I need help DIRT !?!?!?!

[LitldevlblueBar]

SO I just went out and bought two umbrella plants for Cletus...... I could not find any top soil so I bought this soil is this ok ?!?!?!? I mean it is organic...... And these are the plants I bought !!!!! Are these plants ok and more important is this dirt ok !?!?!?!?!?

 

[JohnDoe]

Thats the only soil i found also and i used it i just made sure i put rocks on top of the dirt. and make sure you wash the leafs also

 

[carol5208]

yes that is fine. The main thing with soil is the fertilizer and the little white balls that chams have been known to want to eat for what ever reason! Just cover your soil with the riverrocks that are large enough so your cham cannot swallow and you will be fine.

 

[Rango3d]

I have seen my Rango eat the little white balls in the potting soil, and yes they will. It has been a couple of weeks since I last saw him do it, and he is fine and in perfect health. So to me potting soil is ok. But I've put rocks on top since then. For future reference they will not died if they eat it.

 

[ChuWuti]

The little white balls are perlite, which is volcanic glass that has been heated to make it expand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlite

While small pieces of perlite may not cause impaction in an adult cham, larger pieces definitely could, and even the smaller pieces may not pass through the cham's digestive system easily, especially if the cham is small. As perlite is completely indigestible, not having it in the potting medium or having it covered so the cham doesn't mistake it for a calcium-dusted cricket is really important.

Note that "organic" soil mixes may also have fertilizer added in the form of compost or manure. These may be fine for the chameleon IF the manure is well aged, but if it isn't, then components may cause skin burns or other issues. You can usually tell if the manure/compost has been aged adequately by the way it smells--it should smell like good, rich earth, not like manure.

It's really difficult to buy soil mixes that don't have perlite added nowadays, but you can make your own. Here are some recipes; note that sand can be substituted for perlite:

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/potting-soil-recipes

 

[DanSB]

I have read for the Common Chameleon in Greece that they "eat rocks to aid digestion" and imagine this is likely true of many chameleons as they are often reported to eat dirt in captivity.

This is something that advanced keepers need to investigate further in my opinion but for novice keepers I highly recommend covering the soil with river rocks that are bigger than your chameleon's head. Don't use moss as I have seen suggested as this has been shown to cause impaction as well.

Organic fertilizer is only dangerous in the soil itself and not when the plants take it up. Other fertilizers might (I doubt it but maybe) cause issues if the chameleon or any of its feeder insects eat the plant material.