Do you think my chameleon is okay? He kind of fell...

[Cornholio]

Right so I got my chameleon a few days ago and he seems to be perfectly healthy. He's got a really curious personality, so I have been letting him climb around inside and out of his cage. A few minutes ago, he was trying to climb on top of his cage and lost his grip. He fell onto the ground which was about 5 feet 5 inches below. He landed on carpet and a tissue paper project I had done a few years ago. He's definitely showing colors of stress, but he does not want to go back into his enclosure. He is climbing about on top of his cage now trying to climb on things near his cage. Thankfully, when he fell I was able to use a stick to get him back up. Is there anything I can do for him? Is he okay? I had read somewhere that in the wild chameleons will sometimes drop from the tree to avoid a predator yes they can survive a small fall. Do you think you will be alright? Has anyone had a similar experience to this? Is there anything I can do for him? He is around 7 months old and I do not want him to get hurt.

 

[Damicofam6]

Right so I got my chameleon a few days ago and he seems to be perfectly healthy. He's got a really curious personality, so I have been letting him climb around inside and out of his cage. A few minutes ago, he was trying to climb on top of his cage and lost his grip. He fell onto the ground which was about 5 feet 5 inches below. He landed on carpet and a tissue paper project I had done a few years ago. He's definitely showing colors of stress, but he does not want to go back into his enclosure. He is climbing about on top of his cage now trying to climb on things near his cage. Thankfully, when he fell I was able to use a stick to get him back up. Is there anything I can do for him? Is he okay? I had read somewhere that in the wild chameleons will sometimes drop from the tree to avoid a predator yes they can survive a small fall. Do you think you will be alright? Has anyone had a similar experience to this? Is there anything I can do for him? He is around 7 months old and I do not want him to get hurt.

Chameleons can handle a fall pretty well usually. I would just make sure he is walking on and make sure all his legs look alright. He may get some bruising though. I am no expert on this and none of my chams have ever really taken a fall. I hope he is ok and also on the stressed out colors he is probably just scared right now, if he does not calm down then maybe something is wrong but once again I do not know too much on this subject.

 

[Cornholio]

Chameleons can handle a fall pretty well usually. I would just make sure he is walking on and make sure all his legs look alright. He may get some bruising though. I am no expert on this and none of my chams have ever really taken a fall. I hope he is ok and also on the stressed out colors he is probably just scared right now, if he does not calm down then maybe something is wrong but once again I do not know too much on this subject.

Thank you! He has been walking around since the fall and all his legs look fine. His colors calmed for a bit after I put him on my dresser (he did not want to return to the cage) but they are now showing he's stressed again.

 

[Virgil1972]

If you cham has a weak grip it could mean something is wrong. Keep an eye on him and see if he has good strong grip. I don't want to scare you, sometimes chams fall. Mine fell about 5 feet once and did not land on anything soft. He was stressed but otherwise unhurt.

 

[brownie64]

If it's not too much trouble could we see a pic of him (especially his legs)? Sometime when they fall there could be an underlying issue like Virgil1972 suggested.

 

[Pitcard]

I've dropped my chams onto hardwood, carpet, grass, etc. Even saw one at a pet shop fall onto tile. First time I held a hatchling I dropped it lol. No harm has ever been done, of course none have been higher than 5-6 feet.

Doubt there's a problem with the legs, screen cages have metal frames and it's easy for a cham to slip. It happens. Just make sure the lower half of your enclosure doesn't have hard sticks or rocks for your little guy to hit on the way down.

 

[Decadancin]

Assuming a chameleon is in good health, they generally can deal with a fall. It would be nice to see a few pics so we could have a bit more certainty, but regardless I would keep an eye on it to make sure there are no issues.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

TP for your bunghole?


Joking aside. Long ago I had a Jackson chameleon, for the purpose of this long winded story we shall call him Jack.

One day Jack was sunning himself in the front yard and lo and behold the little horned bastich decided the four foot high tree he was in was not good enough. So his owner, for the purposes of this long winded story we shall call the giant, searched frantically for the little bastich.

It was only after some careful thought and logic that Jack was found, about 25' up at the top of the nearest tree in the yard, the little horned bastich.

