Photos of Some of the Free Ranges

My husband made some pictures of the inside free ranges today and I thought I'd share. My chameleons do not stay on these trees 24/7 unless it's just to cold to go outside. They all have large outside sun cages that they spend several hours a day in when it's warm enough to take them out. They also have outside trees. My husband and I sit and watch them play in their outside trees several times a week at least. Once in awhile we have a cool day or two where they have to stay inside all day.

I call this the jungle room. Lottie uses this room the most but does share with everyone else some. The short tree is for Hendershot, my senior citizen, for his turn in the jungle room.








This is the FR area I have in my bedroom.




Dulce, my Cuban Knight Anole lives here. I also have a fake ficus tree I put next to her condo after her morning mist and drip.




Amos and Andy take turns here



and here




This FR area is normally larger but we had to take part of is down so we could put up the Christmas tree.



Hendershot's low area. I also have his portable misting station sitting by him. I had to bring it in for a couple of cool days last week.




Spike's inside tree

WOW! Those are some good looking and functional free ranges! Nice work. I wish I have and extra room to allow this sort of thing

And the books there give a nice place to read

Thanks for sharing!!
These are awesome!

Het Jan your free range looks great.... Do you ever have a problem with one chameleon trying to get to another when they are free ranging?

kwengkynator said:

WOW! Those are some good looking and functional free ranges! Nice work. I wish I have and extra room to allow this sort of thing

And the books there give a nice place to read

Click to expand...

Thank you! I don't have extra room either, I just have chameleon stuff all over my entire house. My husband missed taking a picture of the FR in the bathtub. I have a rocking chair in the jungle room and I love sitting in there and spending time with them.

SJRG95 said:

Thanks for sharing!!
These are awesome!

Click to expand...

Thank you Sara.

frikitiki said:

Het Jan your free range looks great.... Do you ever have a problem with one chameleon trying to get to another when they are free ranging?

Click to expand...

Thank you! I have certain chameleons that do not get along and some I keep in separate rooms so they want stress when they see each other. I have corrals around the bottoms of the little ones or any that I don't want exploring the entire house and so that the ones roaming can't get up another's tree. My Graceful Tate is very friendly and tried to visit. When Hendershot was young and when Jr was alive they were best buds and always managed to sneak to the others tree.

Also... out of curiosity, do they notice the pictures of the chameleons on the wall?

frikitiki said:

Also... out of curiosity, do they notice the pictures of the chameleons on the wall?

Click to expand...

I only have one that shows any reactions at all to the pictures of the chameleons and I never allow him to hang out where he can see them. He's the only chameleon that I've ever had that cared in the slightest about the pictures.

These looks amazing. How many chams do you have? I also had a quick question about free ranging.

I have a variety of plants inside currently for the winter. There's a tall dracaena that I used to use when it was nice outside. I could open up the sliding door and allow the rays of the sun enter (althoug there was some screen in the way). Should I install a light source of some sort over it if I want to have my cham utilize it during the winter months? I wasn't sure because here in the midwest it is quite cold and dry, especially in the basement where my room is, which is within the living room area of the basement, it is cold. I have a space heater, but I'm not too sure if that is safe.

Maybe a heat bulb would be ok above the dracaena?

Do the chams get to kiss, if caught under the mistletoe? Tis the season....

ChameLIonLover said:

These looks amazing. How many chams do you have? I also had a quick question about free ranging.

I have a variety of plants inside currently for the winter. There's a tall dracaena that I used to use when it was nice outside. I could open up the sliding door and allow the rays of the sun enter (althoug there was some screen in the way). Should I install a light source of some sort over it if I want to have my cham utilize it during the winter months? I wasn't sure because here in the midwest it is quite cold and dry, especially in the basement where my room is, which is within the living room area of the basement, it is cold. I have a space heater, but I'm not too sure if that is safe.

Maybe a heat bulb would be ok above the dracaena?

Click to expand...

I have eight chameleons and my Cuban Knight Anole.

I would deffinately use a light. I use allot of the Megarays. They put off heat and UVB and cove a large area. To start with you might try just letting him FR when you are home to watch him. Do you have other pets or small children around? The most important thing is to keep him safe.

ChameLIonLover said:

There's hardly any sun coming through the sliding doors downstairs, but I think my guy might be depressed because he never gets to come out. I do have many plants in my basement. I saw your post and it seemed like you leave your guys out to roam their plants and free range all day practically. I would like to do this but the basement is a bit cold and he would not get water or food if I decided to leave for a bit to go to class.

