My Chameleons tongue is swollen!

[buddah]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?Panther. Male. 10-11months
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?every other day.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?Crickets, locusts. as much as he can eat in 15 mins. every other day. gut loaded on bug grub and carrots.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?cali dust. calcium + d3 exo terra multi vit. cali dust every day. + d3 on sat swicthed between multi vit every weekend.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? drinks from bottle when dripped in front of him. 4 times a day. yes.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? slightly huey. no
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. no

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? its mesh. 48" high x 36" x 24" deep
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 100watt basking bulb. arcdica 5.0 uvb strip bulb.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?basking spot is 29c-33c overall tank temp. 22c-27c Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? night temp. 18c. i use digital thermometer
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? from 40% to 80% after spraying. i use a water sprayer. hydrometer
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? plam plant and umbrella plant.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? near a radiator. not drafts or windows near.
Location - Where are you geographically located?Devon UK


My problem. for the last few days my cham has had a swollen tongue, it basically falls out of his mouth when he trys to eat and then he struggles to get it back in. hes finding it super hard to eat. and he cannot shoot his tongue, it seems to heavy for him to it just falls. he hasnt drank anything in a day or 2 either, not that ive seen anyway! i know everyone will say VET ASAP. but dont worry. hes there right now. when she had a look at him she said something about seeing a blister on his tongue? do chams get this? but shes got to put him under antithetic to have a good look in his mouth and give it a clean and any other treatment he needs. i would like to know if anyone has a problem like this and if it got better? quite worried about the poor guy cheers for any replies!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Poor guy. There have been other people who have had this problem as well. Sometimes the tongue is able to go back to normal depending on the cause for the swelling. And sometimes the tongue will not return to being functional and has to be amputated. Chams can actually adjust to having no tongue but do need some special care because of it. Hoj's cham had his tongue amputated and he needed to be hand fed but lived for years after it happened.

The "blister" could be an abscess or infection, or something like a fungal infection or mass, or injury. I definitely agree a better look under anesthesia is the best course of action. Be aware that it can sometimes swell worse after being fully examined because it's delicate tissue and reacts to being handled.

I'll see if I can find the threads about it in other chams.

 

[buddah]

Poor guy. There have been other people who have had this problem as well. Sometimes the tongue is able to go back to normal depending on the cause for the swelling. And sometimes the tongue will not return to being functional and has to be amputated. Chams can actually adjust to having no tongue but do need some special care because of it. Hoj's cham had his tongue amputated and he needed to be hand fed but lived for years after it happened.

The "blister" could be an abscess or infection, or something like a fungal infection or mass, or injury. I definitely agree a better look under anesthesia is the best course of action. Be aware that it can sometimes swell worse after being fully examined because it's delicate tissue and reacts to being handled.

I'll see if I can find the threads about it in other chams.

the action the vet took is: cleaned out mouth with povidone iodine as he had a slight mouth rot which i dont know who that has been casued? what causes mouth rot?
also he has been given baytril which i have to give him everyday for 2 weeks.

''Be aware that it can sometimes swell worse after being fully examined because it's delicate tissue and reacts to being handled''
im so happy you told me this! as his tongue is much more swollen now! the poor guy can hardly fit it in his mouth when will the swelling go down? im guessing he cant eat now? but for how long?

THANK YOU!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

the action the vet took is: cleaned out mouth with povidone iodine as he had a slight mouth rot which i dont know who that has been casued? what causes mouth rot?
also he has been given baytril which i have to give him everyday for 2 weeks.

''Be aware that it can sometimes swell worse after being fully examined because it's delicate tissue and reacts to being handled''
im so happy you told me this! as his tongue is much more swollen now! the poor guy can hardly fit it in his mouth when will the swelling go down? im guessing he cant eat now? but for how long?

THANK YOU!

It can take a few days to go down. Sometimes they need an anti-inflammatory medication to help, but not usually. I wouldn't suggest feeding him until it goes back down a bit because I'm sure it's uncomfortable to try to use it.

Mouth rot (stomatitis) is a bacterial infection of the tissues of the mouth. It doesn't have a particular cause but can be a serious problem because the infection can spread and invade the bone of the jaw, and if that happens the jaw can break and the infection can spread to rest of the body. Antibiotics and cleaning the mouth with antiseptics is how you treat it, and it may take antibiotics for longer than two weeks. Watch his mouth carefully for improvement and if it starts to look worse make sure to have him re-evaluated.