Reptile & Amphibian Forums

for my veiled i was told that Eco-earth * coconut fiber * would be ok to use as a substrate, but ive noticed again today that for about the 3rd time my young veiled has had a bit of coconut fuzz hanging from inside his mouth .. im starting to think this was not a good purchase , but what could i use to line the bottom with .. i dont really WANT papertowels or newspaper .. and im afraid that carpet will quickly rot and mold costing alot to replace , FAST .. so i was curious what you guys were using and liked.
thanks for the help
Bryant

IMHO its best not to use any substrate with arboreal chameleons. Too many of the cause problems.

I think it is much more sanitary to just wash the cage bottom when needed, with NO substrate.
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PHEve / Eve

The only reason I've used any substrate in a cham cage was to help maintain humidity in a really dry climate when humidifiers, foggers, or spraying just didn't cut it. A simple solid surface cage bottom is much easier to keep clean and you can handle water drainage by putting the cage over a sweater box, drilling a drain hole and putting a bucket underneath, or tipping it slightly so the water collects at one drain point. I did find that the unbleached recycled paper pulp bedding worked, but I dampened it and sort of packed it down when I put it in the cage so it wasn't loose. The pulp will break down into a powder if it is ingested. It was pretty easy to spot clean but will take more attention than a clean cage bottom.

im having the problem like u said with humidity ~ so thats y i wanted to KEEP some sort of substrate , but do u know if the coconut fiber ( eco-earth ) is BAD for the little cham ?
i mean i obveously dont want him eating it, but the little that he gets right now.. will it likly kill him ?

Like we've said, unless the substrate is completely digestible or can't be picked up on his tongue, it is a hazard. Don't count on cocoa fiber being safe. I've read some emails about very poor quality cocoa fiber...contaminated with garbage, plastic, metal scraps, compost, etc. The other big problem is mold and bacteria building up in it. It is best to try everything else you can to provide humidity first, and substrate as a last resort. What do you do now and what are your humidity levels? Winter is tough...heating the house also dries the air out. Add more live plants, hand spray, use a misting system on a timer, use a humidifier, put plastic on 3 sides of the cage, etc.