Jackson chameleon with an injured tongue

[Agilityjudge]

My male jacksons cham had a piece of vine wire in his mouth ten days ago. I had thought I had cut all of the wires off but of course the one I missed ended up in his mouth. He was trying to back away but was unable to get away. I gently restrained him and tried to see how the wire was positioned but I could not get his mouth open. I was afraid I would break his jaws so I pulled the wireout of his mouth. It pulled with no resistance so I thought he just had it caught sideways through his mouth.
He has not been able to use his tongue. He seems to drink with no problem but he can not use his tongue to catch prey and because of his horns he can not catch crickets or worms. I have been hand feeding him twice a day. He has slowly stopped eating and refused food today, yesterday he ate a few bites off of a superworm so he is slowly starving to death.
I have a friend who works at a veterinary clinic who has guided me, but in his case they want me to put him down. This is very difficult for me as I am at fault for missing the wire and will willingly hand feed him for the rest of his life but he seems to be slowly dying. Is there a way to forcefeed him? I dont want him to suffer and I don't want him to die either. What should I do?

 

[Lathis]

Can you at least take him to a vet to see how bad the damage was? Right now you have no idea if it's just a bruised tongue or a major internal laceration. That will guide your decision if he needs to be put down or if he can recover.

Loss of appetite could be due to injury or an infection. Could also be due to stress of being hand fed twice a day. Is he losing weight? You need to start weighing him to monitor that. Keep him drinking - hydration is critical.

 

[jajeanpierre]

A chameleon of healthy weight can last a long long time without eating. That part shouldn't worry you.

A tongue injury isn't all that uncommon and they usually recover the use of their tongue. It sometimes takes months.

What is worrying is his lack of appetite. I wonder if he swallowed the wire and you did a lot of internal damage as you pulled it out. If that's the case, all you can do is hope he can heal himself with supportive care.

I am a little surprised that anyone who works at a vet clinic would be recommending euthanasia without a vet even seeing the animal. It sounds like you need to visit a good reptile vet.