Just trying to figure some things out. So much to learn and figure out

Click to expand...

I have eight chameleons and my Cuban Knight Anole.

I would deffinately use a light. I use allot of the Megarays. They put off heat and UVB and cove a large area. To start with you might try just letting him FR when you are home to watch him. Do you have other pets or small children around? The most important thing is to keep him safe.

ChameLIonLover said:

There's hardly any sun coming through the sliding doors downstairs, but I think my guy might be depressed because he never gets to come out. I do have many plants in my basement. I saw your post and it seemed like you leave your guys out to roam their plants and free range all day practically. I would like to do this but the basement is a bit cold and he would not get water or food if I decided to leave for a bit to go to class.

Just trying to figure some things out. So much to learn and figure out

Click to expand...

I would deffinately use a light. I use allot of the Megarays. They put off heat and UVB and cover a large area. To start with you might try just letting him FR when you are home to watch him. The most important thing is to keep him safe when free ranging. So make sure your FR is in an area that is Cham proof and free of other pets and small children.

junglefries said:

Do the chams get to kiss, if caught under the mistletoe? Tis the season....

Click to expand...

No mistletoe needed for my chams to get kisses. They all get kisses from me on a daily basis.

The fifth photo you have in the red room is AMAZING! SUCH a good idea! I was trying to develop an idea for a hanging version of a FR, but the plants that I have wouldn't fit well with it! Thank you for sharing!!

Thank you jannb for sharing all those pictures! It's hard for FR newbies or wanna-be newbies like me to get an idea of what a functional FR in a real house looks like. I think all of yours are beautiful and I bet your guys love them!



I also love the big pictures on your wall in the last pic! Is that a blown up photo or a painting?

Thank you for sharing! Love the pictures and it gives us ideas!

MsCham said:

The fifth photo you have in the red room is AMAZING! SUCH a good idea! I was trying to develop an idea for a hanging version of a FR, but the plants that I have wouldn't fit well with it! Thank you for sharing!!

Click to expand...

Thank you Amy! They are called chameleon condos. A long time ago they made them and sold them but stopped quite a few years ago. My husband is making me a few more.

sapphira80 said:

Thank you jannb for sharing all those pictures! It's hard for FR newbies or wanna-be newbies like me to get an idea of what a functional FR in a real house looks like. I think all of yours are beautiful and I bet your guys love them!


I also love the big pictures on your wall in the last pic! Is that a blown up photo or a painting?

Click to expand...

Thank you Erin! My guys seem to enjoy them although I have some that would rather be on me. The big photos are a canvas that I have made from photos of my pets.

Revival said:

Thank you for sharing! Love the pictures and it gives us ideas!

Click to expand...

Thank you for your nice comment.

This looks great. What about the poop? where does the poop go if this is a free range? Please elaborate, I'd like to do this to my place one day.

unixmiah said:

This looks great. What about the poop? where does the poop go if this is a free range? Please elaborate, I'd like to do this to my place one day.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the comment.

I have thick black plastic mats under the trees. You can see them in the first picture. I pick up the poop as it falls and wipe it with a Lysol wipe and then every now and then we take the mats outside for a good scrubbing.

I can def see one gal that spoils her chameleons Those are some awesome free range setups.

I have a 6 month old and he's about to move up to a large cage because the past week he's climbing (pacing ) all over the screen. Every time I open the door to feed him he climbs on top so I end up hand feeding him up there. I'd love to free range but I've got a dog and a six year old. I feel like I could set up something in the office to give him an hour or two a day but I worry he would hate his cage when it was time to go back in. Do you watch them the whole time? Do you worry they will get lose them?

Craigwyatt said:

I can def see one gal that spoils her chameleons Those are some awesome free range setups.

Click to expand...

Thank you Craig!

MamatoElvis said:

I have a 6 month old and he's about to move up to a large cage because the past week he's climbing (pacing ) all over the screen. Every time I open the door to feed him he climbs on top so I end up hand feeding him up there. I'd love to free range but I've got a dog and a six year old. I feel like I could set up something in the office to give him an hour or two a day but I worry he would hate his cage when it was time to go back in. Do you watch them the whole time? Do you worry they will get lose them?

Click to expand...

No, I don't watch them the entire time but I do have them set up in a way that they can't harm themselves or each other.

This is his free roam area for a few hours each day.. Not full free roam.