my panther chameleon is grinding his teeth on rocks

[richpass6]

my panther chameleon for a while now has be climbing down to the pot of the plants in his cage and eating the soil and whatever else could be in it. so, in attempts to stop him from doign so i placed fairly large river stones in the pots on top of the soil. it wa goign good for a while until my father nnoticed him grinding his teeth on the rocks. i figured it wasnt a big deal but now its just botheirng me because it is a loud grinding sound and i have noticed him doing it every now and then. i tried eliminating the smaller stones (even though they were still too lage for him to consume). i feel as if he will end up hurtign himself. what else can i do that willl keep him out of the pot and from eating the soil beside using river stones?

 

[HecticZ]

Try putting a screen over the rocks or pot. Might have to be 2 pieces or more depending on branches.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Put landscaping cloth over the soil and rocks.
Review your gutloading, incase you are failing to provide trace minerals or something

 

[richpass6]

well i always have cut apples for my crickets and other fruits and veggies. i give him his vitamins every two weeks and gets calcium every other day. he sheds, eats, i dont see why it would be gut load

 

[sandrachameleon]

well i always have cut apples for my crickets and other fruits and veggies. i give him his vitamins every two weeks and gets calcium every other day. he sheds, eats, i dont see why it would be gut load

I mention it only because there is a common belief among many members that soil eating is the chameleons attempt to ingest missing nutrients. Perhaps you feel it is doing this for different reasons, and that's fair enough. I had a female panther that liked to eat crazy non-food things, and I never did figure out why.

By the way, apples do not make for the best gutload. They are generally higher in phosphorous than calcium content. Great to use periodically, but not great for frequent gutloading. Better choices (which you may already be using) include dandelion, collards, alfalfa, bee pollen, spirulina, Hibiscus leaves...

 

[richpass6]

crickets eat hibiscus leaves? i plan on upgradign the tank soon and havign just a hibiscus treee for my panther to climb on