Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so my guy is recouping from the dehydration and he's looking quite a bit better. His appetite is returning and the other day he was eager to eat the supers again. Only thing was he has a new symptom I haven't seen before. He went after the supers pretty eagerly and with each one he had to shoot his tongue out 2 times before he'd get it. He used to just do it once and from a great distance he'd still have great accuracy. It was like he'd miss or his tongue wouldn't stick to the bug or something. Is this a residual coordination loss due to the dehydration and hunger or are there some other possible explanations? He'd move in closer after he'd miss the first time and the 2nd time he'd get it. Should I be worried about this? I know coordination can many times can be attributed to dehydration in Frogs but would this be an equal conclusion with Chams? Thanks-Maggie

sometimes (and this is since i got him 6 months ago) my jax will miss prey items when they are in the dish that i hold in my hand...an hour later i'll see him grab a free roaming cricket from 10 inches away so i've never worried about the occasional miss...something about my hand or that dish messes him up.

if your cham was dehydrated then i suppose the sticky-ness of the tongue would certainly be affected (gotta make saliva and that means water)

Hey you! Don't see much of you around these here parts lately!

As for the tongue thing...I find this to be true, too. I try different size containers thinking that maybe the smaller ones are too confining. Last time she shot something in a cup I think she miscalculated the distance and she slammed her tongue into it - she got the cricket, I think she mashed it to death!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

yeah i know, i don't have the time i once had (sigh)...promotion at work, searching for a new house and trying to sell this one, the kids, the wife etc...you know the story...i get home from work, feed and water the animals, watch southpark and go to bed..what a life...lol

Well thats a good point. Let see if he doesn't get better with aim as he recoups from the dehydration. Thanks-Maggie

Magsicle!!

Hiyas!! If I remember correctly, you have a Panther cham, right? I have 2 Nosy Be's that have been exhibiting the same behaviour for months now. I am pretty sure that it is not a dehydration issue with mine because they get as much water in the form of an auto misting system as my Jacksons. The jacksons are doing fine, shooting tongues everywhere with accuracy. The Nosy Be's however, seem to have to chase their crix down and eat them from up close. I had posted this question before and got no answers nor can i find any definitive info anywhere on the net about it. I am pretty sure that my husbandry is up to par with regards these guys. The only thing I can assume is that it's something inherent to the breed. I got the chams from different parents (at least as far as I could tell..they had the chams clearly marked with lineage and pics of the parents). I made sure they were not inbred.

Sooooo....what was I saying?? Oh yeah....I wish I had something helpful to add other than my similar experience with my Panthers. LOL....sorry....I seem to have geniusitis of the brain ( Lele.... Hi! ) If you do find any info related to this characteristic, I sure would love to get a share on it.
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Raf

1.2 Jacksons Adults (Frank, Patty 2, Lucille)
0.0.2 Jackson's baby
1.1 Nosy Be's (Mars and Roja)
1.1 Adult Sulcattas (POOPIE and George)
0.0.2 Baby Sulcattas (frick and frack)
1.0 Home's Hingeback Tortoise (SPEEDY)
0.0.3 Red ear slider babies (Hingis, Dingis and Dorkus)
0.0.1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle (Booger Jr)
1.0 Yellow Footed Tortoise (Alfred)
1.0 Red Siberian Husky (Harley)
0.1 Black Lab (Krissy)
0.1 English Bulldog (Alice)
0.1 Blue Merle Great Dane (Wednesday)
Saltwater Fish and Inverts too

Sure Raf, blame your lame brain on me! LOL!

Maggie...Luna does this, too (she is a veiled). She will shoot at a fly 6" away but will miss a superworm I am holding in forceps or climbing the screen. Sometimes she cocks her head like a dog and then shoots - ti's very cute She hasn't eaten for about 3 days (grr...) so I keep throwing early emerging flies just so she can stay in practice! I think all of us expect these critters to always have perfect aim (I know I did!) but nothing in nature is perfect (well, except nature itself - OK, no philosophical threads allowed). Sort of like a cat never slipping or losing its footing. Did you know that indoor cats can die from falling out windows - they don't always land on their feet and I guess chams don't always get their meal!

I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Have you named him yet??
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Hiya Lele! I think I must have been waiting for the first trimester to pass as an unconscious attempt to protect myself should the cham not make it through my newbie learning curve. Coming up on 3 months and a name is surfacing. Remember the movie "Castaway" w/ Tom Hanks? He named a volleyball Wilson after the company that made that Volleyball. This volleyball became his friend saving his sanity at a very difficult time when he was isolated from all of life w/ no promise of returning to civilization and no one that he loved knew that he was still alive. I am considering this name for the cham. He can be my Wilson. I may call him Willy for short. As you can see, I needed a meaningful name before I'd settle on it. As for the tongue thing, I am still kinda worried. Its not only the tongue but he just doesn't seem robust to me either. He can dehydrate sooooooooo easily!!! I must reevaluated the husbandry to make sure no other accidents occure again. Thanks Lele. Maggie

Hey Raf-Good to hear from you!! Well, those are interesting observations. I wonder if other Panther owners experience the same Phenomonon. The tongue thing alone probably is not a worry but my Cham doesn't seem right in other regards either. How is your zoo doin' these days?? Thanks and Good talkin' w/ ya. Maggie