why is my cham eating dirt...

[FAIL]

he's eating dirt from my plants, i tried to cover all the dirt with rocks but he is finding places where it is uncovered and flicking his tongue at it O.O? is this bad? he has also turned much grayer since he was moved to his big cage-i think he's about to shed-but that's no excuse for eating dirt...

 

[Carlton]

Sometimes chams are attracted to shiny bits of mica or sand in the soil thinking they are water droplets. They are not rocket scientists. I had a veiled who would roam the carpet shooting at mica grains on the surface. Try putting fiberglass window screen over the soil and weighting the edges down with your rocks. Are you dusting with a mineral supplement?

 

[FAIL]

yes, that makes since. thanks. he's silly.

 

[jannb]

Do you have a veiled? They love to eat dirt. Put a piece screen over the dirt under the rocks. Make sure to use very large river rock or they will eat the rocks too and the rocks can kill them.

 

[FAIL]

lol yes i do, i put large rocks all over them, but he's picking it out from small spaces in between, i'm not worried about covering it. unless it's going to hurt him ppp.

 

[jannb]

If you use organic soil a small amount should be ok.

 

[FAIL]

i use a bag of plain dirt.

 

[FAIL]

i mean he's well fed and he still eats the dirt lol.

 

[Jon S]

My little panther does this too if I haven't fed him by the exact time he has decided he wants to eat. I usually am up and have fed him by about 8, but god forbid I sleep in on a weekend, he puffs around his cage, makes his way down to the ficus pot, and tries to bit the rocks (thankfully are much to big for him to eat) or grab some soil if he moves a rock and makes it exposed.

Although they are pretty and can have some unique personalities, they certainly aren't the most intelligent beings on earth. As far as I can tell, its a behavior that I don't understand, and that my cham thinks he's the boss and is maybe a little spoiled about his feeding times.

 

[beeze]

i use a bag of plain dirt.

Anytime you buy a new plant you need to wash the plant and change the soil to something without fertilizer, then cover the soil with large river rocks.