So I have a ~6 month old male jackson chameleon. I also have this temporary mesh enclosure I use when I need to clean out his main enclosure, or if I notice hes not vibing in his usual one (they're set up differently with different plants), or if I want to transport him outside for some sunshine. Earlier I had to clean out his cage because I noticed his main plant wasnt looking too well.
Now the second enclosure is in a different room of the house, but everyone knows to keep the cats out of it if no one is in there and the heat lamp is on (aka he's in there).
I got pulled away from fixing his main cage because of a personal reasons and it took a few hours before I could finish. When I went to get him I panicked because the door was open and the cats were in there. Apperantly my brother had gone in to get something and left it open. I shooed them out and went to get him only to notice a tear in the mesh (about the size of a small cat paw) and him missing.
I took out everything looking for him hoping he was hiding but couldn't find him anywhere. Obviously the cats tore open the mesh, but I'm wondering if anyone would be able to let me know the chances of them having had gotten him vs him managing to escape on his own.
Other than jostled plants I saw no sign of blood (though he is a small guy so I'm not sure how much he'd be able to produce), nor did I see a chomped off tail or other random bits (they have caught mice before and always leave *something* behind).
The room is fairly crowded so I'm looking every where for him, but if I dont find him I'm wondering if theres something I should be on the look out for in my cats next movement, like his horns or skeleton fragments if they're known for not breaking down in stomach acid.
Or if theres even a lab I could send it to to get analyzed. I know that sounds a bit intense but I just want to know what happened to him. If they didn't eat him then he has to be somewhere in the house, but if they did I dont want to turn the house upside down either.
Now the second enclosure is in a different room of the house, but everyone knows to keep the cats out of it if no one is in there and the heat lamp is on (aka he's in there).
I got pulled away from fixing his main cage because of a personal reasons and it took a few hours before I could finish. When I went to get him I panicked because the door was open and the cats were in there. Apperantly my brother had gone in to get something and left it open. I shooed them out and went to get him only to notice a tear in the mesh (about the size of a small cat paw) and him missing.
I took out everything looking for him hoping he was hiding but couldn't find him anywhere. Obviously the cats tore open the mesh, but I'm wondering if anyone would be able to let me know the chances of them having had gotten him vs him managing to escape on his own.
Other than jostled plants I saw no sign of blood (though he is a small guy so I'm not sure how much he'd be able to produce), nor did I see a chomped off tail or other random bits (they have caught mice before and always leave *something* behind).
The room is fairly crowded so I'm looking every where for him, but if I dont find him I'm wondering if theres something I should be on the look out for in my cats next movement, like his horns or skeleton fragments if they're known for not breaking down in stomach acid.
Or if theres even a lab I could send it to to get analyzed. I know that sounds a bit intense but I just want to know what happened to him. If they didn't eat him then he has to be somewhere in the house, but if they did I dont want to turn the house upside down either.
So sorry you’re having to deal with this. In the case that your guy escaped safely, here is a video on some tips and tricks to find a missing chameleon:
