Enrichment!

[Filipo]

Hi all!
I was just wondering about pet enrichment. Other reptiles and animals can have toys or learn tricks but just for a chameleon it can get a little boring! Is there any way to provide enrichment for our friends other by providing a wide variety of foods? Every time I do a major cleaning once a month or so I switch some branches around and add new perches. Is there anything else I could do?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Prince of Duval]

Occasionally add some flying insects into the enclosure.

 

[Ares05]

I wouldnt switch around your chameleons home every month.. it can just stress them out. Also you don't need to do a deep cleaning every month, I would just spot clean each day with a bit of warm water, and dish soap (depending where in the cage you are cleaning). My "deep cleaning" is looking through the whole cage throughly and finding any poop or dead leaves I missed, and then throughly cleaning the bottom floor of my enclosure. I don't normally have to move anything thing around.

For enrichment you could try taking your chameleon outside for some natural sun. Maybe take a plant out there with you and let them chill on it for a while (Under your constant supervision, unless they are enclosed!). You could also try to build trust with hand feeding. Or maybe set a plant in your house somewhere safe and let them chill on that, away from pets or young kids. Note that if they don't have a source of uvb (glass blocks UV) on said plant that they cant stay on it for more than few hours a day.

 

[The Wild One]

You can take your Cham to a free range and let a few active feeders go and let them go crazy.

 

[MissSkittles]

Someone mentioned on here yesterday about putting their enclosure near a window where they can look out. Just be careful of any heat coming thru the glass.

 

[Filipo]

Thank you for all your help

 

[Gingero]

Gonna drop in some videos you might find helpful.

Free ranging (my favorite way to add enrichment):




Different types of feeders:




Black solider flies are a fun feeder:




Spot cleaning: