Help please

[richpass6]

so i was checking out my chameleon and i notice he had crawled down onto the bas of a parlor palm i have and startign eating dead leaves and soil im guessing..? i saw him shoot for the soil and picked up a piec eof somethign and before he was chewing on something. do they do this often? what does it mean?? he has food in the cage and he gets plenty of water..

 

[jannb]

You need to keep the dead leaves out of the cage and cover the soil with very large river rocks.

 

[richpass6]

ok im going to do that now... why would ge go down there and start munching on crap that has fallin off the plants? ive never heard of this.

 

[jannb]

If you have veiled.....they do it allot and it could cause them to become impacted.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

ok im going to do that now... why would ge go down there and start munching on crap that has fallin off the plants? ive never heard of this.

Panther I am guessing?

Yeah , they do that. I have caught mine doing it a few times. I have seen it more when they are young. Curiousity, stupidity who knows?

I never had an issue, but like Jann said...

 

[pssh]

Eating dead leaves and live leaves is normal, though I'd try to keep the dead leaves out. Cover the dirt with river rocks. I've caught Pan eating a few dead leaves that he got to before I could clean it up. It's pretty normal for veileds and occationally an oddball panther.

 

[draetish]

My Panther does it too every so often. I make sure the plant doesn't have any small debris or pebbles that he could get impacted with and the soil is just plain dirt. It hasn't caused any problems and I've had him 6 months. I think it might have something to do with their digestive system. As long as he is not munching down on it, I wouldn't worry. Again, make sure it is clean.

 

[richpass6]

especially when i have all of his nessecities... he is still young (5 month nosey be panther) and i understand things like him being afraid of me. but i have never heard of this and what would cause it. can someone please give me some sort of explanation

 

[Eszzie]

Veileds are known for eating plants and fruit but eating soil is mostly a sign he doesn't get enough minerals. He's trying to get minerals from the soil but that could cause him to choke too.

 

[richpass6]

ok thanks guys.. i just cleaned everything and put river rocks over the soil.. he really bugs out when i go in there.. never seen anythign so frightened before..
thanks for the help.

 

[panthercham]

ok thanks guys.. i just cleaned everything and put river rocks over the soil.. he really bugs out when i go in there.. never seen anythign so frightened before..
thanks for the help.

I see you have only had him for a few weeks, 1 of my panthers took about a month to stop getting frightened around me. Does he have a lot of privacy so that he can get used to his new environment? If not put an old towel around 2 sides of his cage....it may help him feel more secure especially if he can see people or yourself alot and help him adjust.

Some panthers do eat soil, if I had to rename mine I would call him bulldozer cos he would eat it all day long if I let him...the others have no interest in it at all

 

[shanksfaml]

heat cables???

I was wondering what you guys think about the heat cables for the chameleon cage?

 

[draetish]

ok thanks guys.. i just cleaned everything and put river rocks over the soil.. he really bugs out when i go in there.. never seen anythign so frightened before..
thanks for the help.

Try holding a cricket by the butt and slowly, ever so slowly approach him within shooting distance and just hold it, be patient and after a while I would bet he will be eating out of your hand. I think panthers are one of the most approachable chams and yes as Pantercham said, they do love dirt. I call mine "dirt boy" when he gets a chance to go for dirt and eats it like he's been starved.

 

[draetish]

Eating dead leaves and live leaves is normal, though I'd try to keep the dead leaves out. Cover the dirt with river rocks. I've caught Pan eating a few dead leaves that he got to before I could clean it up. It's pretty normal for veileds and occationally an oddball panther.

Pssh, my panther is not an "oddball" btw. LOL

 

[richpass6]

ok nice. im going to try that towel thing. hopefully that will help him get cozier and even maybe he will finally take form my hand. whenever i try, he runs away and starts freaking out