Help! Is she sick?

[lizgentry]

Hi everyone

I have just walked in on my cham doing something i havent seen her do before and im worried it means she's sick!

She was sat under her basking lamp - in her usual basking spot - but she had the end of her tounge sticking out.

About half a centimetre was sticking out - not hanging - kind of like she had bitten it as her mouth wasnt open.

She seems to be eating fine and drinking fine. Movement is normal.

I misted her viv and now she looks normal again.

What is she doing?

Thanks

 

[yoza717]

You will have to give us more info, so we don't jump to conclusions....
How long did she have her tongue out? Seconds, minutes, hours?
What is the temperture at her basking spot?
You mentioned that she is eating and drinking normal, was this before or after the tongue incident?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Liz,

Go ahead and post answers to: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Photos of your chameleon and her enclosure would be really helpful. This could be something to ignore or something very serious depending on the info supplied and the photos. The photos don't have to be with her tongue sticking out but the more recent the better.

 

[lizgentry]

Ok, i will answer as best i can

She was fine this morning and the last time i checked on her was about an hour ago - she didnt have her tounge sticking out then.

When i saw it i watched her for about 3 mins and she didnt pull it back in. Then i misted her and she ran away as usual to her hiding spot (she is quite shy still) but she did pull her tounge back in.

Temp in her basking spot is between 85 and 90. Usually around the 88 - 90 mark.

She had a good long drink this moring at 11 (its 4.30pm now here) - id say 5 or 6 mouthfulls.

She also ate 15 medium locusts at 11.30

Thanks for your help. Is there anything else you need to know?

 

[lizgentry]

Give me 5 mins and i will take a photo and fill in the questions

 

[lizgentry]

Cage Type - See pic - being replaced in 2 weeks by a screen enclosure 24 x 24 x 36
Lighting - Reptisun - Powersun UV
Temperature - Basking temp 85 - 90, floor temp 70, overnight temp 60
Humidity - 60 - 70 % 2 daily mistings
Plants- 1 x Ficus
Placement - Bedroom so very low traffic, basking spot is approx 4ft of ground
Location - Uk near london

Your Chameleon - Female Veiled, 4 months, in my care for 3 months.
Handling - Once a week unless needed.
Feeding - 12 - 15 gut loaded locust & crickets a day, gut loading on fruit & veg
Supplements - Nutrobal with calcium daily
Watering - Water bowl changed daily which i do see her drinking from. Also, 2 daily mistings for around 3 mins
Fecal Description - 2 solidish brown lumps and 1 white daily - has not been tested
History - Did have UV burn around 2 1/2 months ago which is now completly cleared up except for some flaky skin
Current Problem - Found her in basking spot with half cm tounge poking out asif she had bitten her tounge as her mouth was closed.

Heres some pics i took 5 mins ago

Thanks

 

[Pieces]

hey first things first... get rid of the glass.... and also if the top is glass i have read that uv does not transfer through panes of glass as well as screen.... but im going to say you have nothing to worrie about.... my old female vieled used to sit for hours gaping its kinda a way to vent and cool off cause shes hot and too lazy to move... i used to take crickets and drop them in her mouth she would eat then i would mist she would drink then she would carry on

 

[Dave Weldon]

Cage Type - See pic - being replaced in 2 weeks by a screen enclosure 24 x 24 x 36

Lighting - Reptisun - Powersun UV

Humidity - 60 - 70 % 2 daily mistings

Watering - Water bowl changed daily which i do see her drinking from. Also, 2 daily mistings for around 3 mins

Current Problem - Found her in basking spot with half cm tounge poking out asif she had bitten her tounge as her mouth was closed.

Heres some pics i took 5 mins ago

Howdy Liz,

From the photos, she looks to be in good shape. There was nothing obvious in the photos that could be linked to her tongue sticking out.

Your new enclosure will be an improvement.

Is that Powersun a 100W or a 160W? I went to check the output chart on the UVB UK site but the site is down at the moment . http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

After seeing how wet that glass gets, I'm surprised that the humidity is only 60%-70% inside that enclosure. A well-hydrated Veiled will do fine at 40%-60% humidity.

Water bowls are generally frowned upon due to a chameleon's aboreal nature and the possibility of contamination from chameleon and insect poop potentially leading to future parasite and microbe problems. Your new screened enclosure change-over might be a good time to look into other hydration methods.

For the moment, just keep an eye on her tongue activity and if she continues to stick it out, then some underlying "condition" may exist.

 

[lizgentry]

Thanks for the advice!

The water bowl thing is only temporary. I put it in there as a couple of weeks ago she was suddenly hugely dehydrated even though nothing had changed so i thought id put it in there just incase and she does drink from it.

At the mo im cleaning it twice a day which is a pain!

I made a few mistakes with the set up when i got her so this new one that is being delivered is a completely fresh start which i intend to get right! So i will set up either a dripper or auto mister and get a few more live plants in too!

Its a 100W power sun BTW.

I did register her with a vet about a month ago as her old burn looked terrible and he said she was either ill and underweight for her age or we had been misinformed as to how old she was. So, its on his estimate that we think she is around 4 months (my previous info would have had her at 6 months)

Thanks again for the help - have just been in to check on her and she has her happy colour on - or did until i disturbed her, them she went all spotty! I will keep an eye on her.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...a couple of weeks ago she was suddenly hugely dehydrated even though nothing had changed...

Its a 100W power sun BTW.

...her old burn looked terrible...

Howdy Liz,

What were her dehydration symptoms?

The 100W Powersun should be ok. The UK site is back up again so I took a peek at the Powersun listings. The site mentions that Powersuns that are newer than 11/2008 are likely producing a lot more UVB and have a much higher UV Index rating. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapourfloods.htm#zoomedpowersun

That change in the product's ratings, in and of itself, is not a reason to be alarmed but you do have to make sure that the basking distance is not any closer than probably 12"-15" to insure that the UV Index is not overly high.

Was that a thermal burn? Thermal burns are common if the basking temp isn't set properly. Usually UV burns were only caused by certain versions of the R-Zilla Desert/Tropical UVB fluoroscent tubes.

 

[lizgentry]

Hi again.

Her dehydration symptoms were sunken eyes and very orange poo that was really solid.

The burn was a complicated thing tho....

She origionally had a compact top with just a uv bulb (apparently there are reports out now about them being dangerous) Id like to say i was mis-sold the set up but i think its more my fault for not researching enough before i bought and for not questioning the seller too.

I went to some one else who has an amazing reputation after that. He and the vet both feel that because she only had a uv bulb the temps were too low therefor she was getting far too close and spending too much time under the bulb. Both feel it was a uv burn. It has taken 4 complete sheds for the scarring to go!

It was the guy i saw after the burn who sold me the powersun. He had a uv metre out and checked the output too. Her basking spot is a good 12 inches away from the bulb now too.

I have made so many changes to her set up since i had her, but she seems to be coming on leaps and bounds - which is why i was so worried today.

Im ashamed to admit i was a prime example of buying before i had researched fully!

But hopefully im getting on ok now.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Liz,

Sounds like you have things pretty much under control .