Eating soil

[Terp]

I have noticed my 2 month old veiled Terp has been eating potting soil from the Pothos in his enclosure. I plan on getting some larger rocks tomorrow to cover the soil so he can't do this anymore. I haven't noticed any problems with him yet but have read that soil eating can increase the risk of impaction. Are there any common symptoms I should be looking out for? He has still been eating normally ( 4 bsfl 3 superworms and a hornworm) today and all feeders have been dusted with calcium w/o d3. I see that some people have indicated soil eating may be due to missing certain minerals so should I be changing the feeders he is getting to curb this desire? All The soil in his pots is peat based with some smaller soft pieces of bark in there though.

 

[Beman]

Just make sure you cover the dirt with larger river rock. You can get this at most craft stores and sometimes pet stores. It does increase the risk of impaction. Just watch his stools and urates to makes sure they are normal.

I just want to double check how much you are feeding each day... Are you only feeding 8 feeders a day total? If so you will want to let your 2 month old eat as many small crickets as they can at that age. It is not until about 3 months that you want to drop the total feeder number back to about 15-20 a day. If your veiled is in fact 2 months old that would make him or her a neonate so it is really important that they are eating quite a bit. Here is the care sheet to look over to double check your husbandry https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

If you would like people to check everything then fill out this with as much detail as possible and provide pics of the light down to the bottom of the cage.
Chameleon Info:

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• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
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• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
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• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
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[iMi]

A widely held assumption is that they eat dirt to get some nutrients they may be missing. Here's what I would personally recommend. Offer him collared greens, veggies, fruit. Finely cut. Also, gut feed his feeders the same diet of fruit, veggies and a good commercial feeder and he'll most likely stop eating dirt.

I love hornworms and feed more than recommended. They are rich in calcium and help keep him hydrated. Staying hydrated will also reduce chances of impaction. So, that's a plus.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Good advice!^