wheat bran as substrate?

[enigmacell]

Hi, my friend is getting some bran to use as sustrate for his bearded dragon as he was told it was good to use because if his beardie ate it accidently it would do him no harm. Could this also be used for panther chameleons?

 

[jojothefirst]

wouldnt it get mouldy very quickly and attract a lot of bacteria?

 

[DekuScrub]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[sandrachameleon]

The concern about mold (or mites, which are common in damp bran) is a good point. I believe (though I could very well be wrong) that beardies are kept somewhat drier than chameleons.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Eating enough of it can still easily cause impactions. When it gets wet it expands a little and sticks to things a lot. I would be concerned about mold, mites, bacteria as well as impaction risk considering how easily it gets everywhere (even when dry).

if his beardie ate it accidently it would do him no harm

There is nothing that is 100% safe.

as for the question at hand: you don't need to use any substrate for panther chameleons. And if your cham is hunting around bran substrate I promise you he will accidentally eat a decent bit of it because the impact of the tongue will make it fly a little and it will stick to the tongue easily. Better to use no particulate matter for substrate at all!

 

[reptilover]

Eating enough of it can still easily cause impactions. When it gets wet it expands a little and sticks to things a lot. I would be concerned about mold, mites, bacteria as well as impaction risk considering how easily it gets everywhere (even when dry).



There is nothing that is 100% safe.

as for the question at hand: you don't need to use any substrate for panther chameleons. And if your cham is hunting around bran substrate I promise you he will accidentally eat a decent bit of it because the impact of the tongue will make it fly a littleTh and it will stick to the tongue easily. Better to use no particulate matter for substrate at all!

Yes. ^^^^^ the only thing thats safe is nothing at all. I considered laminating a poster of a forest floor I found and using it on the bottom of the cage haven't done it yet but I have a laminator sooo ill let ya know

 

[Ruganut]

I quickly went from using substrate to NO substrate at all - I call it 'Lesson No. 1' As ferretinmyshoes said, your cham will definately pick some substrate up with his food, which just isnt worth it. Substrates may look nice, but better to reduce the risk of things going horribly wrong (from what I've read, impaction is not nice !!!)

 

[enigmacell]

Thanks for the advice but its just coz I'm putting my female in with my male when she is old enough and I know she will need substrate for her eggs. I was hoping an inch of bran on top of her substrate might prevent her from becoming impacted (not sure if thats the right word!). I hadn't really thought how much more humid it is to a beardie though. Very good point. I don't like the idea of separating her to have her eggs. trying to keep everything as natural and stress free as possible.

 

[reptilover]

Thanks for the advice but its just coz I'm putting my female in with my male when she is old enough and I know she will need substrate for her eggs. I was hoping an inch of bran on top of her substrate might prevent her from becoming impacted (not sure if thats the right word!). I hadn't really thought how much more humid it is to a beardie though. Very good point. I don't like the idea of separating her to have her eggs. trying to keep everything as natural and stress free as possible.

Egg bound is the word term ur lookin for
And there are a lot of great ideas on an egg laying bin that gives her a place to go to lay.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Unfortunately you really need to separate them when she is gravid especially (and even when she's not it is best to not keep them together). it's really not natural to keep two chameleons in a small cage together because in the wild they are not social animals and try to stay away from each other. A male will try to mate with a female much more often than she will accept, and in the wild she could just leave the area and keep away from him to avoid it. In a cage she can not get away from him. And males may not want a female around either. They do not bond to their mates and are easily stressed when constantly in close proximity to each other. When a female is gravid she is under a lot of stress just from having eggs and since she is not receptive to mating she will be very stressed by having a male nearby. They need to be separated.

Unless I misunderstood and you were talking about how you don't want to separate her from her normal cage (rather than the male).