Eating urates?!?

[summoner12]

So yesterday morning I see my boy Fred climb down one of his vines. I can see a large cricket on the flower pot of his ficus tree, I think he is going to snatch it up, NOPE! He just walks right past the cricket and heads for the ground floor of his condo. He pauses, looks at me watching him and snatches up a urate off the bottom of his cage! I don't know why I didn't try to stop him before he ate it. Well I figured if I find him dead he made a bad decision... but he seems fine today. Is this something veileds do?

 

[dodolah]

So yesterday morning I see my boy Fred climb down one of his vines. I can see a large cricket on the flower pot of his ficus tree, I think he is going to snatch it up, NOPE! He just walks right past the cricket and heads for the ground floor of his condo. He pauses, looks at me watching him and snatches up a urate off the bottom of his cage! I don't know why I didn't try to stop him before he ate it. Well I figured if I find him dead he made a bad decision... but he seems fine today. Is this something veileds do?

noooo..
do not ever let him eat his urate or poop anymore.
I am wondering what kind of supplement or gutloading you use?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Is this something veileds do?

Well.....
Your veiled did it...so apparently it is.
It's not going to hurt him, but if this becomes a habit of his ... you need to be a better housekeeper in the enclosure and just not allow him the option.

-Brad

 

[summoner12]

noooo..
do not ever let him eat his urate or poop anymore.
I am wondering what kind of supplement or gutloading you use?

I feed my crickets lettuce, carrots, dry cricket feed and water.

 

[dodolah]

I feed my crickets lettuce, carrots, dry cricket feed and water.

just for fun.. try to change the gutload you use for your crickets.
Lettuce is nothing but water.. (try to get something better like dandelion green or collard green).
what kind of dry cricket food you use? I use the one from cricketfood.com

and after this change, see if he still love eating his own urate.
I would be a bit concern if he keep displaying the same behavior.
Urate after all are all the toxins that are flushed out from his body. I don't like the idea of him eating back all of that.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Is it possible he thought it was something else?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Sometimes they just do stuff.
I don't think it has to do with the gut-load or even mis-interpreting his target.
They just shoot at stuff (like perlite).
Like I said, if it becomes a habit...don't give him the opportunity.

-Brad

 

[LaserGecko]

If you feed silkworms, I can see how the mistake could be made.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

True.

-Brad

 

[Vegas Chad]

What a crappy (no pun intended) mistake that would be with the sticky toung and all… Going to zap what you think is a worm and then the taste of your own poo… LOL ; damn… I would think that it would not be a mistake that he would not make twice. I would hope anyhoo… haha

 

[summoner12]

Any other gut loading tips?

Urate after all are all the toxins that are flushed out from his body. I don't like the idea of him eating back all of that.

I agree.

I think this might have been a fluke occurrence. I don't have time to watch him much during the week, so I can't say for sure. The lettuce and carrots are a new gut load. Before I would just provide water and dry gut load from Rainbow. The last few days I have added carrots, lettuce and apple to the mix.

Is apple ok? I figured wet gut load is good so they are nice and juicy when my boys get to chomp down on the crix.

 

[dodolah]

I agree.

I think this might have been a fluke occurrence. I don't have time to watch him much during the week, so I can't say for sure. The lettuce and carrots are a new gut load. Before I would just provide water and dry gut load from Rainbow. The last few days I have added carrots, lettuce and apple to the mix.

Is apple ok? I figured wet gut load is good so they are nice and juicy when my boys get to chomp down on the crix.

If it is just that one incident, then i wouldn't worry about it.
but if it's habitual, then you got something weird going on.

apple's good. if your cham love it, he can also be given a slice of apple once in a while.

 

[summoner12]

I did start them on some silk worms this week.

If you feed silkworms, I can see how the mistake could be made.

haha ya know what? I just had a sample from Mulberry Farms with my cricket order. The boys LOVED the worms. I would give them about 4 or 5 each, each day. How many should I give them?

But the urate Fred ate wasn't long like a worm.. it was flat. I dunno, whatever, he seems to be ok. He took a shower this morning and was out and about when I was home for lunch. I'll look at him in the morning. Good thinking LaserGecko!