Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have had my chameleon for about 2 months now. Just recently he has been acting different, when he tries to eat (crickets) he wont stick his tounge out, he'll either try to grab the cricket or just bite it. When he does try to stick his tounge out, its very little, and it doesnt stick to the crickets at all. Can you please help me?
Thanks, Sara

What species of chameleon is it?

Usually when the tongue won't fully extend it can be from a lack of hydration or from an imbalance with the calcium.

How do you provide water for your chameleon? Does it drink?

Do you have a full spectrum light that includes UVB on the cage or does your chameleon get any direct sunlight? (The light must not pass through plastic or glass.)

Do you dust the insects with calcium? Do you use a vitamin/mineral powder with vitamin A in it? Phosphorous?

Vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium and phosphorous are the main players in bone health. Calcium plays a part in muscle contraction.

Do you gutload the insects before they are fed to the chameleon?

Thank-you for replying to my messege. My chameleon is a veiled, and hes is 3-4 months old. I give him water by misting his cage (10 gal aquarium) several times a day, but the water evaporates very quickly. I do dust the crickets every time he eats, it is called: MINER-ALL by Sticky Tounge Farms, which does not contain Vitamin A and Phosphorus.
Before I bought my chameleon I went to the local reptile store to get all of his stuff and this is what they reccomended: Exo-terra desert sun 8.0 by Haggen, 75w exo-terra night glo spot lamp, which we turn off at night and the tank lowers to 74F and during the day it is 95F. It does not get any direct sun light. At the moment I do not have a humidity source other than the humidity in the room which is 65%, and the tank is at 30-50%.
Can you please tell me if there is any other way I can give my chameleon water other than misting it because of the fact that it evaporates quickly. I also read on the internet that you should be misting your chameleon right on, should I be doing that? And could you please tell me what type of light source he should have. One more thing, he sometimes sleeps throughout the day, I heard that isn't a good thing for a chameleon to do.
I would really appreciate it if you could tell me the answers to these because of care about my chameleon so much, and do not want anything to happen to him.

You're welcome for the reply.

Do you see him drink when you mist the cage? You can use a dripper for him as long as he's not too small.

Is it Minerall O or I? I dust my insects with a calcium powder almost every time I feed my veileds when they are that age and I dust twice a month with a vitamin/mineral powder. I also dust them twice a month with a calcium/D3 powder because my chameleons don't get any sunlight.

I use a repti-sun 5.0 UVB light on them and an incandescent as a basking light. I have never used a 75w exo-terra night glo spot lamp...so I can't say if they are good or not.

Veileds can tolerate less humidity than recommended as long as they drink well.

You said..."I also read on the internet that you should be misting your chameleon right on, should I be doing that?" for young chameleons, I never mist them directly...I just mist the cage and plants. And could you please tell me what type of light source he should have. I always use real non-toxic plants that have been well-washed (both sides of the leaves). Plants help to keep the humidity up too.

You said..."One more thing, he sometimes sleeps throughout the day, I heard that isn't a good thing for a chameleon to do"...its often a sign of a health issue.

Do you gutload the insects?

Here are some sites that will give you some more information...
http://adcham.com/
http://adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/

You said..."I would really appreciate it if you could tell me the answers to these because of care about my chameleon so much, and do not want anything to happen to him."...that's good to hear! I like to see people love their pets that much!

I will be glad to answer any other questions that I can for you!