Saw My guy eating bark!

[TheHoff93]

I just saw my 3 month old panther cham chewing a piece of bark he pulled off of one of his sticks! I have seen him chewing this stick a few times! Why is he eating the bark? I don't want him to become impacted. He continues to go down to that stick and starts biting it! ive seen him do this 2 times and stopped him but he slipped one by me. Should I remove the stick completely? I've removed as much bark from the stick as I could. He is very hydrated so hopefully he will pass it. I've also heard to dip the head of a feeder in canola oil to lube up his intestines in case of impaction. Any Input would be much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[carol5208]

I have read that it could be some kind of vitamin or mineral they are lacking or something like that and that is why they try and eat things like that. I am not 100% sure if there is any proof to this or not. I would take out the sticks and sand them down so the bark is removed and they are smooth.

 

[TheHoff93]

I will do this as soon as I can. I've noticed that he is only biting/eating the bark off of one stick in particular. I will sand it down when i get out of class and go on the hunt later for a better, smoother replacement stick. I worry so much about my little guy. I don't want anything bad to happen to him.

Thank you for your input

 

[TheHoff93]

He just pooped so im guessing he passed it without issue. I will still be paying close attention to him for the next few days just to be sure everything is alright.

 

[mmminyard]

My panther is always chewing on something and he is completely healthy....not lacking any vitamins. He is 10 months old right now so may be a bit confused but nevertheless I can tell he enjoys it. He always passes it too. Warm water and a trip outside in the sun always does that for him. Mine even likes to eat Mulberry leaves when he is outside soaking up some Vit D.

I'm pretty sure chams don't sand down their branches in the wild!
Too smooth = less grip

 

[TheHoff93]

Good point, but I still want to avoid any potential issues down the road. It will give me more peace of mind knowing that he can't ingest a piece too large and potentially choke or become impacted. It does appear that my guy loves it too. I've seen him do this a few times. loves licking the branches too. He is a little goober. He did defecate again today so i'm sure he passed the bark.