Panther cham eating soil/bark

Hi,
Today was checking on my little gal. An she was going into potho I have hanging inside enclosure. Went an bit the plastic pot an then eat a piece of dirt/bark.
My question is. Is this normal? Thinking the worse impaction. But thought maybe was just taking a taste.
I use peat potting soil with white particles in pot. What do you guys do to avoid this?
 
Hi,
Today was checking on my little gal. An she was going into potho I have hanging inside enclosure. Went an bit the plastic pot an then eat a piece of dirt/bark.
My question is. Is this normal? Thinking the worse impaction. But thought maybe was just taking a taste.
I use peat potting soil with white particles in pot. What do you guys do to avoid this?
It can be an impaction risk. Cover the top of the soil with 1 inch or larger stones. What supplementation and schedule do you have her on?
 
It can be an impaction risk. Cover the top of the soil with 1 inch or larger stones. What supplementation and schedule do you have her on?
What I was a afraid of. Going to find some rocks. One inch deep or size of stones? Calcium without d3 every feeding. Twice a month herpivite zoomed with d3 an calcium without d3 together. Horns an nutri grubs don't dust. I only have them 2-3 times a month.
 
What I was a afraid of. Going to find some rocks. One inch deep or size of stones? Calcium without d3 every feeding. Twice a month herpivite zoomed with d3 an calcium without d3 together. Horns an nutri grubs don't dust. I only have them 2-3 times a month.
So the stones you want 1 inch or larger in size so the cham can not ingest them.
May I ask why you mix your supplements? It’s better to use one you don’t mix.
 
The behavior of eating earth is called geophagia and is actually not uncommon across the animal kingdom, including in humans. We do not know what the chameleon's body is looking for when ingesting dirt or bark, but the accepted message we take away is that there is a mineral they are not getting in their diet.
 
So the stones you want 1 inch or larger in size so the cham can not ingest them.
May I ask why you mix your supplements? It’s better to use one you don’t mix.
Gotcha thought maybe 1inch deep an would be hard to do. Always mixed them thought was way do it. Didn't really matter either way.
 
The behavior of eating earth is called geophagia and is actually not uncommon across the animal kingdom, including in humans. We do not know what the chameleon's body is looking for when ingesting dirt or bark, but the accepted message we take away is that there is a mineral they are not getting in their diet.
Currently wish I knew what this mineral was lol.
 
Gotcha thought maybe 1inch deep an would be hard to do. Always mixed them thought was way do it. Didn't really matter either way.
It does matter though... So my understanding is your mixing herptivite, Calcium with D3, and calcium without D3?
FYI Herptivite does not have preformed A. Reguardless your schedule should be calcium with D3 two times a month and the herptivite two times a month. You would rotate these two week to week at one feeding on all feeders. Then calcium without D3 would be given at all other feedings. These supplements are balanced specifically. So by mixing them you may be getting more of one than another. This is why it is not recommended to mix them.
 
It does matter though... So my understanding is your mixing herptivite, Calcium with D3, and calcium without D3?
FYI Herptivite does not have preformed A. Reguardless your schedule should be calcium with D3 two times a month and the herptivite two times a month. You would rotate these two week to week at one feeding on all feeders. Then calcium without D3 would be given at all other feedings. These supplements are balanced specifically. So by mixing them you may be getting more of one than another. This is why it is not recommended to mix them.
Calcium without d3 every feeding crickets/dubia. Twice a month 1st an 15th I go by. I use calcium without d3 an the herpivite with d3 on 15th an 1st. So no overdose with d3. I can do calcium with d3 an herpivite without d3. I just use calcium with d3 with bearded dragons more frequently.
With distilled water I mist an use in foggers. Should I be worried about no minerals in this distilled water? Like bottled water ice mountain Aquafina those have minerals we need. Would think that's same for reptiles/dogs. Just asking if anyone has found that a concern. With distilled water.
 

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I'm thinking maybe calcium
Lol that's only if top soil is whitish in color. I seen that alot with bigger houseplants at home depot an Lowes. Seen some bonsai trees for sale. An had whitish tree trunks. Found a real nice spider plant with this problem. Cost an poor soil I didn't by it. But like how main plant grows little mini ones. I have one currently in my panthers cage.
 
