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A few months ago our female veiled choked on a raspberry. We had them cut into small pieces, but she grabbed a whole mouthful! I just thought she was being a pig until a few minutes later when she started to turn dark around her eyes and started losing her grip on the branch. My husband took her out and tried to get her to open her mouth, and she wouldn't. He finally got her mouth open and I pulled the raspberry out with tweezers. The lump of raspberry was lodged in her windpipe. After a few minutes her color began to come back and then she was right as rain. It now seems that her tongue isn't working right. When she does hit the crickets, they don't seem to be sticking to her tongue. We do feed her worms and veggies out of a cup. Could this have caused this problem? I've also read this could be caused by dehydration, but we mist her cage about 4 times a day and she drinks every time. We're going to make an appointment with the vet, but would appreciate any input from you more experienced keepers. Thanks again!

You may have a drier climate in her cage than you realize. What is the air humidity in the cage between sprayings? If there is not enough leaf surface and potting soil to hold enough moisture after spraying the cage will dry out quite fast and dehydrate her quicker than is obvious. If she drinks eagerly every time you spray she may be telling you she does need more humidity. Yes, non-sticky tongues are often a result of long term, low level dehydration. First, get a good electronic humidity gauge from a home improvement store (for measuring room humidity) or Radio Shack. Don't use the little stick on gauges from pet shops...they aren't very reliable. Check to see what the level is during, after, and before the next spraying. It may surprise you. Next, if you find the humidity keeps dropping below 50% you'll need to find ways to raise it. Adding larger bushy plants will help, hanging clear plastic sheeting on the back and/or side of the cage will help, as will an ultrasonic room humidifier aimed right at the cage. You can cycle the unit using a simple lamp timer.

If your humidity is consistently above 70% there may be a nutitional reason behind the tongue problem. Check these sites for vet articles on cham tongues...they may give you clues to nutritional issues you may have.

http://www.adcham.com
http://www.chameleonjournals.com
http://www.chameleonnews.com

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice!!! I'll go and buy a good humidity gauge tonight and give that a try. Thanks again!

Hope this helps! There are a few more subtle signs of dehydration you should know about (before eyes get sunken). Take a fold of side or belly skin between your fingers. Pull it gently and release it. If the skin stays "tented" for a few moments your cham is dehydrated. If the skin flattens out right away she's OK. Also, look at her casque. It should look slightly bulgy and full. If it is flat or concave she needs more fluids. When she drinks, if you see a lot of clear saliva forming over her lips and down her chin she's too thirsty. Most chams will tip their nose straight up and turn away from the spray when the are "full".

Thanks for your advice. Just went to Radio Shack and bought a digital thermometer and hygrometer. Our humidity is only at 51% even after I mist. There is a reptile show in town this weekend and I'm going to buy one of those programmable misters and also look for a bushier schefflera. I already have the back of the cage covered in fabric, but I'm going to put a piece of plastic in between the screen and the fabric and see if that helps. The cage needs to be between 60-80% humidity, right? Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it.

Either a mister or a $40 ultrasonic room humidifier will help a lot. I often use clear vinyl shower curtain liners for my cage backs. They can be easily trimmed to fit, aren't very obvious, are washable, and cheap! All those things should help quite a bit. I think you'll see your cham drink less and generally look plumper with smoother skin and better colors too. Good luck!