can silkworm silk get impacted??

andymcballer · Apr 17, 2014

I know that on here I've read in several places, the proper setup for having potted plants in your enclosure is to put river rocks over the dirt, because chameleons (especially younger guys) can be a little sloppy when they shoot at a bug, and if the bug is in dirt, the cham can pull some dirt in with the bug, and then it can get "impacted" or what not, and that im not sure what it is, but it sounds really bad so i try to avoid it if at all possible. I imagine it's what it sounds like, the dirt or tree bark gets stuck in their belly/intestines. So i finally got my silkworm pod in. It was a learning experience for both of us, because there was poop EVERYWHERE in the little pod, and also SILK everywhere. i pulled a silkie out to feed him, and 3 more came with it [because the silk is sticky] after seperating them, and getting as much silk off of the one i planned to feed as i could i put him in the cage. and when he ate it, there was a 2 inch line of string/silk stickin out his mouth that he had a little trouble figuring out how to get it down. he eventually did though. He used his tongue to slurp it down like a sphaghetti noodle.

ANYWAYS. my question is, is that silk dangeerous? i've read that it's modified saliva..so it shouldn't be...but i just wanna make sure that it cant get impacted like dirt or tree bark or what not. So if anybody has any thoughts on this please let a new chameleon owner know!

Thanks,

Andy M.