Chameleons & Altitude

[Coley]

Does anyone know if chameleons have issues adjusting to different altitudes? I'm planning on moving to a mountain town in CO this fall and am planning on bringing my chameleon... but I started thinking about the altitude change and was wondering if that can effect chameleons. Does anyone know anything about this? I don't want to do anything that would harm him and am worried about this.
Also, I'm curious if anyone has had experience moving to a different state with a chameleon. It's about a 14 hour drive... which is another concern that I have. I really want to bring my chameleon with, I can't imagine giving him up, but his safety during the moving process if a huge concern of mine.
Please share any advice, thoughts, experiences....

 

[Carlton]

Does anyone know if chameleons have issues adjusting to different altitudes? I'm planning on moving to a mountain town in CO this fall and am planning on bringing my chameleon... but I started thinking about the altitude change and was wondering if that can effect chameleons. Does anyone know anything about this? I don't want to do anything that would harm him and am worried about this.
Also, I'm curious if anyone has had experience moving to a different state with a chameleon. It's about a 14 hour drive... which is another concern that I have. I really want to bring my chameleon with, I can't imagine giving him up, but his safety during the moving process if a huge concern of mine.
Please share any advice, thoughts, experiences....

I owned 6 chams of different species while living at 9200 ft elevation in CO. All of them obviously came from lower elevations when I got them. The last couple of hours of driving will have the most altitude change, but the earlier part of your trip it will be pretty gradual. Problems I might have seen at the time would have been masked by their expected stress from the move itself. I don't recall seeing anything that was unexpected or long term. The main problem I ran in to was the extreme change in humidity. Higher altitudes in CO are extremely dry...warm and dry in summer, cold and dry in winter.

Before your drive, feed him very well he can go a few days without eating. Make sure he's well hydrated too. For the drive you could put him in an enclosed box with a stable perch, a warm water bottle for heat, a moist towel for humidity. He'll probably nap the whole way. If you stay somewhere overnight you could bring along a Reptarium and a plant (fake or a live one you are bringing) set in the motel shower to give him a chance to drink.

 

[Swayne8998]

I owned 6 chams of different species while living at 9200 ft elevation in CO. All of them obviously came from lower elevations when I got them. The last couple of hours of driving will have the most altitude change, but the earlier part of your trip it will be pretty gradual. Problems I might have seen at the time would have been masked by their expected stress from the move itself. I don't recall seeing anything that was unexpected or long term. The main problem I ran in to was the extreme change in humidity. Higher altitudes in CO are extremely dry...warm and dry in summer, cold and dry in winter.

Before your drive, feed him very well he can go a few days without eating. Make sure he's well hydrated too. For the drive you could put him in an enclosed box with a stable perch, a warm water bottle for heat, a moist towel for humidity. He'll probably nap the whole way. If you stay somewhere overnight you could bring along a Reptarium and a plant (fake or a live one you are bringing) set in the motel shower to give him a chance to drink.

Does anyone know if chameleons have issues adjusting to different altitudes? I'm planning on moving to a mountain town in CO this fall and am planning on bringing my chameleon... but I started thinking about the altitude change and was wondering if that can effect chameleons. Does anyone know anything about this? I don't want to do anything that would harm him and am worried about this.
Also, I'm curious if anyone has had experience moving to a different state with a chameleon. It's about a 14 hour drive... which is another concern that I have. I really want to bring my chameleon with, I can't imagine giving him up, but his safety during the moving process if a huge concern of mine.
Please share any advice, thoughts, experiences....

Where in CO? Glad to see a fellow cham'er coming up here

As Carlton said, when chameleons are shipped, they undergo various altitude changes and it will not really make a huge impact. Just be aware of the very low humidity and that you will probably have to mist a lot more. I personally have never moved anywhere with a cham, so I cannot say what exactly the result will be, but I would be prepared for him to take a couple weeks to adjust, if any.

 

[Carlton]

Where in CO? Glad to see a fellow cham'er coming up here

As Carlton said, when chameleons are shipped, they undergo various altitude changes and it will not really make a huge impact. Just be aware of the very low humidity and that you will probably have to mist a lot more. I personally have never moved anywhere with a cham, so I cannot say what exactly the result will be, but I would be prepared for him to take a couple weeks to adjust, if any.

The more obvious reactions to a major altitude change in mammals (ie humans) can include nausea, headaches from the air pressure shift, and shortness of breath. But, in a herp with relatively low metabolic rate (and blood pressure) there may not be much change. But if chams get headaches I'm sure we wouldn't be able to tell anyway.