Adding a mini free range playground

[ryanra22]

So i made a little tiny free range portion today on my cage and my little guy seemed to love it.

So I'm considering getting a big fake tree and adding some vines connecting to his cage so he could come out sometimes. My question is if I was only planning on doing this for a few hours at a time while I was home (for now) would it be ok if I didnt have a basking and UVB light above the fake tree??

 

[BeBoSON]

It should be fine but he will love coming out. Just buy a UVB/basking light in one and you won't have to worry :]

 

[ryanra22]

It should be fine but he will love coming out. Just buy a UVB/basking light in one and you won't have to worry :]

Alright cool I'll have to check those out. Ya I was super surprised how quickly he came out! He's still pretty suspicious of me so I figured he wouldn't come out, but it was all he wanted to do. Felt bad putting him back.

Noticed in another thread it might be smart to wait until he's a little bigger so I think for now I'll let him out for a bit at a time then eventually when he's bigger I'd love to have him permanently free ranged

 

[jannb]

They are much friendlier when not caged. If you want to give him more free time but don't have time to watch him ever single second make him something like this. https://www.chameleonforums.com/mem...anges-picture10208-one-ellys-free-ranges.html

 

[lizzleberry]

i dont even bother with a proper area for pascal, he's been with me for about 5 months, and he knows his way around my bedroom already - if i put some of his plants about my room he wont go on them, he seems perfectly happy to climb up phone chargers (being safe with electricity of course, no bare wires etc), hes learned the route from my desk chair to where i keep his food, climbs up the frame of a the mirror and up the curtains, i keep an eye on him incase it looks like he might fall, but he seems fine. not really worried about UVB, but i have a sperate heat lamp set up over my bed so he can bask somewhere different should he need to, but he loves it, makes him more friendly when he's out and about, sometimes he chooses to come to me
i think it's better that way because where he's still young, it teaches him not to be afraid of everything, never had a problem with a mirror or a window, he's just curious of everything. i do put books across the bottoms of furniture so he cant get stuck undernieth it, but normally he's pretty good
i would be careful of small cricket shaped marks on skirting board because apparently their tongues get stuck on smooth surfaces..*shakes head*

 

[Hoj]

correct if im wrong Jann but i do not see a basking light, also i am cusious as to how my chams would be happier in a small little area like that, my large cages have two trees bigger than that in there and all kinds of fun vines and horizontal branches for them to enjoy. which many free ranges seem to lack.
i do like the idea of free ranging how ever i do not feel that if is the right choice for everyone.
JMO

 

[jannb]

correct if im wrong Jann but i do not see a basking light, also i am cusious as to how my chams would be happier in a small little area like that, my lage cages have two trees bigger than that in there and all kinds of fun vines and horizontal branches for them to enjoy. which many free ranges seem to lack.
i do like the idea of free ranging how ever i do not feel that if is the right choice for everyone.
JMO

This area is for babies. Right now is houses Sadie who just turned 2 months old. For babies I do not use a basking light. I use one regular floresent bulb and one UVB and it keeps them between 80 and 82. When they get older or when I have the time to closely supervise Sadie explores a much larger free range. The OP was asking about a very little cham. My older chams have free range of the entire house/room if they so choose.

For some reason they just know when they are not caged.

 

[laurie]

i dont even bother with a proper area for pascal, he's been with me for about 5 months, and he knows his way around my bedroom already - if i put some of his plants about my room he wont go on them, he seems perfectly happy to climb up phone chargers (being safe with electricity of course, no bare wires etc), hes learned the route from my desk chair to where i keep his food, climbs up the frame of a the mirror and up the curtains, i keep an eye on him incase it looks like he might fall, but he seems fine. not really worried about UVB, but i have a sperate heat lamp set up over my bed so he can bask somewhere different should he need to, but he loves it, makes him more friendly when he's out and about, sometimes he chooses to come to me
i think it's better that way because where he's still young, it teaches him not to be afraid of everything, never had a problem with a mirror or a window, he's just curious of everything. i do put books across the bottoms of furniture so he cant get stuck undernieth it, but normally he's pretty good
i would be careful of small cricket shaped marks on skirting board because apparently their tongues get stuck on smooth surfaces..*shakes head*

May I ask why you aren't worried about UVB? A lack of UVB can cause serious healthy problems. I am not trying to attack you but you are making one of the mistakes people who free range often make. There is nothing that shows a chameleon, is friendly or happier when free ranged. It is like me thinking beer is awful and someone else loving it. These are beautiful, rather fragile animals. They should be cared for as such. You have not copied nature for your cham, nor have you provided an adequate living place in my opinion.

Here is a copy of my statement on free ranges.

Sorry but I have to give you a wake up call. Do you have any idea how many chams have died as a result of free ranging? You may be able to set it up and have it work. Most people just don't see or anticipate the problems until after they happen. Just so you know I can talk about both free range and cages because I do both at this minute. If you have other pets, or small children, it is a recipe for disaster. For example we had a person on here in tears as her cham walked across her sister's rat's cage. The rat ripped the cham to bits through the cage, another had a small child leave the door open to the area where the free range was. When the cham was finally found it was dead. Having been in chameleons for years, I can go on & on with these examples.

