Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed my panther has been spending a lot of time around the potted area of the plant as I was wondering why. I observed him and noticed that he was eating the white balls found in potting soil. I quickly took it out and re-potted it but I wanted to know if it was extremely harmful or even deadly. He must have eaten only a few, because he normally has crickets avaialbe and isnt really hungry, but I havnt fed him in the past 2 days because I was on a trip. Any help?

This material is not good for them to ingest IMHO. I have heard
that it can cause the chameleon to become impacted...so its good
that you acted quickly and replaced the soil.

I always cover the soil with pebbles that are large enough that
they can't be ingested accidentally or I cover it with a type
of washed sandbox sand that I have found never causes impactions.
(Not all sands are okay for this.)

If he is still defecating, then he should be okay. I don't think
those "pellets" have been said to cause any other harm.

Also...chameleons have been known to eat the
soils and sands in the cages when they are looking for something
that is missing in their diet...so you may want to let us know
what your husbandry is?

I never use a substrate in an arboreal chameleon's cage because
they have been known to cause impactions too.

Hi, I cover the plant soil with moss. If they fall it is softer to land on than rocks. They will eat the moss also but I've never had any problems with that. Hope this helps. Mark.