Will a veiled chameleon eat catnip?

[steveh420]

Hi, I have a 6 month old veiled and was going to put a catnip plant in the cage. Has anyone done this before? Or know if the veil would snack on it? thanks.

 

[DGray]

sure

I would imagine that any veiled would sample a soft green plant like catnip. Should be fine for him though.

 

[james L]

Why would you want to feed a veiled catnip?

 

[ShaunaLynnA]

Veileds like to eat plants so I would imagine he would try to snack on the catnip. I don't think it would be a good idea to let him have it since you know nothing about the plant or if it would be safe for him to ingest. Just my opinion but I wouldn't stick it in there with him at all.

 

[DGray]

just catnip

.... I don't think it would be a good idea to let him have it since you know nothing about the plant or if it would be safe for him to ingest. Just my opinion....

We actually do know quite a lot about catnip _Nepeta cataria_ and it is quite edible and enjoyed by many species, not just felines. Its a close relative of mint, sage, and lavenders. It is generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

 

[Elizadolots]

It's not on FLchams' safe plant list. Neither is mint or sage. Lavender is.

 

[DGray]

lists have flaws

It's not on FLchams' safe plant list. Neither is mint or sage. Lavender is.

No list is perfect; that one is deeply flawed. To their credit FLChams did not make that list.

 

[Syn]

Seeing your username, you weren't planning on having him eat it to see if it had the same effect on your chameleon as it does with cats, did you?

 

[elle628]

Seeing your username, you weren't planning on having him eat it to see if it had the same effect on your chameleon as it does with cats, did you?

Hahahaha I didn't notice that until you mentioned it. Now I'm curious if he had that idea too.

 

[ChameLIonLover]

so what happened?...

 

[jajeanpierre]

No list is perfect; that one is deeply flawed. To their credit FLChams did not make that list.

Pothos is on every chameleon safe plant list, but on every other toxic list for dogs, cats, birds and people. It is a close relative to philodendron. Both cause oral irritation, burning, drooling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing, breathing, renal failure and death.

How much a chameleon needs to eat to cause permanent kidney or liver damage or death or even symptoms is unknown.

"Safe plant lists" for most animals other than livestock are just conjecture. There has been no studies done with chameleons.

I wonder if some of the unexplained deaths reported on this list are not toxicity to pothos. Few people on this forum ever do necropsies or even open up their dead chameleon themselves to look for gross internal organ abnormalities. My reptile/avian vet strongly recommended against using pothos in my cages, especially with my veiled who thinks he's a herbivore and grazes on anything green.

 

[camimom]

this post is 5 years old guys. going to bet the user isn't on here anymore.