Weak tongue

[VamPotato]

My chameleon hasn't been eating really well. He used to love crickets, but lost interest in them. He also doesn't want to eat mealworms either. First I thought he was just being picky, so I put about 5-7 crickets in, because he loves hunting them. But he hasn't been eating. I noticed that there are fewer crickets, so he is eating them slowly, but by the time he eats them, there is no dust on them. I give him water with reptile multivitamin drops every day, he drinks plenty and the urates are white, but the poop became rare and small, although normal colored.

Then I noticed today that his tongue became really short. I gave him some house flies, and that somehow immediately grabbed his attention. First I thought the crickets are too big for him, but I kinda doubt it since he had no problem eating them before. I read that the short tongue happens because of lack of vitamins, so I dusted the flies.

 

[Lathis]

Ditch the drops. Even if the insects lose most of their dust, it's still more than he's getting with the watered down drops.

Calcium powder (plain calcium with no D3) dust on crickets every day. Assuming you have a veiled or a panther, calcium with D3 every other week, multivitamin powder every other week, alternating. (You can use a multivitamin with D3 instead of the two separate supplements.)

Calcium, D3, and B vitamins all control muscle movement. Unless there is an injury, this is where I would start to correct a tongue issue. Nutrition is often to blame, and chameleons seen very sensitive to nutritional imbalances.

 

[VamPotato]

I have a veiled chameleon, he's about 7 months old. I have been dusting, but the problem is that he doesn't care about the crickets, there is at least 4 of them right now in the enclosure. Same goes for mealworms. Houseflies (smaller than his crickets) grab his attention though. I do not know why, because he ate the same sized crickets a few months ago, so they can't be "too big" for him.

Also for some reason, he's very inactive today. His lights are on, but he sleeps (on top the branches) and just stands in one place.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I have a veiled chameleon, he's about 7 months old. I have been dusting, but the problem is that he doesn't care about the crickets, there is at least 4 of them right now in the enclosure. Same goes for mealworms. Houseflies (smaller than his crickets) grab his attention though. I do not know why, because he ate the same sized crickets a few months ago, so they can't be "too big" for him.

Also for some reason, he's very inactive today. His lights are on, but he sleeps (on top the branches) and just stands in one place.

You are describing a chameleon that is ill.

Take him to the vet and take a fresh stool sample. Collect the stool, wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge (not the freezer) until you take it to the vet. Take it to the vet within a few hours and make sure they do a smear as well as a flotation on site and don't send it out. If you can't get a fresh stool sample before your vet appointment, go in anyway and bring the sample in when you can. Or you can take one in before your appointment.

Declining chameleons tend to die unless you can find out what the problem is and correct it. Incorrect husbandry--how you keep your chameleon, humidity, temperatures, stress from captivity--is probably the main cause of illness in captive chameleons.

 

[VamPotato]

I know that these are signs of an ill chameleon, but I provided everything for him. He has a big enough cage, he drinks plenty of water daily, I mist several times, the humidity is around 50%-80%, the temps are good too, he has an exoterra UVB and heat lamp, he has a live plant, plenty of branches, I bring him out to the sun several times a week, his food is dusted with calcium and vitamins, he is not stressed, I only handle him when he climbs on my hand himself, I never grab him or anything. I don't have years of experience in chameleon husbandry, but I have done my research and I care about him.

 

[Lathis]

It's not necessarily anything you did wrong. Chameleons can pick up parasites from their bugs, even crickets. Loss of appetite and lethargy are symptoms of illness, and parasitea are an easy one to identify (even if not always so easy to treat). A fecal test is an excellent idea.

Adding a new bug to the food rotation might perk his interest if the fecal comes back clean. Have you tried hornworms?

 

[VamPotato]

I don't really know what's up with him, he seems to be doing a bit better, he started to look for flies. I want to give him a wide variety of food, but his size is too small for the hornworms, superworms and locusts that can be bought at my local reptile shop.

 

[Chachi]

If you discover that viramin a could possibly be the problem, how long does it take after you change up your husbandry etc. for your boy to recover. Also, how old do jacksons chams tend to get before old age comes to the door