Chameleon enjoys the taste of dirt? Try this....

[jannb]

LOL!!! No I've never seen him attempt to eat dirt But, from what I've read on here it seems eating dirt and substrate is a common thing for even well fed chams. I was just curious if there was a biological reason for it? I'm mean dirt can't taste very good so why are they eating it. I wonder if wild panthers, lets just say, in Madagascar also eat dirt and by doing so they derive a certain mineral or something that they need. And since we can't provide that specific mineral found in Madagascar dirt, captive panthers are eating American dirt and getting impacted. IDK just me having thoughts on the subject????

Natalie, I ask my vet his opinion on why chameleons are always trying to eat dirt. Do you think it could aid in digestion which would be similar to the reason why birds eat small rocks which help break down food in their gizzards???

His response:
That is a great question to which there is no definitive answer. I am not too sure it is a digestive aid because it is not a behavior seen consistently, but that is not to say it isn't what they are doing it for. I suspect that they eat dirt as an attempt to get any trace elements or minerals not provided on the normal supplementation. When some ... See Moreanimals exhibit that behavior (usually known as "Pica") it is in order to obtain extra iron, sodium, chloride, etc. at that stage of their lives. However, in chameleons this behavior could very well remain a mystery for a while unless someone out there is studying this.