Soil for your live plants in the chameleon cage?

[JRM71085]

I know when buying live plants you need to remove the soil and put in a soil that is clean with no pesticides or chemicals! How is soil from your own back yard that has not been treated with any pesticides or chemicals? Can you just replace the soil with your own soil from your back yard?

 

[SS4Luck]

wherever you get your live plant from (im going to assume like home depot, lowes, nursery, etc) a bag of just soil no fertalizer or anything is like $1.50 usually.

 

[imcurt]

I assume you have spent a fair amount of money&time on your chameleon and their set up. Why gamble on dirt??? I'll give you a valuable tip.When it come to keeping chameleons if a person gets cheap or lazy there not a cham keeper for long.. step up and buy some organic potting soil. that's all.

 

[laurie]

I see no reason why not use your own dirt. My sister has kept chameleons for over 30 years and has never yet bought dirt. none of her chameleons seem to mind. Also I add a bit of sand to my dirt so the plants aren't waterlogged in the cages. I mist very heavily. Be sure to cover the top of the soil with rocks so your cham can't eat dirt. Eating dirt can cause an impaction.

 

[Echoezra]

I just wonder as far as the difference goes, if soil from the store has been treated somehow to not have parasites alive in it, whereas fresh lawn soils would probably have numerous little critters in it?

 

[Lingling]

I just wonder as far as the difference goes, if soil from the store has been treated somehow to not have parasites alive in it, whereas fresh lawn soils would probably have numerous little critters in it?

The vast majority of those critters are beneficial the plant, and will not harm anything at all. They were put there for a reason! A lot of growers actually add bacteria to their dirt, usually in the form of "compost tea" or something similar. The plants need them, and your cham will be no worse off. Parasites are a whole different matter, but I would be more concerned about parasites coming from feeders or other animals than from dirt. I've used soil from my backyard with no problems whatsoever. Actually, in the terrariums that I purchased organic soil for, mold was a much bigger issue.

 

[JRM71085]

Not being cheap there imcurty, just asking the question. Why spend when you have curty

 

[imcurt]

The point i was trying to make was. dont gamble with there inviroment!So many do and have problems .My self I keep A huge bag of organic potting soil around.its like 6.00 bucks at home depot.I mix it with sand for laying bins,wife uses it to plant flowers.ect.

 

[JRM71085]

Thank you for the response curty curt curt! Thats what I was looking for the first time.

 

[swordfish1030]

Every where in animal husbandry, when an animal eats dirt it is missing a nutrient in its diet. So if your Cham is eating dirt you are missing on something much larger than he likes the flower pot.