stop eating sand!

[warpdrive]

whitespider,

thank you so much for giving us more info...it truly helps.

I think you are doing a great job, so please don't think that I thought you weren't or that you are doing something wrong...
chams are just crazy at times with their own personalitys.

I agree, she is being well fed, maybe a drop too much.
cut down on the fatty snacks like waxworms...just raise them up to moths, then feed off the moths.
I think your gutload for crickets is great but you could add orange slices to them for added vit C once in a while, and for the superworms you can add kale or dandelion as they love them so much and it helps add some calcium in their guts.

I personaly think your doing a great job with the temps and humidity.
regarless that analog thermometers and hydrometers can sometimes be off a bit because they take time to go up or down, you are in a good range.
btw, maybe I missed it, but are you using a room humidifier now to help with humidity at this time? I know I amm, and I'm about an hour or so north of you.

I don't think you need to mist or drip more, but I will say that adding 2 large ficus plants from LLLReptile.com would add alot more drinking spots and get your humidity way up when you mist or drip...winter is around the corner and our humidity is only going to get worse.
I know she is eating alot of leaves from ficus trees so mabe buying 4 plants might be in order...but add 1 or 2 in at a time to help add more drinking spots and hiding spots and if she eats them, oh well. just keep trying to add greens and fruit to her diet to help stop that.

now I'm not against quality fake plants, but after what JJ showed me the other day, and the fact that she is going after sand and plants in an excesive way, I would at least make sure they are not being bitten, and maybe removing them altogether is not a bad idea.

as for suplements, I wonder if the repivite you are using has D3 or not as they come both ways.
but while your suplements are fine, I would like you to try Miner-All (o), the outdoor kind that doesn't have D3 in it. just use it once every two weeks on a few feeders to help her get some added minerals that she might be going after by eating the sand and plants.
I truly feel that this product does wonders for bone and muscle growth and should still be used on full adults once in a while.
it even sticks to superworms.

regardless if you are going to go with PRO MIX soil (what I use) or still use sand, please be aware that she still might go after it. so removing her laying bin or covering it up for a 4 weeks to a month in a half is in order for her to maybe forget that habbit.
just watch her and see if she is walking around the bottom of the cage alot looking to lay eggs as she is at that age when she might be getting ready to develop infertal eggs...you'll see her habbits and activity change real easy, so you'll notice it, don't worrie.

again, I think you are doing a great job with her.
trust me, even my chams are strange and have funny habits and reqire me to adjust to them...not the otherway around.

Harry

 

[warpdrive]

I dont see anything amiss with what you are doing. I think maybe she's just a pigglette.

I agree. my Splat is like this in some ways as he will even let total strangers hand feed him.

Harry

 

[kinyonga]

Here's the sand...
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...ode+matchall&recN=128756&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

I feed the crickets, superworms greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

One more thing...its always my female veileds that eat the sand. (I have sand on top of the soil in the plant pots and the males never touch it.)

"The only explanation that makes sense to me is that the animal senses some trace nutrient or mineral. A lot of lizards, e.g. geckos and Sceloporus, will lick mineral supplements out of a dish."
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/03/chat-with-dr-gary-w-ferguson.html

Here's something else I have been wondering about...sand traps bacteria...so I wonder if they ingest it to get rid of bacteria?

 

[Jakedn]

Here's the sand...
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...ode+matchall&recN=128756&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

I feed the crickets, superworms greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

One more thing...its always my female veileds that eat the sand. (I have sand on top of the soil in the plant pots and the males never touch it.)

"The only explanation that makes sense to me is that the animal senses some trace nutrient or mineral. A lot of lizards, e.g. geckos and Sceloporus, will lick mineral supplements out of a dish."
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/03/chat-with-dr-gary-w-ferguson.html

Here's something else I have been wondering about...sand traps bacteria...so I wonder if they ingest it to get rid of bacteria?

That is extremely interesting that the sand traps bacteria. Waldo was sick when he was eating sand, and stopped when he started getting better. More specifically, he had a URI. You may be on to something kinyonga. I even remember thinking that he could be eating sand to 'wash down' the mucous in his throat.

 

[BocaJan]

2 of my females have eaten sand, big time. Poops all sand. What I did was cover the sand with a plastic lid, didn't have to fit snug, just laid on top. I misted well until it was getting closer to laying time then took off the lid. They didn't seem to want to eat sand when laying was eminent.

 

[whitespyder]

thats very interesting, kinyonga. maybe the females only do it for the extra calcium needed for egg production? and i guess since the sand binds bacteria i shouldnt need to worry about her poop bacteria spreading rampantly in her laying bin.

ill definately cover the sand for a few weeks and see what she does when i uncover it. i have it slightly covered from the mister all the time but she still manages to find sand. i have been gone most of the day for work but when i am home i havent noticed her eating sand in a few days. (maybe she sneaks it when im gone!)

and harry, i dont have a humidifier just yet but i will keep an eye out for good prices. surprisingly her humidity stays good at 60 but of course it may be different once it gets brutally cold! also, i was actually quite concerned with her trying to eat her plastic plants and i keep an eye out for any missing pieces or tears. i actually even saw her catching one in her mouth and spitting it out the day she started eating her pothos (hopefully she realized it was icky and hasnt attempted it again cuz i havent seen her do it since!)

the reptivite i am using is without D3, and i will consider the miner-all since im concerned with the preformed vitamin A in the reptivite. and id like to be able to dust my superworms!

thanks for your advice everyone! i really appreciate it.

 

[jojackson]

Sand traps bacteria? In what way?

Other than the obvious being it's granular nature, and therefor more surface area for bacteria to attach. moist pooped in sand at that.
I dont see how that would in any way be a good thing, inside your cham, though good gut flora may attach to it, aswell, so might undesirable bacteria. Somehow im more inclined to think its merely incidental/accidental, to tasting the media for moisture content prior to digging. How else does she know where best to lay her precious eggs, than by detecting moisture in the microclimate of a given likely nesting spot, so the eggs wont dry out. The dig test holes before deciding on a spot, what makes one spot better than another?. Just a thought.
Its great for biological filteration
in aquaria for this reason (nitrifying bacteria can buildup as desired).

Can you please explain this a little further kinyongia?