Do they "taste/sample" with their tongue?

[johnnytrad]

When i hold him sometimes he sticks his tongue out and touches my skin with it...like he is sampling it to see what it is or if its edible. is this normal?
do they like snakes sample their surroundings by use of their tongue?

 

[catUK]

Yeah they taste things with their tongue. Its completely normal

One sense they have developed quite a bit more than humans is their sense of taste. Their tongue in particular is unique. The tip is adhesive, so that they can draw in their food easily with the stickiness of it. They also actually taste their surroundings with their tongue to 'see' what is going on, in a watered down method of how snakes do the same thing. What is actually going on is that they have a Jacobson Organ on the roof of their mouth that allow them to smell/taste really really well with it.