More grief in Bubble's world
- Thread starter darla
- Start date
Chuck G
Avid Member
This guy needs to be in a cage,secured so he can't get out with the lights on top. Plants can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes or you can buy on line and have them shipped from a nursery. You said he is in a room with other critters and lights.He could possibly burn himself on one of those lights.
I never suggest people free range unless they chameleon proof the entire area.Plants will make him feel secure in his environment.
I never suggest people free range unless they chameleon proof the entire area.Plants will make him feel secure in his environment.
I agree with you but he won't stay in the cage. I did go to lowes and all they had were Christmas stuff out. As far as the other critters he can't get to them or the lights. At one time I did have an extra light on top of a cage but when I caught him getting out I stopped using that light.
Cainschams
New Member
I would agree with Chuck. Correct me if I am wrong but do you just leave the door open? Of course he will go roam around he is a guy
If there isnt a reason to let him not be in his cage then I would just keep him in there. I have a panther that will rub his nose on the cage all day long. I have a HUGE 6 foot tall by 4 3 feet width and depth outside cage for him. 2 scheffs, a big pothos and plenty of climbing branches. I even have trouble every once in a while with him out there. When he has to come inside for the winter I have a free range set up. Here is a pic.
The ficus is much bigger now. I use a crappy cardboard fence to keep him contained if he wants to go onto the ground. He cant get to any wires. I have the shelf with the uvb screwed onto it as you can see and the basking clamps onto the shelf. The chords are nailed up and ran so he has no way to get to them. I also use 10.0
If there isnt a reason to let him not be in his cage then I would just keep him in there. I have a panther that will rub his nose on the cage all day long. I have a HUGE 6 foot tall by 4 3 feet width and depth outside cage for him. 2 scheffs, a big pothos and plenty of climbing branches. I even have trouble every once in a while with him out there. When he has to come inside for the winter I have a free range set up. Here is a pic.
The ficus is much bigger now. I use a crappy cardboard fence to keep him contained if he wants to go onto the ground. He cant get to any wires. I have the shelf with the uvb screwed onto it as you can see and the basking clamps onto the shelf. The chords are nailed up and ran so he has no way to get to them. I also use 10.0
sttines
Member
It sounds as if you simply have a roamer. There are some chams who never adjust to a cage. After these weeks of free roaming, you may just have to keep him this way. As long as he gets his lighting without burns, his hydration without messing up your floors, let him be. I'd rather the little more work this will require than him rubbing his nose and wearing his toes down or off. A roamer in a cage with rubbed raw wounds will never let themselves heal. They will keep wandering and wandering and pacing and then get infections. Experience here with that, I'm not speculating.
I would find a way to design and build a very LARGE outdoor cage because he will really benefit with the summers outdoors. I know the plastic screen has many faults but a roamer is less likely to get rubs on it. But you'll need to plan something the size of a small room. I'm sure you can do this.
I would find a way to design and build a very LARGE outdoor cage because he will really benefit with the summers outdoors. I know the plastic screen has many faults but a roamer is less likely to get rubs on it. But you'll need to plan something the size of a small room. I'm sure you can do this.
chequepoint
New Member
I don't understand the won't stay in his cage thing either. The whole point of a cage is that whatever is in it can't escape??? How is not being in his cage an option to him?
I'm sure my chameleons would rather not be in their cages as well, but I'm not mailing them to Madagascar.
I'm sure my chameleons would rather not be in their cages as well, but I'm not mailing them to Madagascar.
Yes I finally took the door off his cage but not till this week. It's been several weeks of him escaping his cage(not sure how exactly how) and me searching for him everyday. He would stay in his cage as long as I kept checking on him. I think he knew when I left the house though even if just for an hour. I'd come home and he was MIA again. Do I want him to keep getting out?...no. Do I want him to be unhappy?...no. So I'm kinda at a loss here. I'm having protective mommy feelings here, but I also don't want him living a very unhappy life. I've seen on here where handling them a lot stresses them, so my gathering him from wherever he has hidden everyday has to be stressful to the max. I have tried very hard to make his life a happy one. This is my one and only chameleon and I do not claim to know all there is to know, hence my asking questions on here. I know that every animal is different..just like people. Suppose one of your chams has a personality like mine and you relate to my situation and you can say to me " mine is the same way, and this is what helped me". That's all I was asking. I will do my best.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Perhaps you could watch him for a day to see how he is escaping the cage, and then fix that problem. Most chameleons would adjust to a cage that is 4 foot wide, four foot high and 2 foot deep (am I correct in interpretting that this is what yours is?) properly set up with appropriate branches, vines, a plant or two, temprature gradient, humidity, free of stresses (like being able to see potential predators), etc. Keeping a chameleon in a cage does not automatically mean rubbing of noses and unhappiness.
