I just caught my chameleon Mahasen eating dirt from the dragon tree pot she is on , I think this is not the first time she does it because I've seen her going down and staring at the dirt I was thinking she would do it when she wants food , knowing I've fed her two hours ago 1 giant mealworm dusted with calcium without vitamin D3 and 4 crickets, dripped water for her she didn't drink and misted her area , I usually feed her wheatgrass she loves it and I don't use calicum with V D3 , and sometimes I dust her food with reptil vitamins why she is eating dirt ???
Chameleon eating dirt !!
- Thread starter Farrah
- Start date
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Nobody seems to know why they do this. I've heard in search of minerals most ofen. What kind of soil do you have? If there's no large chunks, fertilizer, rocks or sticks to be choked on, it should be no problem. Assuming she is hydrated and in good health... also I wouldn't feed mealworms, at all.
the soil is the potting soil it has some dry chunks of some plants ( I heard a crunching sound when she ate it ) , I give her mealworm because I just can't deal with dusting a cricket , I've just came up with a new method of feeding her crickets without having to handle them (I know you would be laughing now) what do you feed your cham?
I would guess its minerals. Dogs will eat their poop for this reason. as for the meal worms... are we talking giant mealworms (regular mealworm that was hormone treated or super worms which are similar looking species but way bigger? Most cham keepers say either no mealworms or very few. Some are now saying that a few mealworms are good for them. I dont remember the exact reason but something to do with the chitton actually cleaning them out. but I don't remember how many or how often. Super worms are a great addition to the diet but not as the main diet. 20 years ago pretty much all that was available was crickets and super worms. A box of crickets last me 10 - 11 days and I would feed super worms for the next 3-4 days until a new box of crickets arrived. But that is old hat and I dont think anyone would recommend feeding them for 4 days straight. I feed supers as an occasional treat. matter of fact, I havn't fed them in at least a month. I need to get some next time i'm in town.
I don't have that many roaches but that is a great variety. I would like to add stick bugs to the list of great feeders.
from where you get these varieties?
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Roaches I've gotten from members here, fullthrottle feeders, and a few other random places. The rest I mainly get from Josh's frogs or people here that breed silkworms.
@NickTide I figure there's a lot of chitin with roaches/crickets/supers/etc. I don't think mealworms will impact a health chameleon like some people say, but more of the fact that they're are pretty useless. Like eating nothing, but insoluble fiber.
@NickTide I figure there's a lot of chitin with roaches/crickets/supers/etc. I don't think mealworms will impact a health chameleon like some people say, but more of the fact that they're are pretty useless. Like eating nothing, but insoluble fiber.
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