Lol that's only if top soil is whitish in color. I seen that alot with bigger houseplants at home depot an Lowes. Seen some bonsai trees for sale. An had whitish tree trunks. Found a real nice spider plant with this problem. Cost an poor soil I didn't by it. But like how main plant grows little mini ones. I have one currently in my panthers cage.
Tree bark nutrition facts

The bark is nutritious and contains 500-600 calories per pound, depending on the type of the tree, the soil and other factors. Nevertheless, all tree barks are rich in digestible starches, some sugar, vitamins, minerals- such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, copper,iron, and tons of fiber, thus good for your stomach.

Although whitish bark does signify calcium all tree bark has calcium. Some of it at least. Some have more than others. And that's the facts
 
I'd think it is an instinct rather than purposely trying to make up for a missing nutrient.
I'd like to think they are a lot more intelligent than that. We do not know what the chameleon’s body is looking for when ingesting dirt or bark, but the accepted message we take away is that there is a mineral they are not getting in their diet. If your chameleon eats soil or branches on a regular basis take a look at your supplementation routine and first check to verify you are giving enough calcium. The current recommendation is calcium supplemented every feeding. The deficiency may be another element so it would be worth considering another multi-mineral powder to see if you can hit the specific deficiency.

Geophagia is really not that rare for a wild chameleon as winds blow up dust which settles on the leaves that the chameleon drinks from. So getting a bite full of your potting soil is just going straight to the source. The big difference, in our case, is that our soils have fertilizers and additives which could make our chameleon sick or die.

Note that a deliberate ingestion of soil is different than getting soil when snagging a prey item. If soil or particulates come back with the food the chameleon should be able to pass them without an issue as long as the chameleon is in top health. Impaction may occur with extensive, unchecked geophagia or an animal that is kept below optimal temperatures.
 
I'd like to think they are a lot more intelligent than that. We do not know what the chameleon’s body is looking for when ingesting dirt or bark, but the accepted message we take away is that there is a mineral they are not getting in their diet. If your chameleon eats soil or branches on a regular basis take a look at your supplementation routine and first check to verify you are giving enough calcium. The current recommendation is calcium supplemented every feeding. The deficiency may be another element so it would be worth considering another multi-mineral powder to see if you can hit the specific deficiency.

Geophagia is really not that rare for a wild chameleon as winds blow up dust which settles on the leaves that the chameleon drinks from. So getting a bite full of your potting soil is just going straight to the source. The big difference, in our case, is that our soils have fertilizers and additives which could make our chameleon sick or die.

Note that a deliberate ingestion of soil is different than getting soil when snagging a prey item. If soil or particulates come back with the food the chameleon should be able to pass them without an issue as long as the chameleon is in top health. Impaction may occur with extensive, unchecked geophagia or an animal that is kept below optimal temperatures.

I don't have time to discuss much into this, but being such a common occurrence among almost every single chameleon at some point, I respectfully disagree. And I'm sorry, but our beloved chameleons aren't that intelligent IMO, relative to some other reptiles at least(doesn't mean I don't love them though!). I'd agree, some animals do seek certain things for certain nutrients(cockroaches). So many animals do things that are instinctual survival mechanisms from the wild too. In this case my opinion is it's probably a habit they've adapted considering how common it is, even amongst chameleons in optimal health and far outliving their wild chameleons. I'm open to changing my opinion on that, but I've seen nothing convincing yet to get me to.

Sorry for bad grammar, sleep deprived atm 😭
 
Calcium without d3 every feeding crickets/dubia. Twice a month 1st an 15th I go by. I use calcium without d3 an the herpivite with d3 on 15th an 1st. So no overdose with d3. I can do calcium with d3 an herpivite without d3. I just use calcium with d3 with bearded dragons more frequently.
With distilled water I mist an use in foggers. Should I be worried about no minerals in this distilled water? Like bottled water ice mountain Aquafina those have minerals we need. Would think that's same for reptiles/dogs. Just asking if anyone has found that a concern. With distilled water.
Ok why do you have a picture of reptivite with D3? Do you have that one as well? Ideally this one would be better for the 1st and the 15th since it is the multivitamin with vitamin A and D3. Then all other feedings would be calcium without D3.

Per what your dusting it would be anything your feeding. BSFL do not need to be dusted due to the high calcium level. Flies of course are hard to dust so most do not try for adults.

I just RO water and I have used distilled watter. These are the only two I use for my misting systems and fogger when used. There has been talk about this before. The consensus is that as long as you are supplementing correctly then water type does not matter because they get what they need from the supplementation.
 
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