I need some Info!!!

[Nu2this]

Hello, I'm a new parent to a veiled chameleon and I was wondering why my chameleon goes down towards the pot of the plant she is on and picks up soil from the bottom and eats it. she hasnt showed signs of being sick she had ate 2 crickets before that so i'm not sure if it is bad. Can someone help??

 

[camimom]

Hello, I'm a new parent to a veiled chameleon and I was wondering why my chameleon goes down towards the pot of the plant she is on and picks up soil from the bottom and eats it. she hasnt showed signs of being sick she had ate 2 crickets before that so i'm not sure if it is bad. Can someone help??

Some will eat it cuz they can. you need to put mesh or large rocks on the plants dirt to keep her from doing that.

do you know about egg laying and the required bins?

 

[Shawntea]

www.chameleonforums.com/geophagy-eating-dirt-46465/

look up this thread. Appears to help shed some light on why, and be sure the soil is organic and free of any chunky material that can cause blockage. Most people say not to let them eat it due to the dangers of obstructions.

 

[MATT2504]

Show us some pic's and give us a little more info (setup etc) and we can all help ya! (oh and welcome to the forum)

 

[lumbasammler]

Hello,
this might actually be a sign that you chameleon needs more calcium.
How often do you feed him and which calcium do you use how often?

 

[molson101]

You have to put laarge rocks on top of the soil so that it does not ingest the soil. If it does it can get impacted and die.

 

[Nu2this]

@Camimom= she's 2 months I dont plan on mating her, to answer your question i do not know what that. thanks for the info

 

[Nu2this]

Thank u all for the info. I'll put some pics soon as i can.

 

[camimom]

@Camimom= she's 2 months I dont plan on mating her, to answer your question i do not know what that. thanks for the info

You dont have to mate her for her to lay. Many females will lay infertile eggs once they hit proper age, around 5-6 months.
You need to find Jannb's blog about laying bins and read it.

 

[Nu2this]

will do. thanks

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum....and the world of chameleons!
Here's some information I hope will help....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.