Why do chams eat soil ??
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Tom Carlier
Member
I've never seen my veiled or pardalis eat soil,
they prefer crickets I guess...
Never heard it on a Dutch or Belgian forum before, most people I know use soil in their chams' cages. I can show you tens of pictures of people's terrariums with soil, but none of them ever complained about their chams eating the soil.
How many people have ever seen if for themselves?
(I know one of sandrachameleon's chameleons ate the substrate, but she said it would eat about anything, fingers, rings, eyelids, ...
)
But if they were to shoot an insect that is walking around on the soil, as long as you don't use repti-bark, it shouldn't cause any problems
Grtz
they prefer crickets I guess...
Never heard it on a Dutch or Belgian forum before, most people I know use soil in their chams' cages. I can show you tens of pictures of people's terrariums with soil, but none of them ever complained about their chams eating the soil.
How many people have ever seen if for themselves?
(I know one of sandrachameleon's chameleons ate the substrate, but she said it would eat about anything, fingers, rings, eyelids, ...
)But if they were to shoot an insect that is walking around on the soil, as long as you don't use repti-bark, it shouldn't cause any problems
Grtz
Dean Pulcini
Avid Member
In my opinion for the same reason other animals eat soil to gather minerals that are lacking in their diets.
"Geophagy is the practice of eating earthy or soil-like substances such as clay, and chalk, in order to obtain essential nutrients such as sulfur and phosphorus from the soil."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagy
Soil eating is not only done to get missing minerals it is done for several other reasons too...
Alleviating intestinal problems....
http://www.citeulike.org/group/344/article/148481
"Geophageous Rwandan mountain gorillas excavate and eat weathered leucite-rich regolith (subsoil C horizons) from the slopes of Mount Visoke in the Virunga Mountains. In the months of the dry season, the gorillas reportedly ingest a halloysitic natural earth having a chemical composition similar to that of Kaopectate, a pharmaceutical used by humans to treat gastrointestinal upsets. Several plants known to contain potential toxins are consumed more heavily by gorillas in these months. New information from geochemical and mineral analyses suggests that geophagy may alleviate intestinal problems associated with changes in their diet because the ingested weathered regolith, containing halloysitic clay minerals, may act as a pharmaceutical agent that helps to adsorb toxins and to control dehydration in the dry season."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19141837
Geophagy (Soil-eating) in relation to Anemia and Helminth infection among HIV-infected pregnant women in Tanzania.
Improving hindgut bacteria....
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k00u6524m4p35408/
"Summary Hatchling green iguanas (Iguana iguana) spend the first month of life obtaining their hindgut fermentation systems before settling into their characteristic habitat. Newly hatched iguanas consume soil within the nest chamber, establishing populations of soil microbes in the hindgut, before digestive activity begins in the stomach. Hatchlings dig their way out of the nest chamber during the first week after hatching; once on the surface, they may eat both soil and plant materials. The rudimentary microbial fermentation system acquired through soil consumption supports faster growth, and presumably more effective degradation of plant materials, than microbes obtained without contact with soil. During the second and third weeks of life, hatchling iguanas disperse away from the nesting area. They travel into the forest canopy, associate with older consepcifics, and obtain a more complex and effective microbe community by consuming the feces of their seniors. Approximately a month after hatching, iguanas settle into low vegetation in open habitats, and may continue to associate in groups."
Fighting off poisons/toxins....
http://www.livescience.com/animals/080604-bat-dirt.html
"Researchers suspect geophagy could help animals get key minerals they need for nutrition, much as they might from a salt lick. But hitting the dirt might also help them fight off poisons."
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1676-06032005000300023&script=sci_arttext
"Current theory suggests that Neotropical parrots ingest soil to neutralize toxins in food such as seeds and unripe fruit and as a mineral supplement."
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0110-chimps.html
Dirt-munching helps protect chimps from malaria
http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/8_2DirtasFood.htm
"Feeding selected soils to cows, sheep, goats and pigs results in enhanced growth--by 20% or more."