Yes the cage is 4 foot x 4 foot x2 foot. I did try to watch how he was getting out but as long as I watch he stays put, as soon as I leave the house he's gone. The one day I went in there probably 100 times to check then I left and was gone for less than an hour. When I came home he was out and hidden. I didn't find him for a couple of days that time. I'm not sure if he stayed in the same place all night or moved around. I found him a couple of days later well hidden in a vase of flowers that were on top of my beardies cage. He was almost nose to nose with the ceiling and well blended in. Since I set up the tree like area for him he is staying in that general area, I'm just having trouble with him getting on the uvb light. I set up an extra basking area for him and also turned on an extra heater. Room temp went up to almost 90. It seems too hot to me but if it will help him then it's what I gotta do I guess. Hey but the roaches won't mind. I had a weird idea of what might be going on but am not sure. I have a bearded dragon who is across the room from Bubbles. The cages face each other but several feet apart. I wonder if he is upset from seeing her? They never come in contact at all. But on the other hand when Bubbles was first getting out I usually fonund him on or near my beardies cage.
sttines
Member
Darla, this sheds some light and may alter my previous post. SECURE the cage door! If you built this cage, you are handy enough to come up with something, wrap bungee cords, anything. If he roams constantly and paces the cage top and floor, he will be better suited to running loose, provided you safeguard that room and he can't get out. If he settles in with cage life, you have the advantage of knowing he is safe and all necessities are met. Also, you will have the option of making that outdoor enclosure I mentioned. Outdoor sun is vital and I cannot stress it enough. But some chameleons who adapt indoors become roamers outside; they see the big world out there so he needs a big cage for outdoors, 2-3x what you have now. You have all winter to get a bearing on his behaviour.
Most chameleons want out and will get out if you have a faulty door or an open door. It's just nature. My free roaming experience has always been that I worry if they will stay close to the light to receive its benefit and will I be able to supply enough water for their needs and not ruin my house. This male will probably do fine. Observe and he will let you know. I'd be curious to see what happens if he can't get out. It may be too late, he may be spoiled with his bigger world.
Most chameleons want out and will get out if you have a faulty door or an open door. It's just nature. My free roaming experience has always been that I worry if they will stay close to the light to receive its benefit and will I be able to supply enough water for their needs and not ruin my house. This male will probably do fine. Observe and he will let you know. I'd be curious to see what happens if he can't get out. It may be too late, he may be spoiled with his bigger world.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
He's a sneaky one, eh? How about a little dentist mirror and the door to the room just barely cracked open, so you can watch without him knowing? or a laptop with a web-cam? What's the cage made of? How wide are the openings of the screen or wire (if you use it)? Space between door and frame? How was the door locked/secured?and yes, the beardie could be bothering him.
If he's not going to be caged, could the wires to your lights be routed (by extension cord if necessary) behind a large piece of furniture or some other solid heavy thing placed so close to the wall he couldnt get behind it? Could your overhear light socket be converted (those cheap screw-in things) into a regular electric outlet so you could plug lights in to it and tack cords along the ceiling?
I took the door off just recently as it was in the way of me getting around the room. I'm positive he wasn't getting out by the door though. I used the plastic hardware cloth to build the cage and I think it has 1/2" squares. Although I have built several cages in the past year I positively would not call myself handy. Forget about me trying to do any electric stuff, I get afraid when I have to change the fuses in the fuse box! I'm not afraid to use power tools but I don't have many. I can think big and beautiful as far as an idea for a cage but actually building it.....well lets just say it doesn't always come together like I want it to. I appreciate all the ideas and help to solve this problem here.
I did take him outside a lot this past summer and I know it's important. I didn't leave him unsupervised as we have killer cats on the loose. I will continue again next summer too. I took all my lizards out almost every day.
As far as his cage goes now, I think I will not be using it for him anymore. I'm going to try and get him situated out of it where he and I will be happy. He seems to be ok where he is right now. I just need to figure out something about the light sitting he is doing. Don't worry about him getting loose in the house as we keep the door shut at all times. We call that room the critter room. I did take the rats out of the room because all the neighbor kids want to hold them all the time. So it cut down on extra traffic to the critter room.
I have bins and bins of roaches and other bugs in there so while he won't eat much I give him I suspect he is helping himself to a snack now and then.
I did take him outside a lot this past summer and I know it's important. I didn't leave him unsupervised as we have killer cats on the loose. I will continue again next summer too. I took all my lizards out almost every day.
As far as his cage goes now, I think I will not be using it for him anymore. I'm going to try and get him situated out of it where he and I will be happy. He seems to be ok where he is right now. I just need to figure out something about the light sitting he is doing. Don't worry about him getting loose in the house as we keep the door shut at all times. We call that room the critter room. I did take the rats out of the room because all the neighbor kids want to hold them all the time. So it cut down on extra traffic to the critter room.
I have bins and bins of roaches and other bugs in there so while he won't eat much I give him I suspect he is helping himself to a snack now and then.
Susan James
New Member
Hi Darla, thought I'd pop in and see how Bubbles is doing now. I have kept a number of chameleons that were unhappy being caged in any size cage, including 6'x6'10' outdoor enclosures. A lot of people free-roam their chameleons, there are a number of threads about this. Better than allowing him to languish in a cage that makes him unhappy. I found a somewhat similar thread here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/still-searching-solution-nose-15533/
Let me know how the pretty Bubbles is doing...still intrigued by the name...
Susan James
