Help! My chams enclosure?

[CrazyPetLady]

Hello! So I'm assuming I might get burned at the stake here >_> I did do research before getting Pascal and none really mentioned bedding. The previous owner I got him from told me to buy black soil for him and obviously here I'm seeing dirt is bad. So what can I do? Should i put rocks (too big for him to eat) on top of it? I'm trying to look at pictures of enclosures but I'm having a hard time finding enclosures they have a clear picture of the bottom. Any help?!

I'm also wondering about natural things form outside? I used branches that I made sure I cleaned well but we have Rhubarb growing in our backyard using no chemicals as our landlords cat and my cats eat the plants. Could i feed that to the crickets or use as more natural setting in chams terrarium? Thanks!

 

[ridgebax1]

The standard practice is no substrate of any kind. Most folks keep their plants in the pots and cover the soil with large rocks, like river rocks, to keep the chams from eating the dirt. I am not sure about rhubarb but I would steer clear of it. I know the leaves contain oxalates that are very irritating to the mucous membranes of the mouth, so for sure the leaves are not a good choice. I know that kale also contains oxalates and is not recommended for feeding on a regular basis. Not to sure about using it for the bugs though.

 

[CrazyPetLady]

Ahh alright, I was just curious since you can find quite a few different answers I also posted this then found an excellent picture to give me a better idea of how I should be setting it up. Go figure xP

 

[JlaPinska]

They are arboreal so no need for substrate, if you have any questions you can message me. Here's my setup

 

[ridgebax1]

Lots of folks use ficus in the cage. I personally don't like them. Well I like them but not how they act! They are beautiful in the store but move them into the cham cage and voila, naked tree! I am going to stick to schefflera and palms, with some orchids for color.

 

[jcarlsen]

Lots of folks use ficus in the cage. I personally don't like them. Well I like them but not how they act! They are beautiful in the store but move them into the cham cage and voila, naked tree! I am going to stick to schefflera and palms, with some orchids for color.

Not to mention my ficus (which was originally gonna just be part of the free range chill spot) is always sweating sap out of its leaves, which I'm told is toxic to chameleons. I'll be looking at other cleaner plants to use in the future.

 

[Blink]

I feel the same way about ficus. The best plan that I've used so far is hibiscus. It works well in the cage as long as you switch it out, say, every week, with a duplicate. Shefflera and pothos also get my thumbs up.

 

[CrazyPetLady]

Lol I'll make sure to not go for Ficus then The previous owner really recommended Pothos to me