That's what I was wondering too Merlin.

Mack...what about water? Dehydration could cause this, and of course a very good possibility he injured it catching food.

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Val

http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org

To my knowledge Metabolic Bone Disease does not affect the tongue and could be unrelated. Metabolic Bone Disease has been found in Veiled Chams even when the animal has been cared for correctly, it has been postulated that inbreeding or poor care of the parents could be a cause. This comes from Linda Davison's book Chameleons Their Care and Breeding.

Mouthrot could cause swelling around the mouth and might cause the problem but from my reading I get the impression that an injury is likely the problem. Apart from the cham not eating, one main concern would be tissue death from the tongue drying out.

Is the Vet you took the cham to a Herp Vet? I found that a fair number of non-herp vets use Metabolic Bone Disease as a catch all for chams problems.

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0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

Yes, I have to agree, I don't see how Metabolic Bone Disease could affect the tongue. It is far more likely to be an injury or dehydration - how humid do you keep the enclosure? Do you have a water bowl? How often do you mist?

Secondly it could be due to illness,. you really need a good specialist herp vet to take a look, as said, tongue injuries can be fatal.

Noone was trying to call you stupid, just checking how you have him housed,. many people think it's ok to house chams together etc,. we are just trying to help.

A decent vet should be administering some kind of antibiotics or other treatment, insist they do something as they have the right training to do so, there's nothing that you can do. Good luck, please let us know what the second vet says.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Well, we made the hr and a half drive to my regular vet today. He does not have Metabolic Bone Disease as I thought, what he does have is an infection behind his eye which is causing his eye to swell when he pulls his tongue in. But it makes it look like his tongue is swelled because he lets it hang out to take the pressure off of his eye. Im so glad that its not as serious as I thought it was. I am injecting wax worms with batryil to get his med. into him without stressing him out too much. Dr. Harris says he should be better in a couple of weeks and that he is growing and looking very healthy otherwise. Thank you all for your input, care, help, and ideas .

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My kids:

1.0 box turtle
0.1 red foot tortoise
1.0 red eared slider
5.5 bearded dragons
2.8.6 leopard geckos
2.2 cats
1.0 husband
?.? on the way

Good deal! At least now you know what you are dealing with! The not knowing is maddening!
Did the vet have any idea what caused the infection?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

mackzbaby,

Glad to hear that you finally have an answer that makes sense and that everything should turn out ok! Keep up the good work.

Steve

I'm pleased to hear it is not anything more serious and that he should recover. Do you ever give your cham a shower? Some people advise giving one once a week. It allows the cham a chance to keep well hydrated and wash his eyes. It's something to consider.

__________________
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

The vet said that he got the eye infection just like people get ear infections, it sometimes just happens. I do mist him everyday, not directly on him, but he does get little drops on him. So he can cleanse his eyes and get humidity. He is looking a lot better this morning so we are on the right track.

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My kids:

1.0 box turtle
0.1 red foot tortoise
1.0 red eared slider
5.5 bearded dragons
2.8.6 leopard geckos
2.2 cats
1.0 husband
?.? on the way

Congratulations, what a relief!! I'm so glad that you found out the REAL problem (that other vet didn't sound too great -- this one was definitely worth the trip!!) I'm happy to hear that the problem is not only treatable, but also that it already seems to be getting better!

Keep us posted on the little guy's progress!

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Andrea

Hi I am new here and just doing a little research and found myself here reading this - Tounge injuries have nothing to do with Metabolic Bone Disease well I just read this article http://www.geocities.com/chamjacksonii/trouble.html
And I wanted to let you peps know that. Sorry to bring up an old one but I had to. Thanks I had to post that.