Eating sand!!!

[AgentP77]

I put a new laying bin in my chams cage today and she will not stop eating the sand!! is this gonna kill her ive heard things about impaction and im worried

 

[kinyonga]

It will depend on the type of sand whether or not it will cause her a problem...trouble is that you may not know until it happens. If the sand seems to be coming out in the feces then it might be okay. Does she get enough calcium?

 

[AgentP77]

yea she gets calcium everyday then calcium with d3 and multi vitamins twice a month

 

[blackhawk]

Is she hydrated? Perhaps she is eating the sand for the water content.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

I am certainly no expert in this area , but could you switch it over to some type of organic soil such as Eco-earth or peatmoss?

If i am not mistaken those have a lesser risk of impaction.

I'm paranoid about impaction on my reptiles therefore i only use peatmoss ( an organic soil, not an actual moss) and occasionally mix in Eco-earth soil. this way its all biodegradable and i would assume digestible

 

[KylieT]

This might not be the same principle but when humans are anemic many of them will crave dirt, chalk, ice and other inedible substances, could this be the same thing? Can chameleons be anemic?

 

[AgentP77]

well she gets misted every two hours so i dont think she dyhydrated also her fecal has been fine and normal. idk about the anemic? hmmmmm
i might try mixing the sand with this eco earth stuff since ive had it since i got her until i found out it shouldnt be on the bottom of the cage

 

[DekuScrub]

ive always used a sand soil mix for egg laying substrate.

you could try covering the surface with some coconut fiber. im sure that wouldnt feel very good in her mouth. nor taste like....whatever it is she likes about sand.