Panther eating more plants than insects

[UserName336]

Firstly, i'm sorry if this isn't the right section. I wasn't sure if it qualified as food or health or general, so i put it here.

So, my faly is roughly 8.5 months old, and I see him eating plants every day. Mine doesn't particularly like worms, but I think he's grown to understand he should eat them so he'll accept 2-3 at a time before he runs away and I have to switch to crickets. Lately though, I've noticed that he seems to be eating leaves every day (one day i came home and one of the larger vines on the Hoya was barren since he had consumed 5 leaves!!). He seems to be less and less interested in insects of any kind and has even gone as far as looking at what i offer him, then turning to the side and chomping at a leaf. He has chosen leaves over insects and thats starting to worry me a little.

He eats the insects roughly 3-5 times a week, but I see him eat leaves every day.

 

[chameleonkev]

None of my panthers eat there plants, is he missing anything in his diet such as supliments or is he struggling to digest his food, does he poo ok?

 

[Mmcbain1]

He is a vegitarian! thats all. haha. what kind of plants is he eating?

 

[carol5208]

That is odd! most Panthers do not eat leaves or plants. Some do, but I never heard of one turing down insecs over plants. Maybe take the plant out and put in something different and then try offering the insects then. If he has no plant that he likes to eat, maybe then he will start eating the bugs.

 

[maxttu]

My ambanja boy likes to eat his schefflera. He gets his supplements just the same as my other boy. It's weird.

 

[Jac1582]

Very strange and maybe he's going thru the "teenage period" don't tell me that you didn't defy your parents as a teen
;-p maybe he's just "experimenting" eating leaves lol

 

[UserName336]

yeah, i found it weird too. he'll usually go for horn worms over leaves, but he doesn't like other worms too much. the plant is a Hoya like i mentioned (its on the safe list by FL Chams). i follow the biweekly d3(zoo med calcium + d3) and multivitamin (reptivite no d3) schedule.

he isn't much of a drinker, and i get the feeling like he gets his water from these leaves. they're HUGE and full of water.

as for his poops, they're fine. he goes about 5 times a week. normal size, urates are white. nothing wrong that i can see

carol, i've tried this before. i've switched out many different plants and he still goes for leaves, but really seems to like the hoya. he would have it once in a while when i had a schefflara or hibiscus in there but theres just something about that hoya.

 

[AngieL]

Have you tried offering him leafy greens? He might just like eating greens

Also like you say it could be for hydration. If he is otherwise healthy then I wouldn't worry about it. I have heard of panthers doing this although it's not common.

 

[UserName336]

Have you tried offering him leafy greens? He might just like eating greens

Also like you say it could be for hydration. If he is otherwise healthy then I wouldn't worry about it. I have heard of panthers doing this although it's not common.

i've not tried anything leafy. i know i can use romaine lettuce but to be honest, i never buy any leafy greens since it doesn't agree with my stomach. i've tried fruit and shin pieces of shaved carrot with no luck

 

[sandrachameleon]

I have a panther that eats a lot of plant matter, and I have several panthers than have never eaten a single leaf. All are treated basically the same, so it seems to be an individual preference in her case.

Rule out the possibility of it eating plants because it is missing something in diet. Make sure you are offering plenty of water, and are gutloading well a variety of prey.

Try to provide plant matter that is good for the chameleon, like dandelion, romaine, grape vine leaves, hybiscus, and small amounts of kale.

 

[AngieL]

i've not tried anything leafy. i know i can use romaine lettuce but to be honest, i never buy any leafy greens since it doesn't agree with my stomach. i've tried fruit and shin pieces of shaved carrot with no luck

I dont eat them either, because they're gross but I use a lot of leafy greens in gutload so most of it gets used before it goes off.