Jumping Cham.....oh my!

[crocky]

Well today I was working with Waldo and he actually came out to my hand so I slowly moved it outside of the cage. He was staying put so I thought this is great as I got past his door I think he had second thoughts and grabbed for a branch close by but missed and the little guy jumped and apparently miscalculated and went splat down to the hardwood floor..... I felt like I immediately went into cardiac arrest and maybe even messed my pants a little. I went to immediately pick him up. At this point he turned black but by the time I picked him up his colors came back and he just looked at me, I felt like such an awful Cham Mom.

Anyway I went to put him back in his cage and he proceeded to climb in but stayed partly hooked to my finger. He stayed like this for a minute or so. I was able to get a good look at him and he seems just fine to the eyes. Then he let go and went on his way and licked the branch he was sitting on (I had just misted) His colors seemd nice and bright (at least for his age...3 months) Who knew chams would jump....


Oh my gosh what a traumatic event and even more so for my little guy. I just hope he is really ok as I know looks can be deceiving. I will not sleep good tonight until I can get back in there and check on him tomorrow morning.

Anyway wanted to share and resend my entry for Cham Mom of the year award I was going for.

 

[babyjoe]

I have heard of jumpers before.haven't seen mine doing it as of yet.thank god I don't like the idea of it at all.hope your guy is ok.I've read they can handle falls pretty well depending on the height

 

[CarlyMK]

I have been in the same boat. My little guy took a fall not too long ago, he wasn't that high off the ground and landed on carpet but it gave me a heart attack. I felt sick about it for days, it made me feel like a terrible cham owner. I'm sure he will be just fine, these things happen sometimes as much as we try to avoid it.

 

[crocky]

Thanks for the encouraging words! He fell about 2 1/2 - 3 feet I might be exaggerating a little but it seemed like a long distance and worse part is the hardwood floor. He missed the carpet by inches.

If he did not hate me before I am sure he does now...BUT once he got back in his cage he seemed to be fine and even drank a little. Granted he was probably wanting an adult beverage at that point....oh wait that would be me....LOL

I am still thinking about it...poor little guy, I do hope he is ok as he looks. I am going to make sure Santa Cham is extra good to him.

 

[Fearaffect]

Ive had chams jump off of my head(6ft) and land on cement and grass.....had a K. multi. catch some wind and leap off of a plum tree and land almost 15ft away. None were injured in any falls. My female montium has jumped off of my hand onto the ground and made a run for it when I got her, didnt stop her one bit......she'll still try it if Im not careful.

 

[Tetsuo]

I was making a pizza today and my girlfriends iguana decided he was going to sit on my head and for some reason after he had been there for a little bit he jumped off (I'm 6'2") and he landed on my tile floor and made a splat noise. But he seems to be fine.

 

[maxttu]

My 1st panther was notorious for jumping! He landed on grass, concrete, tile and hardwood flooring and was always fine. It's their natural instinct in the wild to plummet if startled or endangered.

 

[lysinlight87]

my veiled launched himself off my head & landed on a hard floor- he was fine, just looked a bit embarassed lol

 

[crocky]

Well you guys have made me feel much better. I say jump but honestly it happen so dang fast. As soon as I moved my hand past his cage, he was out of there and next thing I heard was splat! Just pushed me back to step one on the trust thing, but that is ok, it will be worth it when he finally does trust me . I will admit he was looking at me with the stink eye afterwards, hurt my feelings a little bit. Fingers crossed that he will be ok. I think I will hang a I am sorry note on his cage tomorrow lined with cricket juice

 

[lysinlight87]

If the cham is healthy then a fall is nothing to worry about- they puff up to protect themselves & are usually secretly planning it all along (in my opinion, anyway lol)

Neelix went through a phase of falling like 3 times a week for a few weeks. It was always in the same spot in his cage- turned out he was trying to climb the smooth frame of his cage & he was slipping. He was absolutely fine, just frustrated cos he couldn't work out what was happening lol I put some mesh on the frame & he was fine after that.

I have to admit though, my carpet cham nearly gave me a heart attack the other week when he tried to take a 7 ft leap out his cage! Thankfully I caught him.

 

[dom1959]

we are a funny bunch i think i would love a happy hour full of cham people