So the giant then climbed that stupid tree. Jack watched from above as the angry giant climbed up after him. Then after much exertion and huffing and puffing the giant was within arms reach of Jack. Jack realized the pissed off primate had him cornered and in a final act of defiance flipped off the giant (using his middle horn) and let go of the branch he was upon.

The giant then watched in horror as the chameleon did it's best impersonation of being a ball from a pachinko machine and bounced cartwheeling from branch to branch before hitting the grass below. If a score had been kept, enough branches had been hit to easily reach 200 points.

After the giant made it back down the tree in one piece he was amazed to find the chameleon was not only unhurt, but hauling ass across the grass back to the four foot high tree. The giant then promptly incarcerated the little bastich for the remaining years of his life indoors, never to see to see the glorious sun again.


The moral of this story is your chameleon is fine most likely, as his owner fix things so it doesn't happen again. Welcome to the cham forums Beavis.

 

[Cornholio]

TP for your bunghole?


Joking aside. Long ago I had a Jackson chameleon, for the purpose of this long winded story we shall call him Jack.

One day Jack was sunning himself in the front yard and lo and behold the little horned bastich decided the four foot high tree he was in was not good enough. So his owner, for the purposes of this long winded story we shall call the giant, searched frantically for the little bastich.

It was only after some careful thought and logic that Jack was found, about 25' up at the top of the nearest tree in the yard, the little horned bastich.

So the giant then climbed that stupid tree. Jack watched from above as the angry giant climbed up after him. Then after much exertion and huffing and puffing the giant was within arms reach of Jack. Jack realized the pissed off primate had him cornered and in a final act of defiance flipped off the giant (using his middle horn) and let go of the branch he was upon.

The giant then watched in horror as the chameleon did it's best impersonation of being a ball from a pachinko machine and bounced cartwheeling from branch to branch before hitting the grass below. If a score had been kept, enough branches had been hit to easily reach 200 points.

After the giant made it back down the tree in one piece he was amazed to find the chameleon was not only unhurt, but hauling ass across the grass back to the four foot high tree. The giant then promptly incarcerated the little bastich for the remaining years of his life indoors, never to see to see the glorious sun again.


The moral of this story is your chameleon is fine most likely, as his owner fix things so it doesn't happen again. Welcome to the cham forums Beavis.

Are you threatening me?
;P
Thanks for the story. My cham seems to be fine. His grip is as good as ever and he's eating and drinking okay!

 

[distortionz]

TP for your bunghole?


Joking aside. Long ago I had a Jackson chameleon, for the purpose of this long winded story we shall call him Jack.

One day Jack was sunning himself in the front yard and lo and behold the little horned bastich decided the four foot high tree he was in was not good enough. So his owner, for the purposes of this long winded story we shall call the giant, searched frantically for the little bastich.

It was only after some careful thought and logic that Jack was found, about 25' up at the top of the nearest tree in the yard, the little horned bastich.

So the giant then climbed that stupid tree. Jack watched from above as the angry giant climbed up after him. Then after much exertion and huffing and puffing the giant was within arms reach of Jack. Jack realized the pissed off primate had him cornered and in a final act of defiance flipped off the giant (using his middle horn) and let go of the branch he was upon.

The giant then watched in horror as the chameleon did it's best impersonation of being a ball from a pachinko machine and bounced cartwheeling from branch to branch before hitting the grass below. If a score had been kept, enough branches had been hit to easily reach 200 points.

After the giant made it back down the tree in one piece he was amazed to find the chameleon was not only unhurt, but hauling ass across the grass back to the four foot high tree. The giant then promptly incarcerated the little bastich for the remaining years of his life indoors, never to see to see the glorious sun again.


The moral of this story is your chameleon is fine most likely, as his owner fix things so it doesn't happen again. Welcome to the cham forums Beavis.

Your storytelling had me in tears thanks for that haha

 

[Rayzilla]

If you cham has a weak grip it could mean something is wrong....