"People seem to use geophagy to protect themselves against plant toxins."
Soil is not the only thing eaten as a remedy other things are eaten too...unusual (to us, anyway) as remedies...
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/syllabus/module8.htm
More sites...
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html
http://feralkevin.com/?p=55
"Geophagy is eating of dirt, or clay. It’s practiced by nearly every animal on the planet, and is essential to their health."
One reason not to eat soil...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9692137
"Geophagy was associated with an increased risk of reinfection with A. lumbricoides and possibly with T. trichiura."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagy
Soil eating is not only done to get missing minerals it is done for several other reasons too...
Alleviating intestinal problems....
http://www.citeulike.org/group/344/article/148481
"Geophageous Rwandan mountain gorillas excavate and eat weathered leucite-rich regolith (subsoil C horizons) from the slopes of Mount Visoke in the Virunga Mountains. In the months of the dry season, the gorillas reportedly ingest a halloysitic natural earth having a chemical composition similar to that of Kaopectate, a pharmaceutical used by humans to treat gastrointestinal upsets. Several plants known to contain potential toxins are consumed more heavily by gorillas in these months. New information from geochemical and mineral analyses suggests that geophagy may alleviate intestinal problems associated with changes in their diet because the ingested weathered regolith, containing halloysitic clay minerals, may act as a pharmaceutical agent that helps to adsorb toxins and to control dehydration in the dry season."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19141837
Geophagy (Soil-eating) in relation to Anemia and Helminth infection among HIV-infected pregnant women in Tanzania.
Improving hindgut bacteria....
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k00u6524m4p35408/
"Summary Hatchling green iguanas (Iguana iguana) spend the first month of life obtaining their hindgut fermentation systems before settling into their characteristic habitat. Newly hatched iguanas consume soil within the nest chamber, establishing populations of soil microbes in the hindgut, before digestive activity begins in the stomach. Hatchlings dig their way out of the nest chamber during the first week after hatching; once on the surface, they may eat both soil and plant materials. The rudimentary microbial fermentation system acquired through soil consumption supports faster growth, and presumably more effective degradation of plant materials, than microbes obtained without contact with soil. During the second and third weeks of life, hatchling iguanas disperse away from the nesting area. They travel into the forest canopy, associate with older consepcifics, and obtain a more complex and effective microbe community by consuming the feces of their seniors. Approximately a month after hatching, iguanas settle into low vegetation in open habitats, and may continue to associate in groups."
Fighting off poisons/toxins....
http://www.livescience.com/animals/080604-bat-dirt.html
"Researchers suspect geophagy could help animals get key minerals they need for nutrition, much as they might from a salt lick. But hitting the dirt might also help them fight off poisons."
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1676-06032005000300023&script=sci_arttext
"Current theory suggests that Neotropical parrots ingest soil to neutralize toxins in food such as seeds and unripe fruit and as a mineral supplement."
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0110-chimps.html
Dirt-munching helps protect chimps from malaria
http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/8_2DirtasFood.htm
"Feeding selected soils to cows, sheep, goats and pigs results in enhanced growth--by 20% or more."
"People seem to use geophagy to protect themselves against plant toxins."
Soil is not the only thing eaten as a remedy other things are eaten too...unusual (to us, anyway) as remedies...
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/syllabus/module8.htm
More sites...
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html
http://feralkevin.com/?p=55
"Geophagy is eating of dirt, or clay. It’s practiced by nearly every animal on the planet, and is essential to their health."
One reason not to eat soil...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9692137
"Geophagy was associated with an increased risk of reinfection with A. lumbricoides and possibly with T. trichiura."
summoner12
Avid Member
I eat dirt as a mid day snack.
Chameleon Company
Avid Member
Probably seen it a thousand times, but I stopped counting long ago.
Have probably seen it mentioned in threads across the internet by 100 different chameleon keepers over the years. Probably been on threads in this forum 25 times of more, but again, who is counting ....
