Male Adult Panther suddenly not shooting tongue properly.

[funkyjimbob]

Hi,
One of my adult males is suddenly having an issue with his tongue when feeding. I observed him yesterday eating fine so I presume it can't be anything like an infection.

When he goes to shoot it, he opens his mouth and the tongue comes out but it doesn't 'fire' out. He is very healthy and showing nice colors. He also ate lots today too so he has an appetite but I have to place the locusts directly in front of his mouth so he can get it.

Is it possible for their tongues to get injured or bruised? I rang the vet and he told me to keep en eye on it for a couple of days. I am a bit worried as I haven't really encountered any tongue issues before.

Has anyone had any similar experiences before?

Thanks

 

[BMO]

I've had similar experiences with one of mine. I think mine had a short lived vitamin deficiency (Vit A). I supplemented two days in a row with a multivitamin and his tongue returned to normal.

It could be a tongue strain or injury. In this case I would suggest just waiting a week or so and see if it returns to normal. If the problem persists for a couple weeks, I would go see a Vet.

 

[funkyjimbob]

Ok thanks. I have been gutloading his locusts with Vit A so will see what happens. It was strange it wasn't happening yesterday so that's what makes me think strain.

 

[kinyonga]

Please answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum and post a recent photo of him so we can help you better.

Even tongue issues from supplement imbalances can appear suddenly...but it could be an injury or something else causing it too.

I'm not a vet so I can't be sure but I suspect in cases where giving additional prEformed vitamin A corrects this it could still be an imbalance in things like the D3....but I have no scientific proof of this....just comes from what I learned over the years and what I've read about the relationships between supplements.

 

[funkyjimbob]

Bit of an update. I offered him a locust today and his tongue worked fine.. then, on the offering of a second one he was unable to shoot it again. This is leading me to think he may have hurt it?

 

[JoeVet]

If it came on suddenly, it is more likely to be an injury. MBD, vitamin A and other systemic problems usually come on slowly over time. If it came on suddenly and his eyes are open and clear then give him a little time.

 

[sapphira80]

I don't own a panther, but I've seen several panther owners and for sale ads mention the same problem... Perhaps its a known issue with panther chams? I've also heard that frequent cup feeding can cause them to lose the "shooting ability" of their tongue, and it won't go out very far.



A chameleon's tongue is a very complex organ and requires many different muscles working together to aim and shoot properly. I've heard of chameleons having tongue sprains, so maybe that's what it is? If it is a pulled muscle, maybe it hurt the first time he zapped the bug so he was reluctant to do it the second time.



I think your vets advice is great. Give him a couple days and let us know how he's doing

 

[funkyjimbob]

I tried again today (gave his tongue the day off yesterday) and he doesn't seem to be shooting it out still. If it is a sprain it may take longer to heal? His colors look fine, he still has a ferocious appetite and I can't see any other obvious signs of illness.

The thing that is confusing me is how on Tuesday he managed to fire it once and then it stopped again.

 

[cquest]

My panther cham same problem

My male Panther is now 28wks but since he was 13 weeks he has had the same problem i have asked around and they say he'll grow out of it hasn't yet so maybe the Vit A will help thanks for y'alls post.

 

[funkyjimbob]

Just an update. He sporadically will fire his tongue out but 90% of the time he will not. He is feeding, pooing and drinking water fine and I have been supplementing with Vit A. If it was a sprain how long would I expect an improvement?

Thanks!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Just an update. He sporadically will fire his tongue out but 90% of the time he will not. He is feeding, pooing and drinking water fine and I have been supplementing with Vit A. If it was a sprain how long would I expect an improvement?

Thanks!

That is an impossible question to answer.

There could be so many different injuries that are possible and then there is the infinite possible variations of the severity of the injury.

The tongue has a bone in it and lots of delicate bones in the throat that make it possible to shoot out their tongue. It could be soft tissue problem (muscles or ligaments). It could even be a combination of bone and soft tissue injuries.

This all could have happened when he hit something hard. I wonder if they can hurt their tongue if they hit something like a big silk worm that holds on tight to the branch. I've seen my chameleons hit a silk worm and they then had to run down their tongue right up to the worm. I would suspect they could get injured that way.

Sometimes injuries take a bit of luck to heal--luck that they don't re-injure the injury before it is healed. A ligament injury takes ages to heal and if they re-injure it before it is healed, you are right back to square one and probably worse off. Soft tissue injuries take a lot longer than a day to heal.

There is also the psychological aspect. If using his tongue causes him pain, he might avoid using his tongue.