My chameleon is not launching his tounge out. Why?

[Aidee80]

My 1yrs old jackson chameleon stop launching his tounge out a couple of weeks ago but he was still eating. Later, He developed a sore on his mouth and only open a little. I clean it out and help him heal it. He only drinks waters but doesn't want to eat. He also has not poop for a couple days. I read that maybe it could be the temperature in his cage causing him to go into a hibernation. He just laying there. Im concern. Does anyone have a clue what is going on with him?

 

[jpowell86]

I hate to hear that your guy is having this issue. What kind of UVB are you running on your enclosure and what supplements are you using and how often? Has there been any trauma recently? Falls, broken bones, etc?? If you will fill out the "Ask for Help" form, that would be great. Here is the link https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[kinyonga]

If the mouth was not cleaned out properly even though it appears to have healed the infection could have become systemic. I can only recommend taking it to a good reptile vet right away....asap.

 

[NickyChameleon]

If the mouth was not cleaned out properly even though it appears to have healed the infection could have become systemic. I can only recommend taking it to a good reptile vet right away....asap.

I second that. As its been a few days, may I ask if he is alright? Also I LOVE Jax and when these people agree I want a little triceratops of my own.....

 

[LaughingLizardLady]

One of the first signs of a calcium deficiency can be when a chameleon stops shooting his tongue out to grab food when he did previously. If you don't already, I would suggest gut loading all his food with something like repashy bug burger and then dusting absolutely everything you feed him with calcium/D3 supplements. It can be corrected tho. I was given a panther chameleon who 'never fed using his tongue'.
He just felt vitamin deficient. I did what I suggested above as well as get him to lick calcium/D3 powder from my fingers and just a few months later he's well again and firing his tongue as good as all my others, so good luck!

 

[FlChamMom]

I also agree with kinyonga- the sore on his mouth may cause an infection. It can also effect his eating, including using his tongue. Jax are sensitive to supplements. I would not use D3 any more frequently than once every few weeks. I hope your little guy gets better soon!

 

[sbristow]

My 1yrs old jackson chameleon stop launching his tounge out a couple of weeks ago but he was still eating. Later, He developed a sore on his mouth and only open a little. I clean it out and help him heal it. He only drinks waters but doesn't want to eat. He also has not poop for a couple days. I read that maybe it could be the temperature in his cage causing him to go into a hibernation. He just laying there. Im concern. Does anyone have a clue what is going on with him?

Please see my recent post regarding my male Oustalet. I hope it is of use.

 

[Bush baby]

Had the same problem with my previous Jacksons.

If it's not due to an injury, it's almost certainly due to calcium deficiency as calcium is needed for the muscular contraction of the tongue. Best thing you can do now is get as much calcium into him/her as possible ; whether that be via crickets gutloaded with high calcium foods, feeding him snails, calcium spray, etc, whatever you have to do to get their body's calcium levels back up. Your chameleon cannot over dose on PLAIN calcium as it's water soluble, so don't worry about overdosing. Make sure you have a UV bulb present so that your cham can absorb it; better yet, take him outside for some natural sunlight. The power of the sun will supply him/her with way more UV than our little reptile bulbs can… good luck….

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Dehydration could cause it!