Posted by:
lele
at Thu Sep 30 18:47:48 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by lele ]
ah-ha! Something to be aware and careful of. The opening to the chameleon's esophagus is just below their tongue in the lower half of their mouth. While your cham is gaping - or hissing - look inside and you can easily see this. If water goes in there they can gag, choke or even aspirate (water in lungs) which can be fatal. Usually they will pull away and throw up, or attempt to, by shooting out their tongue and sort of "hacking." Luna did it once and it scared the he-- out of me!
If you choose to hand water your cham be VERY careful not to force it to take more than he wants. By raising his head and/or pulling away means he's had enough for now. If he is accustomed to a dripper and uses it I would leave it at that. If at any time you need to give him water by hand or liquid medicine be very cognizant of this anatomical fact. I ocassionally hand water Luna with a rodent water bottle and I make sure not to squeeze it but just let it drip so she can regulate the amount she takes in.
Well, this was probably more than you wanted to know but I feel chatty (lol!) and in seriousness, it is something important for you to know.
Here is an article with LOTS of pix of a necropsy. Not pretty but a good way to understand the inner workings of a cham 
lele
necropsy
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA 
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)
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RE: Is it normal? - lele, Thu Sep 30 18:47:48 2004