eating pot soil?
- Thread starter John33871
- Start date
pohchunyee
Avid Member
Sometimes Chameleon eating potting soil to get some mineral lacks in their diet. Crocodiles and some birds ate pebbles and small stones to help food digestion. My Veiled Chameleon sometime does ate some potting soil too. I have them for so long and they seems fine.
royden
New Member
I experienced this recently too.
The long and short of it, is that some people believe they do it on purpose or their may be some digestive purpose behind it, like iguana's that eat gravel.
But you need to take that thought with caution because eating soil can cause impaction! So make sure you're soil is clean and free of fertilizer.
The other thing you could do is cover the soil with some kind of screen or mesh that blocks the access. I will actually be doing this with my pothos.
The long and short of it, is that some people believe they do it on purpose or their may be some digestive purpose behind it, like iguana's that eat gravel.
But you need to take that thought with caution because eating soil can cause impaction! So make sure you're soil is clean and free of fertilizer.
The other thing you could do is cover the soil with some kind of screen or mesh that blocks the access. I will actually be doing this with my pothos.
John33871
New Member
alright, thats what the Kammer's said also, just wanted a second opinion. he has just been doing it for a while and i have atleast 15 crickets roaming around the his cage at anytime. i just dont understand why he doesn't go after the crickets. the Kammer's also told me to adjust the temps and i did, and he as been eating since. he doesn't eat as much as other people's baby veiled were eating. today i have only seen him eat 5 but could be more. there is poop in the cage so he must be eating. i think im just worrying to much about little things. anyways thanks for the comments
pohchunyee
Avid Member
My 3 months old veiled ate like 15 - 20 crickets a day. What an Obese chap~~
pohchunyee
Avid Member
cup feed..............2 of my chameleon both veiled become lazy and forget how to shoot its tongue. Then I figure out by getting a very very deep cup...so the rest of my chameleon actually didn't loose its touch
Dean Pulcini
Avid Member
Eating dirt is a mineral deficiency give him a little more vitamins in his diet. You can also feed the insects the vitamins. I cup feed baby chameleons and free range the adults it stimulates them and makes them use their tongues. Eating 5 crickets a day is more then enough thats 35 a week, you cant expect him to eat 10 to 15 every day.
Jordan
New Member
No one really know why they eat soil. I suppose it could be seeking out minerals, could be for hydration or it is possible they are just exploring the parameters of their enviroment. I use to eat dirt too. No actual reason just curious I guess.
There are a couple things about soil that are probable sources for impaction. Perlite and sticks are about the only things that can be found in soil that seems like reasonable sources for impactions from soil. The actual soil itself seems rather unlikely to cause impaction. I say remove the worries from the soil and let the chameleon do whatever it is that pleases them.
There are a couple things about soil that are probable sources for impaction. Perlite and sticks are about the only things that can be found in soil that seems like reasonable sources for impactions from soil. The actual soil itself seems rather unlikely to cause impaction. I say remove the worries from the soil and let the chameleon do whatever it is that pleases them.
