Do chameleons leave a sent behind

[panthercham77]

I bought what I thought was a male and ended up with a female. So I'm sending her back. Do I need to scrub the cage down really well before i put the new male chameleon into the same cage?

I cant find anything in the forums that confirm they mark their territory. I want to make sure I wont be stressing out the new chameleon.

Thanks for your help

 

[Dgood]

I definately would, unless the male is coming from the same place, you should read the thread about quarantining, it's very helpful

 

[Dgood]

Here you are

Quarantine:
Regardless of the source of your new chameleon, whether or not it was wild caught or captive bred, every new reptile should be strictly quarantined from all other animals for a minimum of 45 days. Quarantine is used to both assess the health of your new animal and prevent introducing an illness to your other pets. Chameleons will hide signs of illness for as long as possible and the stress of shipping, traveling or even just a new environment can trigger that hidden ailment. Failing to quarantine a new animal properly could expose your collection to a potentially devastating infectious disease.

Your new chameleon should be kept in a completely separate room from your other chameleons and reptiles for at least 45 days. Handle and feed all your regular animals before any quarantined animals to prevent contamination. Use completely separate equipment on quarantine animals and wash your hands well. Fastidious cage hygiene (cleaning cage and cage furnishings) should be done daily to prevent re-infection of germs and parasites. Many imported or new chameleons have intestinal parasites, so a fresh fecal sample should be dropped off at your veterinarian for testing and diagnosis.

 

[TreeTopChameleons]

I agree with dGood, it is not a "scent" you have to worry about, its any sort of illness or parasite your previous chameleon might have been carrying, which could infect your new chameleon when it arrives. Definitely clean out the entire cage prior to introducing your new chameleon.