Sorry to hijack this thread for a second here but could you elaborate on the weak grip problem a little? I am asking because I was at the reptile shop the other day and was able to handle two chameleons. One had a strong firm grip while the other one didn't. The shopkeeper actually brought it to my attention saying that one with the strong grip was more healthy. What are some of the reasons for a weaker grip? Thanks.

 

[Rayzilla]

TP for your bunghole?


Joking aside. Long ago I had a Jackson chameleon, for the purpose of this long winded story we shall call him Jack.

One day Jack was sunning himself in the front yard and lo and behold the little horned bastich decided the four foot high tree he was in was not good enough. So his owner, for the purposes of this long winded story we shall call the giant, searched frantically for the little bastich.

It was only after some careful thought and logic that Jack was found, about 25' up at the top of the nearest tree in the yard, the little horned bastich.

So the giant then climbed that stupid tree. Jack watched from above as the angry giant climbed up after him. Then after much exertion and huffing and puffing the giant was within arms reach of Jack. Jack realized the pissed off primate had him cornered and in a final act of defiance flipped off the giant (using his middle horn) and let go of the branch he was upon.

The giant then watched in horror as the chameleon did it's best impersonation of being a ball from a pachinko machine and bounced cartwheeling from branch to branch before hitting the grass below. If a score had been kept, enough branches had been hit to easily reach 200 points.

After the giant made it back down the tree in one piece he was amazed to find the chameleon was not only unhurt, but hauling ass across the grass back to the four foot high tree. The giant then promptly incarcerated the little bastich for the remaining years of his life indoors, never to see to see the glorious sun again.


The moral of this story is your chameleon is fine most likely, as his owner fix things so it doesn't happen again. Welcome to the cham forums Beavis.

Posts like this puts this forum over the top. I love this place!

I look forward to reading more of your stories.

 

[Virgil1972]

Sorry to hijack this thread for a second here but could you elaborate on the weak grip problem a little? I am asking because I was at the reptile shop the other day and was able to handle two chameleons. One had a strong firm grip while the other one didn't. The shopkeeper actually brought it to my attention saying that one with the strong grip was more healthy. What are some of the reasons for a weaker grip? Thanks.

I am no expert on the matter but a weak grip could be a sign of MBD. I believe there are other problems that can cause weak grip but I cannot think of them.

 

[Rayzilla]

I am no expert on the matter but a weak grip could be a sign of MBD. I believe there are other problems that can cause weak grip but I cannot think of them.

Whoa, that is quite a serious one then. Thanks.

 

[Virgil1972]

Whoa, that is quite a serious one then. Thanks.

Yes it is. MBD I believe is the biggest killer in the reptile keeping world.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I am no expert on the matter but a weak grip could be a sign of MBD. I believe there are other problems that can cause weak grip but I cannot think of them.

Weak grip = weak chameleon which is indicative of poor health that could be from many reasons.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thank you! He has been walking around since the fall and all his legs look fine. His colors calmed for a bit after I put him on my dresser (he did not want to return to the cage) but they are now showing he's stressed again.

It sounds like you are really stressing this chameleon. You've only had him a few days and now you have him crawling all over the place. Chameleons don't really like to explore the way a dog does. In general, I think like to be out of their cage because their cage is too confining and they are either need more territory or are looking for a mate. New chameleons need to be left alone to recover from the stress of all the changes.

People often misread a chameleon's freezing or staying in place when being handled for being tame. Most of my wild caughts will sit quietly on my hand even immediately after import as if they are tame. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some will flee, fling themselves into space, gape and fight back but it is very common to have them sit quietly on my hand. For example, I had a newly imported wild caught in the vet's a couple of weeks ago. He had been imported June 2, purchased 24 hours after import. I had medicated him a total of something like 11 times and also stuffed a few silkworms into his mouth (i.e. force fed him) when I did. Even after all this abuse, he would take especially tempting bugs (bright green banana roaches) from my hand. I was not his friend. When the vet was looking at him he sat on my hand or sat quietly on the edge of the travel box. He looked very calm and tame. His coloring was normal, not stressed colors. He might have looked calme, but I knew he was anything but and probably waiting to die any second. To someone who really doesn't understand the nature of a chameleon, he looked and acted tame. Even though it didn't look like it, that vet visit caused him a lot of stress.