There are several things that could be going on. First, look to see if there are signs of injury: can he retract his tongue normally? Sometimes chams over extend the tongue and strain the muscles especially if they are bowl fed and the muscles are not in good condition. If he's been bowl fed he has probably lost muscle tone and coordination because he hasn't been using it much. Strains can heal on their own, and to improve his muscle strength you should offer some of his food loose...houseflies are great for this. Sometimes they accidentally bite the tongue damaging it a lot or biting it off completely. If he'll gape for you check for blood, torn tissue, swelling, etc. Chams who have lost part or all of their tongue can learn to eat without it. They will need to be hand fed, but it can be done. If a cham is dehydrated the tongue loses its sticky mucous on the tip, and doesn't trap prey. The cham gets frustrated and learns to go right up to the prey to catch it. There could be nutritional problems going on, but these wouldn't show up suddenly. There is a good article about tongue problems on www.adcham.com that may give you more complete information and may help figure this out.

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