not fireing

[greg1989]

Hi i am new to this site i just registred now. I was wondering if anyone can help me. when i feed my chameleon i put the food in the tank an she has to get right up to the food to eat it she not fireng her tongue out very far only about 2 inches and it only started yesterday i was wondering if any 1 know why

thanks

greg

 

[dc2ap2]

what kind of chamelion do you have? my female veild dose the same thing when she can get to it witch seems to be all the time but i have seen her take some long shots in her time my blue bar is lazy and shoots far for everything he can

 

[Tygerr]

You're going to need to provide more details about your setup, feeding and supplementation regimens, and the history of the chameleon.

When you say that she has to go right up to the insect to get it: does she shoot from a further distance and miss, or have a weak/limp tongue?
It could well be that it is a deficiency of some sort (either calcium or other micro-nutrient) or lack of UVB exposure.

Please answer all the questions that are listed in the following sticky:https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
This information might be enough to allow some of the experienced keepers on here help you with your current problem.
And posting some pictures would be very helpful as well.

 

[greg1989]

i dnt no how to post images but i made my set up myself it is 4 ft tall 3ft wide an 2ft deep so it is fairly large on the top it is completley coverd in mesh ant he sides are perspex top to botton and the front is glass sliding doors. i feed her every day give her 5-6 locusts dusted every other day with nutro bal i give her the odd waxworm every other day and she sometimes has meal worms but very rerely. i have never had any problems with her she is yemen chameleon about 17 months old. she got burnt at 1 time and is healing very good bin takeing her to the vet every month to check she is ok and he sez she is doing well and gettin better and she has no problems.

In my set up i have bark as the substrate i have a large real fiscus plant and a medium umbrella plant and some other fake ones stuck on the sides.i have a 100w sunglow bulb which keeps the tempratue nicely at about 30-32 celcius. i have a uvb light in there it is the repti glo 5.0

she just started going right up to them an her tongue only comes out about 2 inch but wen she tries from a distance she somtimes misses but its not weak it seems strong an like she just cant be boverd fireing from a distance


thanks

 

[bucky]

I would get rid of the substrate,no substrate is the best substrate Could it be that she ate some?

 

[greg1989]

ok then al get rid of it then so what should i replace it with paper. no i dnt fink she ate some of it becase ive been keeping a close eye on her

 

[BocaJan]

Paper towels in the bottom of your cage works really well. It absorbs water quickly and efficiently and is easily replaced when your cage needs cleaning. I clean my cages 2-3x/week depending.

 

[greg1989]

ok then thats great av sorted her out now got paper towels in the bottom anybody have any idea of a few real plants you can put in its a veiled cham i already got fiscus an umbrella

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

ok then thats great av sorted her out now got paper towels in the bottom anybody have any idea of a few real plants you can put in its a veiled cham i already got fiscus an umbrella

I only use ficus and umbrella in my cages. Hibiscus are great plants to use. I have a couple Hibiscus plants outside for them to bask.

 

[greg1989]

ok then thanks al get some more then

 

[Lancecham]

You have corrected the substrate problem, but I would focus on the tongue problem as it can potentially be serious. Tongue problems most likely are caused by injuries to the tongue or vitamin difficiencies. You may want to bring her to a vet as if you wait too long, the damage may be not reversible.

 

[opihiman]

could it also be a an eye problem....?

How long has this behavior been going on?

We really need more information Re your care...The earlier post has a link to "HOw to ask for help". There are so many things that it can be.

The other side of this situation is, that he is just getting so close to his prey, because he can. Have you tried feeding house flies or something of the sort? He should have a much harder time getting really close to those and will need to extend his tongue further.

Hope that helps

OPI

 

[kinyonga]

Tongue problems can be the result of nutritent imbalances, injury, infection and possibly even dehydration. If the tongue does shoot out and can not be retracted then it will be a medical emergency...so I would take it to a vet and find out why its happening.