Okay, what the deal is, my buddy works at a petstore (A good quality one, not like Petsmart or whatnot) And he calls me today and says "I got you a present...a Veiled Chameleon"...Apparently, some fella has it as a pet, is moving, and can't move him too, so I am adopting him. Anyway, the problem is, he isn't coming with a cage nor do I have an extra cage or materials right now to build a cage, my question for you guys is, how should I go about housing this big guy until I can build a cage?

-JD

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J.Dimpfl - Head Director of A.S.E.F.H.; Association of South Eastern Field Herpetologists; Gastonia, NC;
Mobile: 704-898-7189; http://www.asefh.com

You can use a deep sweater box with plants and branches in it.

Has anyone ever tried free ranging veileds?

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J.Dimpfl - Head Director of A.S.E.F.H.; Association of South Eastern Field Herpetologists; Gastonia, NC;
Mobile: 704-898-7189; http://www.asefh.com

Well I got him, he's a big male, about 1 to 1 1/2 years old, the only health issues I see is his right eye is sunk in a bit and he has an open wound on his front paw pad, nothing life threatening, Betadine was already put on the wound. Oh yeah, his name is Leon, but I am thinking of renaming him.

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J.Dimpfl - Head Director of A.S.E.F.H.; Association of South Eastern Field Herpetologists; Gastonia, NC;
Mobile: 704-898-7189; http://www.asefh.com

Any pics of your new guy? Congrats! Let me know if you go the route of free ranging. I can't do that because I have a cat as well and don't want my cham to become a late night snack...

OUr veiled cham, Guido, lives on the miniblinds in our home office (the miniblinds are the wide, wooden type.

This is why: When we got him we housed him in a traditional mesh enclosure designed for canopy dwelling chams such as veileds. He had the mister, heat lamp, UV lamp, live ficus, etc. We hand fed him, frequently luring him out of his cage. He didn't mind the handling, was very curious, and would spend some time climbing about outside his screened cage (which measured 18x18x36), climbing on the cage, on us, on the desks in the office, etc. In fact, he liked it too much. He reached a point where, when placed in his cage, he would rub his nose on the mesh until it bled. We would treat the wound, put him back in the cage, and thought, leave him be, he'll get tired of that act and settle down. Well, he didn't.

In the mean time we monitored his cage temperatures, adjusted the misting, etc., trying to keep him happy. He still tried to get out. The moment we would let him out he'd turn his happy green color and strut around confidently, like nobody's business.

Well, we read about a woman whose cham lived in a window, on a mini-blind, during the day. So we tried that, and he loved it. Everyday we would move heat lamp, UV bulb, plants, from his cage to the miniblind. He would happily sit on the miniblind for hours on end watching the world outside his window. Finally we just set him up on the minblind full time, with all his accoutrements, and with herp vines leading to a bookcase, and back to his cage (he ignored his cage).

Since then, we enlarged out home office, built Guido a special bay window set up, with his lights, and plants, and with vines reaching out into the room, and there he lives, happy as a lark. He has a southern exposure, so he gets to sunbathe, too.

To compensate for this open environment (and its reduced humidity) we mist him regularly, have him drink from a spray bottle, and give him frequent showers (in our bathroom shower, sitting on a large schefflera). We really stay on our toes concerning his hydration.

We have to be very mindful of the temperature of the room, and to keep the office doors closed. If a cham disappears into a house, it can be impossible to find. And, once the cham cools down it will shut down, and if not found and rescued, it would die. So, this, and the hydration, are two major concerns with the "free roaming" set up.

Of course, Guido is the only cham we have. This would not work for multiple chams, as they would not wish to share the window.

heyy i also work at a petstore not petsmart or anything like that lol, but one of the customers that owns chameleons had an idea for keepin chams in a big trash can plastic and new of course, he would cut holes out and put screen there instead using duct tape. then all you need is some sticks and fake leaves and what not from wal-mart and a light also available at wal-mart and your all set.i figure its a cheap way to house em for a bit hope i could help

I did it with an adult male veiled named Gizmo. He was in my den, and lived on a large ficus tree next to the window. I put a plastic sheet under the tree and watered him with a water bottle. Fed him with a food bin wired to the tree trunk. I just suspended his lights over him from the ceiling. It worked great, except occassionally he would disappear for a couple days and show up on top of the coat rack at the other end of our house. He did this at least five times, and each time, we never saw him go from point to point.

Steve

LOL! Now that's pretty funny. They can be sneaky little buggers haha. I've lost one of mine that free range in my room during the day...I found her later that evening behind my bedroom door where I kept my 2 fishing poles. She had climbed all the way to the top of the fishing rod lol. Funnier thing is, I must have looked behind that door 4 times before I noticed her! haha

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Derrik