Tom Carlier
Member
Probably seen it a thousand times, but I stopped counting long ago.
Have probably seen it mentioned in threads across the internet by 100 different chameleon keepers over the years. Probably been on threads in this forum 25 times of more, but again, who is counting ....
Weird,
you never read it on the European forums, lots of people use substrate here, none of them complained about chams eating it or getting impacted...
Guess opinions and experiences will always differ.
I see quite a lot of difference betweet the American and the European way of keeping chams,
BUT I guess both ways have proven to work well...
If you saw it a thousand times,
how many of them got impacted than?
Greetz
Tom Carlier
Member
And if it is so that 'Geophagy' (eating soil) is performed to get the lacking minerals,
could there be a distinct difference between the diets or something of European and American chameleons, so that the American ones would want to eat soil?
Because you all agree that chams eat soil, and I believe you, BUT I haven't heard of a single case yet, of a chameleon really eating the soil on purpose OVER HERE.
The only time you hear on the European forums that a chameleon ate some dirt, is when it shoots a feeder insect walking around on the soil.
could there be a distinct difference between the diets or something of European and American chameleons, so that the American ones would want to eat soil?
Because you all agree that chams eat soil, and I believe you, BUT I haven't heard of a single case yet, of a chameleon really eating the soil on purpose OVER HERE.
The only time you hear on the European forums that a chameleon ate some dirt, is when it shoots a feeder insect walking around on the soil.
Last edited:
Kristof De Moor
New Member
I have never know a case in Belgium or at the Nedtherlands that a chameleon eats substrate by purpese!!
summoner12
Avid Member
My veiled has eaten dirt. When I had time to sun him at my old Apt. he would eat the ants and dirt at the bottom of his sunning plant. After he ate all the ants he would still climb down and shoot into the dirt for a little dirt snack... then go back to basking.
Tom Carlier
Member
Well,
If they were to eat it in big quantities, it might impact them,
BUT I think there's a really slight chance of that happening as I haven't heard of a single case yet over here.
I just opened up a poll on a Dutch forum to be sure;
so far 10% doesn't use substrate and 90% does use substrate.
Only one person once saw his cham take some substrate, but it didn't have consequences.
The rest never heard of chams eating dirt before, and say that the substrate may have some bacteria in it, but it doesn't harm them, it is natural and it might even strengthen their resistance. If it really was so bad as you think it is, all our chams would have died of impaction or because of the bacteria.
I'm not telling you that you have to use substrate !
I just think you shouldn't overreact about it ...
honeywoods
New Member
My veiled eates dirt....as soon as we put him on his big ficus he heads straight for the bottom and starts shooting out for it! I was concerned so I read up on it here and it seems pretty common. Providing the soil is clean and free from other debris, it shouldn't pose a problem.
I'm a new owner however, so if the above is not right, please feel free to critque away
I'm a new owner however, so if the above is not right, please feel free to critque away
Tom Carlier
Member
I just find it so curious,
almost every one of you saw them eat dirt, and doesn't use substrate
and if I post it on a dutch forum, where everybody uses substrate, they think I'm crazy
almost every one of you saw them eat dirt, and doesn't use substrate
and if I post it on a dutch forum, where everybody uses substrate, they think I'm crazy
chambabysitter1
New Member
I think we also have to take into account the population differences of the forums. I never been to the other forums, but if this poll was taken from a pool of very small people, it probably isn't safe to call it conclusive at this point.
On the contrary, there are no hard numbers here on how many chams eat soil, but keep in mind, this being an english forum, there is going to be a higher population drawn from, providing more varied results from the US, UK, Canada, etc. Which are pretty big countries in their own right.
On the contrary, there are no hard numbers here on how many chams eat soil, but keep in mind, this being an english forum, there is going to be a higher population drawn from, providing more varied results from the US, UK, Canada, etc. Which are pretty big countries in their own right.
Docility
New Member
i can say that my chameleon is not a pregnant woman living in Tanzania lol
