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First off my cham is a 1 1/2 year old jackson's male. Temps around 80 at day with basking spot and a drop to 70 degrees at night. Humidity might be a little low since we started running the heater in the house a few weeks ago. He eats about 4 adult crickets a day and drinks for about 10 - 15 min. every day.

It seems he can't shoot his tongue any further then about 2 inches its like it hits the end of his tongue distance. It hasn't discouraged his diet any. But, it sure has me worried. He doesn't appear to to be dehydrated and his tongue doesn't appear to be swallowen. Is this a early sign of MBD or what? What can i do? Anyone else out there had or have this problem?

THANKS in advance.
Kaz

A couple of ideas. What are your gutloads, supplements/dusts, and how often do you use them? Often times tongue problems are nutritional. Also, if he's feeding out of a bowl he could be losing muscle tone in the tongue. Offer him some flying insects to hunt. Check to see if he has any signs of mouth rot or infections. There is a vet article on tongues on www.adcham.com that might give ideas too.

I haven't been using gutloads in my crix. I guess i should start. And i use HERP CARE cricket dust once every other month. I hand feed him. And there are no signs of mouth rot or other infections.

OK, there are probably some vitamin deficiencies going on. There is a great gutload recipe posted on www.adcham.com you should at least read. Also if you prefer to get some ready made there is a basically good gutload available from www.herpnutrition.com plus a lot of great nutritional info. At the very minimum you should get your insects a few days before you need them and feed them with fresh dark leafy greens (not spinach or broccoli), orange and other fruits for moisture, and fortified cereal grains like Total (crushed up). Again, calcium/mineral dust about once a week, and if you use one of these good gutloads you won't need to add vitamin dust more than once a month. Also, to help him metabolize the nutrients faster give him some time outdoors if the weather permits. This will really perk him up too. Also, a series of nutrition articles posted on www.chameleonnews.com that will help. Hope he gets better soon!

Kaz-

You will want to gutload your feeders with a good quality gutload like www.cricketfood.com . All chameleons eat different way some like to get close to there food and some don't care they just shoot there tongue when in range. Cup feeding may cause tongue problems because the tongue muscles are not being stretched, and are always eating at the same distance. Jackson's are easily over supplemented with dust, so a good gutlaoding is recommended not so much as dusting like with the veileds and panthers. You will want to supplement once a week with calcium/D3 and no more then twice a month with vitamins. Your chameleon is over a year and has already done most of its growing. ALL FEEDERS MUST BE GUTLOADED. Hope this helps!
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