vicious veggie eating veiled

[Pumpkinface]

i have a female veiled whose about 8 months old. she is EVIL, she'll even hiss at the stream of water when i water her plants sometimes. she's a little calmer now, but she still bites repeatedly, hates us and fears us, etc etc. She's the meanest veiled i ever seen, but she is also the most plant hungry i've seen too. I have a few pothos plants i rotate keeping with her to snack on along with all the fruit and leafy greens she eats. She destroys a new plant in no time. it wasn't until I learned Hitler was a vegetarian that I began to wonder if there was a connection. does anyone else have a veggi-holic psycho? otherwise it's just a coincidence like I'm assuming, but it would be interesting if there was a connection(I'm not saying all vegetarians are Hitlers!!!... just vegans)

 

[jamncristian]

wow that is what i call chameleon pms lol

i would take out the pothos if your cham is eating too much of it because of the calcium oxylates (it binds with calcium and makes it useless) try adding a hibiscus, they are totally safe

if she still wants to eat all her plants spray some hot sauce on it jk

 

[Jakedn]

Try misting her more and see if that helps keep her from eating so much plant matter.

 

[Pumpkinface]

no worries about the pothos, i know they have low toxity. they're kind of a treat since the plants i rotate are out of her cage for months at a time, regrowing. i also give her corn and beansprouts in planters. her health or ways to dicourage plant eating isn't what i posted about though, i'm just looking for others with psychos that eats lots of veggies.

 

[jojackson]

Perhaps she's not getting enough water and eating the pothos to compensate. pothos contains oxylates which can cause burning sensation in mouth throat etc, which might explain its disposition?
Id suggest Not letting it eat them, stick to vegetables like buk choy etc and fruit instead,
removing the pothos and replace with shefflera arboricola instead.

Golden Pothos (aka, Devils Ivy)
Toxins:
Oxalates that bind with calcium
in the blood to form calcium oxalate crystals
Intense sensation of burning
in the mouth, throat, lips and tongue, excessive drooling, choking and
swelling, inability or difficulty swallowing, Ingestion of larger
quantities, can result in severe digestive upset, extreme difficulty in
breathing, rapid shallow gasps, if to much is consumed the symptoms become
much more severe and can include any of the above with the addition of
convulsions, renal failure, coma and death. It is possible to recover from
severe calcium oxalate poisoning, however in most cases permanent liver, and
kidney damage may have already occurred.
Additional Information:
Hypocalcaemia
(the presence of low serum calcium levels in the blood) and/or Oxalate
Nephrosis ( Kidney disease that is characterized by the formation of lesions
of the epithelial lining of the renal tubules), can also occur. Upon
ingestion of Golden Pothos which contains oxalates, the oxalates will be
absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract to bind with the serum calcium in
the blood forming calcium oxalate crystals and depleting the blood of  its
normal calcium levels causing hypocalcaemia. This lack of unbound body
regulated calcium in the blood stream will impair the function of the cell
membrane causing muscular tremors, lethargy due to weakness, collapse and
quite possibly death. It is the formation of these insoluble calcium oxalate
crystals and the bodies attempt to process them that causes irreversible
kidney damage, that may lead to eventual renal failure.

http://www.pawsdogdaycare.com/Start-Up-Services/Plants-Poisonous-To-Pets-Golden-Pothos.htm

While this information is aimed at dog owners, the effects of calcium binding are the same for your chameleon if you continue to let it eat so much.

 

[Pumpkinface]

she hasn't eaten eaten pothos in over two months. the ones in question are tiny ($2 plants) and are still recovering. we bought her from FL chams at four months old and she was a viper from the beginning. though, you do make a good point, jo. she has seemed calmer over the last month, and she hasnt had the pothos in two. and she has a shef in her cage right now... well the bit of it thats left. i give her greens every day because she eats so much of it. spinich, romaine, the leafy parts from the top of celery, etc. since i upped her leafy greens, i have noticed a decrease in her drinking water. I'll leave the pothos with my chams barely eat plants for now on. i'm still not worried about the toxicity on a few occasions, but as an anger amplifier, no thankyou!

 

[kinyonga]

I have had female veileds strip pothos plants bare with no ill effects. (The males never do this though.) I've never known one's "personality" to be affected by what it eats yet.

 

[Courtney]

my juvi veilds were eateing ficus like no tomorrow. then i finally put the schefflera in and it stoped eateing so much.also if your feeders are gut loaded properly along with plenty of water.

 

[Pumpkinface]

i doubt my gutloads are to blame, because the other 3 veileds don't go plant crazy. plus she was like this as soon as i got her, and i trust FL chams did a proper gutload the 4-5 months before i got her.

 

[jojackson]

I've never known one's "personality" to be affected by what it eats yet.

That part I was kidding about Kin, the compensation for water and the long term effects of eating lots of pothos though, I wasnt.
Its just an individual I guess. Certainly wouldnt hurt to install a long running dripper if you havent already.

 

[sallyb]

I don`t have a psycho, just a sweet little girl who cannot resist demolishing her plants, like your girl mine destroys her plants in no time at all. OMG ! I hope she never takes a shine to humans