Veggies for my chameleon

MyJacksonHarvey · Feb 19, 2011

I have a Jacksons Chameleon, and I know I can gut load the crickets with veggies but can I feed them directly to my cham?

Is there anything special I have to do to a potted plant before I put it in his enclosure or can I just stick it in there with him? I bought him a Hibiscus.

jojackson · Feb 19, 2011

If you cover the soil really well with pebbles or screen you can just put in.
They often have water retention crystals and fertilisers in them which will toxic and dangerous if your lizard eats some soil while zapping bugs.
Some pull the plant out wash off the roots and replace the soil with organic potting mix with no additives. Its your call.

MyJacksonHarvey · Feb 19, 2011

Cool! I took it out of it's original pot, and replaced it with organic potting soil that I bought with the plant. :-D I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else I HAD to do before I could put it in.

RAFASTAR23 · Feb 19, 2011

MyJacksonHarvey said:
I have a Jacksons Chameleon, and I know I can gut load the crickets with veggies but can I feed them directly to my cham?

Think about it.... Jackson's chameleons are insectivores, not vegetarian (although some will eat some vegetable matter). Let the insects eat the plants/ vegies and the cham eat the bugs!

ferretinmyshoes · Feb 19, 2011

My veiled eats his veggies immediately! Jacksons aren't usually known to be big veggie eaters, but you can try it. The link in my signature has nutritional info on commonly available fruits and veggies so you know which ones to use. Aim for those higher in calcium than phosphorus and avoid those high in oxalates and goitrogens.