Cham chewing on vines..

[jenstar]

So I caught my cham trying to gnaw on the end of one of the fake vines today. He stopped when I opened his cage. It's too big and strong for him to bite a piece off of it. Is that normal?

 

[carol5208]

yes sometimes they will chew on things. Mine used to chew on the tails of these big fake toucans I have hanging out in my tiki bar!! lol!. He stopped, so I don't quite know what the reason was before for him doing it. As long as you don't think he can't bite a hunk off and choke he should be ok.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

I have never experienced that sort of behavior in my chams but my male Sambava does lick his vines. I guess it sort of tells me he is thirsty and trying to drink so I mist and let him drink. Maybe your little guy is trying to do the same, looking for water? Or just trying to be a puppy? Lol! He should be fine as long as there are not loose pieces of wood he can injest.

 

[panthercham]

I have never experienced that sort of behavior in my chams but my male Sambava does lick his vines. I guess it sort of tells me he is thirsty and trying to drink so I mist and let him drink. Maybe your little guy is trying to do the same, looking for water? Or just trying to be a puppy? Lol! He should be fine as long as there are not loose pieces of wood he can injest.

Is he licking or tasting his vines? Its a sign he is growing up and completely normal

Check out post # 7 by Kinyonga and her links. He is checking out his territory

https://www.chameleonforums.com/tongue-dabbing-22406/

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Awesome! Lol! Thank you so much for the link. I just thought my little dude was weird.

 

[pantherlover]

As said it is normal. Some chams will eat tree bark, pebbles or soil. Nobody really knows why. There are some theories behind this behavior. Ive heard one theory that they do it to scrape out their digestive tract & pass parasites. Seeing as how wild chams carry parasites, the theory makes sense to me.

 

[jenstar]

This is all really great info.. thanks so much guys!