Biting /trying to eat paper towels

[EarlMT]

I just witnessed my male veiled trying to eat the paper towels at the bottom of his enclosure. I got up and went over to kind of scare/startle him and got him to quit. Any idea why he would do this??? He's also been not showing as much interest in food the last two days He usually eats about 17 insects (consisting of roaches crickets and hornworms) plus or minus a few. He now has only eaten about 8-10 insects a day. He's about 5 months old!
Thanks!

 

[nightanole]

You do realize they need some veggies too. Id get a chip clip and clip some iguana approved leaves to it for him to munch on.
http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

And i would remove any substrate. its not needed and just creates mold and a place for the feeders to hide.

 

[tenchijin]

When I first started keeping chameleons it was not well known that veileds like veggies, at least outside of the "in crowd" which I wasn't a part of. I had a plantain lily in his cage, and I could never understand why the flower never bloomed. I realized one day it was because he was actually eating it. I eventually noticed perfect triangle shaped cuts missing from various leaves. Then I did some research and found out they like to eat plants.
So, moral of the story: he'll eat anything, so be mindful and supply him with some veggies!

 

[EarlMT]

When I first started keeping chameleons it was not well known that veileds like veggies, at least outside of the "in crowd" which I wasn't a part of. I had a plantain lily in his cage, and I could never understand why the flower never bloomed. I realized one day it was because he was actually eating it. I eventually noticed perfect triangle shaped cuts missing from various leaves. Then I did some research and found out they like to eat plants.
So, moral of the story: he'll eat anything, so be mindful and supply him with some veggies!

What type of veggies do you guys recommend? He used to eat his pothos but hasn't in a long time. Also I use the paper towels primarily to absorb all the water from misting because I have his cage on a glass table and probably couldn't drill holes through it for drainage.

 

[nightanole]

What type of veggies do you guys recommend? He used to eat his pothos but hasn't in a long time. Also I use the paper towels primarily to absorb all the water from misting because I have his cage on a glass table and probably couldn't drill holes through it for drainage.

http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

anything on this list that he will eat.

 

[Crashbandit05]

I use a 'baker's rack' for my chameleon stand. Then I was able to drill holes through the PVC bottom and use a plastic tub to collect the water. Maybe you could find a gently used one on Craigslist or something.

 

[kinyonga]

If your chameleon is trying to eat the paper towel I'd get the paper towel out of there before your chameleon succeeds and ends up impacted.

 

[EarlMT]

If your chameleon is trying to eat the paper towel I'd get the paper towel out of there before your chameleon succeeds and ends up impacted.

Do you guys think that a shot glass would work to put vegetables in? Or do you think I should get a little chip bag clip to hang stuff from?

 

[EarlMT]

http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

anything on this list that he will eat.

What are your Chams favorite veggies from the list?

 

[nightanole]

What are your Chams favorite veggies from the list?

Odd... Mine is not on the list. Blueberries. For leaves, that would be collard greens/ baby spinach. Oddly mine do not like mustard greens, they take one bite, and only one bite...

I did have one that liked to eat pasta if i noodled it through a peg board to make it look like a worm

 

[Angelwolf]

A shot glass can fall, break, and/or hurt him. And he will probably pull out 1 leaf and get 10 which will fall to the floor to rot. Chip clip to a vine works for me.

 

[kinyonga]

I use peanut butter jar lids and sit them on the floor of the cage. That way the free ranging insects can be constantly gutloaded and the chameleon eats the veggies and greens too. I also impale some things on a branch...like a slice of apple for instance.

Go easy on the spinach...it can bind calcium.

 

[EarlMT]

I use peanut butter jar lids and sit them on the floor of the cage. That way the free ranging insects can be constantly gutloaded and the chameleon eats the veggies and greens too. I also impale some things on a branch...like a slice of apple for instance.

Go easy on the spinach...it can bind calcium.

Cool thanks guys! Any tips or advice to get him to try the veggies? Or will he just smell them and start eating?