Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Henry, my 2 1/2 year old male Veiled chameleon had to get most of his toungue cut off and it now is practically a stick... he has had toungue problems in the past like it has gotten stuck out twice and then we got it to go back in. but no one(peopople at the reptile store and this forum) said we should get him looked over by the vet..... a few days ago we found him on the ground of his outdoor cage, with his toungue stuck out and swollen and he was thrashing. we used to let him just lick the food from our fingers, we didnt let him zap the food or chase it ever since his toungue got injured. we tryed everything we have done before but it wouldnt work so we took him in and although they said he was in great health and his calcium levels were slightly above good, they couldnt get his tougue back on the bone so they amputated it and now its only a inch and a half long and is stiff as a stick and useless. the problem isnt hand feeding him, i always used to do that, its giving him his antibiotics by mouth and this calcium liquid stuff. without a normal toungue he cant even get the flowers or crickets down his mouth, he just chomps them and goes forward and trys his hardest but cant get them down... its so frustrating i cant stand it.. so we injected the medicine in mealworms and we made him look up so it would be easier to swallow and he swallowed them whole. but the other medicine cant be injected it has to go in his mouth but he rtefuses to open so we try poring it ona mealworm or cricket but its soo hard he cant swallow im soo freaking out. now i have to do it everyday after school and GOD i dont know how he will be able to swallow anythnig with medicine or what.. i need suggestions on what could help to get him to learn how to eat without a toungue or giving him his medicine. oh we also have to give him water 2 times daily with a saringe squirter thing and yesterday when we gave him water he choked and choked and his toungue came out and he weezed i i just couldnt stand it im afraid to give him water wen i get home today. now everday aftewr school i have to try this all on my own, hold him, openm oyuth to give medicine, give him water and hope he doesnt choke...maybe my freind can help. and you cant say "o you shouldnt have him if hes too much work and stress" becuase we never knew this would happen after almost 3 years. help appreciated im gwetting totally stressed i dont know if we should just put him out of his misery or how to getb hyim to learn to eat. sigh

First...that's a terrible ordeal to have to go through!!! How long ago did he have the surgery?
I am all too aware of that horrible anxious feeling of watching them struggle, and not knowing what to do!

I have a male veiled, 2 yrs old. He has not eaten on his own (except two isolated incidents) since March of this year.
I to have been force feeding him, and using a syringe to give him his water.

For a while, I was forcing the crickets and mealies into his mouth...sometimes he would spit them out, other times they would go down. ALL the time it was a fight! Stressful for him, stressful for me.

For about a month now I have been feeding him Fluker Farms Repta-Aid, for insectivores. It comes in a powder form, and you mix it to the proper consistancy you need, based on your chams current health condition. It provides nutrition, and hydration, plus you could mix his meds right into it.

Zoe loves the stuff! He sits with his head up, waiting for his next taste.
The BIG difference is, Zoe has a tongue. So, you would really have to experiment with the thickness until you get it right for your guy.
I've found that if you place your fingers (thumb one side, index finger on the other) on either side of thier mouths, right at the hinge, and apply very gentle pressure, after a very short time Zoe will open his mouth...first a tiny bit, and then slightly wider when I don't let go. I can then get a taste of his food into his mouth, and from there, he does it on his own.

After I give him a feeding of repta-aid, I then give him his water, also by syringe. Just to help clear his mouth of the left over food, and to make sure I know he's getting enough water.

Even with the water, he will drink until he has had enough...then he just closes his mouth. Of course I continue to try...just to be SURE...but this is when he will usually start to resist me. Then I know he's done.

The only thing I guess I would be concerned about...is you wouldn't want to make the repta-aid taste bad because of the meds, and put him off of the repta-aid because of it. Maybe do a small mixture of the medicated food...get that into him, and then "reward" him with the yummy UNmedicated food.

Keep a close eye on him now after aspirating some fluid...in case of a respiratory infection.

I know it's hard to watch them struggle...but keep up the great work and dedication.
Give it a little bit of time, to see if he can manage on his own.
He just might.

Good luck, and hugs to you both!
-----
Kim

you reeally made me feel better about this. He has been doing better since the post and im hoping he will adapt to this.

I had a female lose her tongue after surgery. She was calcuim deficent, and it just hng limp till she swallowed it. there was NOT TONGUE left, JUST the hyoid spike. She was able to survive for over a year. and died of other causes. If you can feed him, he should be ok. They will be able to swallow even without their tongue. the hard part is water, since he can't lick, he needs it sprayed/dripped, shot into his mouth. Being that he's a veild, he can go longer without water, so you wont have to stress s much(if that happened with a deremensis or melleri, It'd be like raising a baby bird, watering it 2-3 times a day.)Eventually, he may learn to go bearded dragon and eat from a bowl with his jaws-I have seen this, but my female needed to be hand fed.
good luck