I am sorry for the rant but some days I just can't take it. My chameleons in cages have more room that people who thing a small tree is a free range. I have no idea what your set up is, but most likely I could tell you how to improve it just from experience. Free ranging takes careful planning and lots of space. Also how many chameleons do you have that you free range? Do you have room mates for family? Lots of us have other people or pets of both who live with us. You can think you are as careful as can be, but anything can happen. I have a cham free ranging, just 1 cham, in a very large room with lots of trees and plants as places for him to go. Here is a link to his free range.
Lenny's free range revision 3 This same cham walked out the door to his room while I was filling his dripper!!! Had he walked about 30 feet he would have encountered my 2 dogs, and I would be minus a beloved cham. I am very careful of that guy and he still managed an escape, so don't tell me it can't be done.

I try really hard to stay out of discussions regarding free ranges, but I just wish some of you who are so pro free range would understand it is not for everyone. You are not helping people when the answer to everything is free range. That is simple not true. Any of you free rangers are welcome to show me how I am wrong. As far as living longer if they free range, i have an 8 year old panther who has lived in a cage his whole life. Stress is bad for chams right? Does anyone know if the stress of people bothering/holding them, or just seeing other chams, may also shorten a chams live? Just the other side of the coin, so please consider both as being how chams should be kept.
__________________

Laurie

 

[Hoj]

This area is for babies. Right now is houses Sadie who just turned 2 months old. For babies I do not use a basking light. I use one regular floresent bulb and one UVB and it keeps them between 80 and 82. When they get older or when I have the time to closely supervise Sadie explores a much larger free range. The OP was asking about a very little cham. My older chams have free range of the entire house/room if they so choose.

For some reason they just know when they are not caged.

i see i too do not use basking lights on the little ones. i do find my guys like to free range but seem to enjoy their cages too. my gizmo will come out alot but when he decides or gets bored he headds right back to his cage. i think he really likes it there.
now if i could do a big freerange room id be taking a close look at free rangeing my guys, but for now cages it is....
glad it works well for you i just would hate to see someone without the ability to proporly watch their cham or remove all dangers loose a chameleon.

 

[jannb]

i see i too do not use basking lights on the little ones. i do find my guys like to free range but seem to enjoy their cages too. my gizmo will come out alot but when he decides or gets bored he headds right back to his cage. i think he really likes it there.
now if i could do a big freerange room id be taking a close look at free rangeing my guys, but for now cages it is....
glad it works well for you i just would hate to see someone without the ability to proporly watch their cham or remove all dangers loose a chameleon.

I agree that some keepers are not responsible enough to free range. I am home all day with my guys and that makes a big difference.

 

[ryanra22]

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. The way I was looking at this whole thing was that I could provide a little extra space for him to explore at times when I was around and able to watch him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

That being said I also have no other animals and don't plan on leaving him out while I'm not around because I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Today he explored the little area I made for him and seemed to enjoy coming out and checking things out so I felt like adding a small outside addition for him to hang out in when I was around would be cool.

I would never leave him out for extended periods of time with no heat/UVB light because I know that's just not smart. I appreciate all the responses and examples for ideas (jann i've seen some of your setups and they're awesome)

And I also very much appreciate hearing the flipside of that from you laurie, ultimately I want to provide my chameleon with the best possible environment I can so it's really helpful to hear about both failures and successes so I can learn from both of them and make my life and my chams easier!

 

[laurie]

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. The way I was looking at this whole thing was that I could provide a little extra space for him to explore at times when I was around and able to watch him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

That being said I also have no other animals and don't plan on leaving him out while I'm not around because I just wouldn't feel comfortable with it. Today he explored the little area I made for him and seemed to enjoy coming out and checking things out so I felt like adding a small outside addition for him to hang out in when I was around would be cool.

I would never leave him out for extended periods of time with no heat/UVB light because I know that's just not smart. I appreciate all the responses and examples for ideas (jann i've seen some of your setups and they're awesome)

And I also very much appreciate hearing the flipside of that from you laurie, ultimately I want to provide my chameleon with the best possible environment I can so it's really helpful to hear about both failures and successes so I can learn from both of them and make my life and my chams easier!

What a refreshing perspective. Some one who can look at both as having good and bad. I wish we all could do that but some can only see one side. Kudos.

 

[jannb]

Ryan, thank you for the nice compliment on my free ranges. You are quite the responsible pet owner.

 

[Hoj]

great thoughts ryan, i compleatly agree with your approach i love letting my guys out to wander when im at home, i guess in that sence the whole house is one big free range but i watch em closley and back to the cages they go when im at work or out.

 

[ryanra22]

Thanks everyone! Well once I get it setup I'll be sure to get some pictures I'll try to get some picture updates of the little guy but he's not a huge fan of my iPhone or me yet for that matter

 

[lizzleberry]

would like to reply to laurie,

pascal does have a flexarium which he lives in the majority of the time,
it has a UVB lamp, basking lamp, the flex is as big as the space in my (large) room allows, fully kitted out in vines, plants, somewhere to hide, big leaves for moisture to build up on when i mist him, low branches for him to sit on when he's eating, high branches for him to sit on when he's basking
he doesnt "free range" all the time, just once a day for maybe 15 minutes, longer if it's warm, i will let him climb on me, or wonder off, in the summer when its warm outside i will take him outside, natural uvb an all
i know you're not having a go, but i did think i made myself look a bit bad when i answered the original question, pascals care is incredibly important to me, and i wouldnt try and look after an animal without knowing what im doing