Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I gave him so greens. But he wont eat them. Any ideas?? He did not get anything, they are strong silk plants, but I am worried about this as he gets older and bigger!!

This is the reason I don't use artificial plants in my chameleon cages. I would rather not risk that a piece/leaf could come off and be ingested.

As for feeding him greens...I usually start off with a slice/thin wedge of apple. When the chameleon opens its mouth, I put the apple in far enough that it will bite it when its mouth shuts. This usually gives them the idea.

I also put some chopped up veggies (squash, zucchini, sweet red peppers, carrots, sweet potato...all diced to an appropriate size to fit the chameleon's mouth), greens (dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, ROMAINE lettuce, etc.) and fruit (appple, pear, berries, melon, etc.) in a lid on the floor of the cage. The insects go to eat it and then the chameleon goes to eat the insects...and usually ends up with some greens, veggies or fruit in its mouth too.

In each cage I have a pothos plant and some of them eat a bit of it while others (females usually) eat almost every leaf.

Hope this helps!

Where do you find safe plants. I have checked every nursery and even orchard here and no one knows where I can get some... anyone online?? Thanks... by the way where did get your screen name??

I find pothos at Walmart, Home Depot and even the grocery stores in my neighborhood. I don't usually use any other plants for my chameleons...just a habit I got into.

Here's a site that should help you with a list of non-toxic plants...
http://chameleonsonly.com/Plants and Branches.htm

What about pesticides... that is what I am worried about. I have plenty of pothos in my house but they were all store bought.... is that ok??

I usually buy them well ahead of the time I want to put them in the cage and keep them as houseplants for a while. When I first get them, I wash them thoroughly (both sides of the leaves) and run lots of water through the soil. Before I put them into the cages, I cover the soil with something so that they can't eat it.