Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My girl is sick & recently lost her tongue
I have been hand feeding her for the last 2 weeks
I was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and can offer any advice on the matter.
I was also wondering if anyone has tried feeding baby food and if so what type.
thanks for any help

K

A vet once told me that feeding certain quality canned feline foods (using a syringe plunger) for short periods of time was acceptable. I'm not sure baby-food is a good call.

I honestly think you're better off feeding her live insects, just like she would feed herself if she could.

Freshly moutled crickets, silkworms, butterworms, fresh moulted roaches, freshly moulted mealworms, and other soft insects may be easier on her, if she has trouble moving insects to her chewing surfaces.
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SandraChameleon@gmail.com
BC Canada

wow, sorry to hear that, but I do know there have been other members who have had chams who lost their tongue.

Adcham.com has a recipe for bug juice (I would not recommend the family blender) that may be helpful as well. Here is a link:

Also, look on their site under Veterinary care for their article on tongue problems and how some can learn to eat from a bowl.

Best of luck to you and your little buddy!
lele
bug juice

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

I have dealt with chameleons with missing tongues a few times. They can learn to eat without their tongues...it just takes patience.

You said..."I have been hand feeding her for the last 2 weeks
I was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and can offer any advice on the matter"...if you continue to hand feed her and then start to hold the bug a little further away, she will soon figure out that she has to go after the bug and can't use her tongue to eat anymore.

You said..."I was also wondering if anyone has tried feeding baby food and if so what type"...if she's willing to eat when you hand feed her, then you don't really need to give her baby food.

You said..."My girl is sick"...sick with what? Because of the loss of her tongue?

If you have any more questions, just ask!

Thank you for all of the help and suggestions.
I will continue to hand feed her until she gets the concept down on her own. I am glad to hear your chameleon made it without a tonque.
That had me really scared!
Thanks to everyone that replied
I greatly appreciate everyones help.
Kandy