Tounge Problems -Vitamin deficiency

[donsebas]

It got much colder last month and my chameleon yoshi started to eat less and eventually stopped eating. Last year the same happened but he would start eating again, this time he didn't.

I bought an extra heat light to boost up the temperature and see if that helped. Then I noticed he has interest in his food but he has problems using his tongue, you basically have to hold the food right in front of him for him to be able to shoot and hit it. He can't fully extend his tongue and it looks weak.

I looked around on the forum because apart of him not being able to use his tongue correctly he is healthy and drinks everyday. His tongue is not injured but it looks like it has to do with a vitamin deficiency. I read a post were people use a vitamin b complex to help their chameleon with tongue problems.

Can this problem be solved by just giving him the right vitamins?

 

[sandrachameleon]

depends if there is an injury or if there is indeed a deficiency (and if so of what and how badly). you say he drinks, but dehydration is often a problem in these cases as well. overdose of something can also be a factor.

I suggest three things.
first, answer all the questions in the how to ask for help sticky.
second, vet visit.
three, cup/bowl feeding, so that he can catch food without his tongue if needs be.
not necessarily in that order

you may find this link useful: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/232-tongue-troubles.html
and this one may help you find sources of vitamin B, if that's what you feel you need: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/722-sources-b-vitamins.html
B1 can be found in brazil nuts, hazel nuts, brewers yeast, spirulina, sunflower seeds, dandelion, garland chrysanthemum. B2 is found in Yeast, spirulina, almonds, dandelion, garland chrysanthemum

 

[zsazsa85]

My cham has tongue problem as well. I know I overdosed him with D3 and multi,but it's been more than a month now I use the supplements properly and his tongue seems better + I have to give him Baytril for RI and somehow it helped a lot! His tongue was waaaay worse. Now it works but still can not fully extend it... I am being patient 'cause he eats well and active..

 

[donsebas]

Thank you Sandra for your reply!

Chameleon Info
Veiled - male - 1,5 years and if hve him almost for one year.
Handling: 3/4 times a week, mainly in the weekend
Feeding: I feed him every other day 4 crickets or a dubia roach or a super worm. The feeders are gutloaded with oranges, sweet potato, escarola, green beans, carrots.
Supplements I dust the feeder everytime with calcium without d3 and with d3 once a month. I use zoo med repticalcium without d3 and tetra multivitamins with d3
Watering: I have a misting system by exo terra and I mist every 4 hours for 20 seconds. I use a plastic cup as a drip and he drinks every single day.(I know this because I watch him drink)
Fecal Description: Normal brown color, but this has been a while ago because he stopped eating. He has not been tested for parasites.


Cage Info
Cage Type: Exo Terra Medium/Tall 60 x 45 x 60 cm 24” x 18” x 24”
Lighting: Namiba Terra 1656 Replux UVHEAT Spotlight 100 Watt UVA with UVB - http://goo.gl/j3Tunw - this light has been replaced 2 months ago.
Temperature: Basking spot: 30C- 35C - Rest of the cage - 20C - 25C
Humidity: After misting up to 80% and normally around 50%
Plants: A pothos plant and a Dracaena plant
Placement: In a separate room, in that room is also a cage with a bearded dragon but they can't see each other because the cages are separated with a piece of wood.
Location: Barcelona,Spain

Current Problem - read the first post

I feed him now by hand and make sure the feeders are dusted with calcium without d3. I will post a picture later on when I have more time.

From your blog post, this kind of explains perfectly what is going on:

If your chameleon began missing its prey or not shooting its tongue like it used to, getting worse gradually over time, check your gutloading and supplementation. Poor tongue control / Missing the insects can be a sign of a Calcium, magnesium, zinc, or B vitamins (B1 in particular) deficiency, and /or sometimes maybe vitamin A deficiency (usually not the sole reason), or Vitamin K deficiency, or an inbalance between Calcium, magenesium, vitamin D, and vitamin A, etc.

I will book a vet appointment for this week.

 

[Kate]

You say it is colder where you live so I'm thinking that he does not get outside just nowr. You could increase your calcium with d3 to twice a month and your multivitamin twice a month. Your temps are a bit high. I would have it 30c. You viv is a bit small for an adult. 4" high is a good hight. Your vet may suggest something else. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Lathis]

My chameleon had issues with a floppy tongue, short striking distance, and missing his prey. I believe it was strongly related to nutritional issues. Stepping up my game on gutloading made a big difference. I can't say for certain exactly which vitamins/minerals were in play, but spending much more time crafting better balanced gutload is working. We're still improving - not at 100% where I think he should be, but slowly getting better. I just can't be lazy about it since my Jackson's seems to be really sensitive to nutrition and supplements.

Here's my post on it:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/jacksons-cham-tongue-issues-nutritional-imbalance-118665/

Definitely go through Sandra's blogs again with a fine-toothed comb. So much good information. Good luck!

 

[donsebas]

Thank you guys for the comments and information. I really started to look into my dusting and gut loading. So the last couple of days I tried to hand feed him to see his behaviour, he was missing the target and had floppy tounge like Lathis described. This was 3 days ago, now today he was able to shoot a super worm from a fair distance and he is improved a lot in just 3 days.

It reminds me how important it is to follow a strict schedule and I hope he will keep improving in the next days.

Lathis, I'm also using a vitamin B complex (the last 5 days) like the one in the link: http://www.hipernatural.com/en/csp117579460.html and it has all the vitamin b's he needs to recover.

I give him a pill once a day in his drinking cup, I let the pill dissolve in the water and let him drink half of it. His appetite came back and the results are remarkably. Maybe its worth to give it a try with your jackson.