Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever heard of a chameleon trying to eat it's tail?

Have you seen it actually chewing on the tail? The only reason I can think of is that the cham is in pain and is chewing out of frustration. Was there an earlier injury or any problem with using the tail? If you are just seeing an injury possibly you have free roaming crix chewing on the cham at night. It does happen.

Thank you. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong and he is fed enough. There is a possibility that there was a cricket in there. I never would have thought about that. He eats like crazy so I put about in at a time. I thought he was getting them all. I'll be sure to check harder in the future.

So there isn't an actual injury to his tail? If there is any kind of scab or sore that could be evidence that a cricket bit him. Free ranging crickets is a risk not only because they bite, but also because they end up eating and walking around in cham poo, bacteria and molds in the cage and because anything you gutloaded them with can be long gone before the cham actually catches them. I know I don't want my chams eating that stuff. If you don't want to confine them to a small feeding cup (which can lead to boredom and loss of tongue muscle condition) there's a better way. Get a plastic box like a Critter Keeper or a shoebox and put fresh gutload in it along with the crix. Wedge the box in the potted plants or someplace in the cage where your cham can climb down to the rim of the box and shoot them from there. At the end of the day you can put the uneaten crix back in their own container. You can keep better track of what your cham is eating that way too.

Yeah, there is no injury whatsoever. He is flawless. I will try harder to make sure all of the crickets are out, but if it wasn't an injury that caused him to try to eat it, and I mean eat is, not just bite it, than I have no idea.

Maybe ya should take him to the vet..It's not normal and if he keeps doing it,he might make his tail useless which is one of their most important body parts since they use it for soo much..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
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