Help why is she eating the dirt in her egg laying bin?

[photogurl247]

Hi everyone Im hoping someone can give me some insight to this. We set up an egg laying pot in the cage since she had been going down to the bottom a lot. She is around the age to start laying eggs (she is a veiled btw) but she has not layed yet. Everyday she goes down to the pot and we caught her 2 times what looks to me like she is eating the dirt. Please help

 

[kinyonga]

It's thought that they do this due to a nutrient deficiency. It's important that you make sure the substrate won't cause an impaction. For many many years I have used a washed playsand produced by Kings that comes in a white bag with red, yellow and blue sand box toys on it because it has always passed through the chameleons that ate it.

 

[photogurl247]

We have a very fine dirt that is from our forest. We live in a place that pollution and chemicals are far less if any as well. What could she be lacking? She has also been poo-ing everyday so it seems to be passable

 

[kinyonga]

Can't tell you for sure what she is looking for but it could be calcium. How do you supplement her? What do you feed/gutload the insects with? Please be specific.

 

[photogurl247]

We dust our insects w calcium,d3 and vitamins. We feed crickets n super worms ..the crickets have been eating a blend of carrots,squash,kale,spinage,orange,apple,kiwi,& they have raw oatmeal. The super worms eat oatmeal, carrots n apples...all organic. She is new in our household about 2 weeks..she may have not been getting consistent calcium prior. Her color is good and her over all health is great, I had just never heard of them eating dirt. My husband had Jackson chameleons in Hawaii and he said his did not do this.

 

[photogurl247]

I was just doing some research and read I need to dust every feeding w calcium w no d3, we dust 2-3 times a week w a calcium that has d3 in it...this has to be the problem. I am running out tomorrow to find her calcuim with no d3!