.