Just saw Spike munch on dirt (but possibly part of a pothos)

[Steve A]

So I've searched on here but everything I find seems to be old. If it's dirt, it looks like there could be a supplement issue? The thing is, I couldn't quite tell if he picked up a little piece of dirt or if it was specifically an end to a pothos leaf I've recently pulled off (due to it yellowing). Regardless of what it was, it was definitely just 1 small piece. I was watching him the whole time.

He did not use his tongue to eat. He like stuck his head in there, and clearly chomped on something. This plant soil used to be covered by the pothos itself. But I had it on a weird angle at first and it struggled some, so I removed some leaves. Now that it's less covered... I guess I have to add some rocks to this ASAP so he isn't doing this anymore (just in case it's soil he ate).

The soil should be safe. I bought these from The Bio Dude, who uses organic soil (safe and ready for reptiles). I just hope whatever it was, it doesn't cause impaction

I would be slightly surprised if this could be a supplement issue, but if anyone thinks this would be the case I will happily go over how I am feeding/supplementing him. He IS due for his multi vitamin, which he will get tomorrow. Technically he was supposed to get it today but I already dusted his crickets with calcium by mistake (lol) so I felt it's best to wait 1 day.

 

[Sonny13]

It could be a very small insect or snail he saw. They sometimes literally eat everything that moves. My Parson hunts down mini snails, and mini I mean mini. At first I didn’t noticed them with the bare eye.

I won’t be afraid of impaction, a small chomp will pass through.

 

[Steve A]

It could be a very small insect or snail he saw. They sometimes literally eat everything that moves. My Parson hunts down mini snails, and mini I mean mini. At first I didn’t noticed them with the bare eye.

I won’t be afraid of impaction, a small chomp will pass through.

ok cool. He seemed like....idk ... it wasn't random lol... he walked over to the plant and went right to it as if he had a little plan schemed up. I should still cover that plant with some rocks though, right?

 

[Beman]

They are like toddlers... They see something move and go for it. That in turn ends up in their mouth.

 

[Steve A]

They are like toddlers... They see something move and go for it. That in turn ends up in their mouth.

So true lol. With that being said, I refrained from putting rocks in the smaller pothos plant pots because the pothos originally were so tight in there that I couldn't even put rocks in there. Now the soil is exposed. Do you think I should add some small river rocks there, considering? Or should I let him do his thing here?

 

[Sonny13]

ok cool. He seemed like....idk ... it wasn't random lol... he walked over to the plant and went right to it as if he had a little plan schemed up. I should still cover that plant with some rocks though, right?

Tricky question?! All 4 of my chams don’t have any plants covered, because everything is completely bioactive and I tried to replicate as naturalistic as possible. The way I build things it’s even not possible to place rocks on the soil. I would keep an eye on him (which I know you’re doing) and if this becomes structural behavior, I would cover the soil with ”big” rocks. Otherwise I would leave it, but then again I would leave it, this would be my personal choice

 

[Steve A]

Tricky question?! All 4 of my chams don’t have any plants covered, because everything is completely bioactive and I tried to replicate as naturalistic as possible. The way I build things it’s even not possible to place rocks on the soil. I would keep an eye on him (which I know you’re doing) and if this becomes structural behavior, I would cover the soil with ”big” rocks. Otherwise I would leave it, but then again I would leave it, this would be my personal choice

That is what I am leaning to because I'm not even sure I can put in rocks big enough I'd feel safe he wouldn't accidentally be able to snag with his tongue. I've only seen him do this behavior one time before.... and that time I am pretty sure he didn't even eat anything. He kinda just did the same thing and stuck his nose down near the dirt but didn't do anything lol. That was a couple weeks ago.

If I notice anything else that may pertain to this I'll add it to here But for now I will just let it go and continue to monitor. ty!

 

[CalamityCrow]

Yeah my guess is he went for something moving - a gnat, bug, something, not that he was trying to eat dirt. Like said above, I'd just keep an eye on him and if it becomes regular behavior, take action then.

 

[Steve A]

Yeah my guess is he went for something moving - a gnat, bug, something, not that he was trying to eat dirt. Like said above, I'd just keep an eye on him and if it becomes regular behavior, take action then.

The reason why I thought he was going after dirt was just because I couldn't quite see what he ate, and he literally chomped on it.... no tongue! So I wasn't think bug but there could have been a bug in there.

 

[CalamityCrow]

The reason why I thought he was going after dirt was just because I couldn't quite see what he ate, and he literally chomped on it.... no tongue! So I wasn't think bug but there could have been a bug in there.

Lol my Little Guy gets lazy sometimes. I've seen him go REAL close before he uses a tongue for his bugs in his bug cup, and have seen him just bite them once in a while too. Whereas with black soldier flies, boy launches his tongue halfway across the cage. It's wild how varied they can be in how they choose to chomp on stuff.

 

[Steve A]

Lol my Little Guy gets lazy sometimes. I've seen him go REAL close before he uses a tongue for his bugs in his bug cup, and have seen him just bite them once in a while too. Whereas with black soldier flies, boy launches his tongue halfway across the cage. It's wild how varied they can be in how they choose to chomp on stuff.

Yeah when he woke up this morning he launched his tongue for a BSF that was hatched sitting on a leaf lol He definitely gets excited when they turn into flies. He usually doesn't eat for at least a couple hours unless there's a cricket loose or something. He went for that fly before he even got to his basking area lol

 

[CalamityCrow]

Yeah when he woke up this morning he launched his tongue for a BSF that was hatched sitting on a leaf lol He definitely gets excited when they turn into flies. He usually doesn't eat for at least a couple hours unless there's a cricket loose or something. He went for that fly before he even got to his basking area lol

Little Guy goes for those flies like it's his JOB. It's incredible to watch him hunt them. I love letting them pupate and giving him a few just to see him use his skills to the max. No fly escapes him for long.

 

[Steve A]

Little Guy goes for those flies like it's his JOB. It's incredible to watch him hunt them. I love letting them pupate and giving him a few just to see him use his skills to the max. No fly escapes him for long.

Same here! I actually put quite a few BSFL in the 2 large pots that the palms are in at the bottom of his enclosure. Because those pots have large rocks in them so he won't hunt them in there. He actually never goes that low anyway. But once they hatch he eats them like immediately as long as he's not already in his resting area lol

 

[Gloriawood]

My guy take a bite or two of soil now and then. It passes fine and has not caused him any issues. It’s odd because he always goes after the same pot every time he does it.

 

[elizaann2]

I’ve seen both my adult chams eat diet occasionally and it’s always been fine. I’ve also seen my little guy eating stuff out of the pots in his enclosure. I’ll freak out and inspect it obviously. Is always been an escaped feeder.

 

[Steve A]

I’ve seen both my adult chams eat diet occasionally and it’s always been fine. I’ve also seen my little guy eating stuff out of the pots in his enclosure. I’ll freak out and inspect it obviously. Is always been an escaped feeder.

yeah I think now it was either a gnat in there (there's a couple flying around in there sometimes), or he simply bit a stem of a broken pothos. He seems fine