Eating Dirt ? ?

[Jeremy l]

i put my panther out for some sun a little while ago while i was doing some patio cleaning. i turned around and had noticed him in the potting soil taking a bite of it. i ran over to him and placed him back up in the tree and kept him from going back down to the bottom.
Now i am using 100% organic potting soil and i actually just replaced all the soil last night. im not worried about the soil being contaminated, but i am wondering why he would do that.

jeremy

 

[Justin Carl]

It's called, pica.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/search.php?searchid=219853

 

[Gizmo]

Hi Jeremy,
I'm only recently back on the boards here so others may have more current info for you.. With that disclaimer, I'll note that its more common than not for chameleons to eat dirt on occassion, and noone seems to have answered the "why?" definitively. Intuitively we might suspect there are micronutrients and/or minerals in soil that are important, nutrients that a free ranging chameleon striking free ranging insects would likely get. Last year, faced with the same ??, I learned a little bit about humic acid, which results from decaying matter and gives soil its brown color and has a major effect on how molecules move around living systems. I got a bag of organic composted leaves from the garden center and put about a tablespoon in a small jar lid on the bottom of each of my three chams' cages. It wasn't ten minutes before one of them was on the cage floor eating big mouthfuls of it -- just like a ravenous dog -- and the second was striking big gobs of it from the lowest available perch. The third seemed entirely disinterested. Not sure what to conclude from that but now they all get a helping of leaf compost 2x per month (I sift out any debris -- tiny twigs, etc. -- that pose any risk of impaction). Personally, I'd love to see soil analyses from the various cham species' home ranges -- it is high/low in specific trace minerals? Maybe some of the folks who collect the WCs or lead the trips to places like Madagascar (e.g., Bob Love) could fetch some soil samples back with them some time. Meawhile, if you're topsoil is free of debris, chemical fertilizers, etc., then I wouldn't worry.

 

[Jeremy l]

well thats good news, i was just confused as to why he did that. i have never seen him eat sil since i have had him.

thanks guys

jeremy

 

[Cainschams]

Hi Jeremy,
I'm only recently back on the boards here so others may have more current info for you.. With that disclaimer, I'll note that its more common than not for chameleons to eat dirt on occassion, and noone seems to have answered the "why?" definitively. Intuitively we might suspect there are micronutrients and/or minerals in soil that are important, nutrients that a free ranging chameleon striking free ranging insects would likely get. Last year, faced with the same ??, I learned a little bit about humic acid, which results from decaying matter and gives soil its brown color and has a major effect on how molecules move around living systems. I got a bag of organic composted leaves from the garden center and put about a tablespoon in a small jar lid on the bottom of each of my three chams' cages. It wasn't ten minutes before one of them was on the cage floor eating big mouthfuls of it -- just like a ravenous dog -- and the second was striking big gobs of it from the lowest available perch. The third seemed entirely disinterested. Not sure what to conclude from that but now they all get a helping of leaf compost 2x per month (I sift out any debris -- tiny twigs, etc. -- that pose any risk of impaction). Personally, I'd love to see soil analyses from the various cham species' home ranges -- it is high/low in specific trace minerals? Maybe some of the folks who collect the WCs or lead the trips to places like Madagascar (e.g., Bob Love) could fetch some soil samples back with them some time. Meawhile, if you're topsoil is free of debris, chemical fertilizers, etc., then I wouldn't worry.

I think that would be a great Idea. All my chams have access to soil and only 2 of the males eat it. One is 1 1/2 years and the other around 6 months. I let mine eat all they want

 

[ciafardo 4]

check out daves thread called substrate for chams he has done quite a bit of research on this matter

 

[Dave Weldon]

check out daves thread called substrate for chams he has done quite a bit of research on this matter

Howdy,
Which thread might that be ? This one by Dyesub Dave?:https://www.chameleonforums.com/substrate-chameleons-15108/

Luckykarma reminded me about this thread from a few months ago: https://www.chameleonforums.com/eating-soil-4253/

 

[spatulars]

I'm really glad to read this thread and the threads that Dave supplied links to, I have been having the same "problem" with my chameleon. He wants dirt to the point that he moves the rocks I put on top of the soil and then goes to town. I didn't know it was such a widespread behavior. I'm glad to read that it's probably not due to diet deficiencies. I implemented a much more widely varied diet when I first found out he was eating dirt, but he continues to this day.