enrichment

littleliz

littleliz

Member
Most animals that are kept in captivity thrive better with proper enrichment.....so are chams really that different? I know that they like their diet varied....but generally don't like change much.... Do our chams get bored???
 
Is it possible that our chams get bored? or is spraying time, feeding time and varied diet with the ocassional handling/roaming outside of their viv a chams perfect life??
 
I think chams like to just be alone. They are hermits. They want food, light, basking spot and stuff to look at. They are like tree monitors..... they sit high in trees soaking in sun and hunting for bugs and keeping an eye on their 'territory'.

I think each one has its own routine. My one male veiled just sits up high in his cage and looks out through his plastic plants. My male Panther roams ALL day, he is almost NEVER sitting still. I think he REALLY likes his new tree (thanks Elisa and Brian) because it provides great vertical highways and I have some intersection paths for him to turn around on. My one Melleri likes to sit up nice and high and just watch me. If I look up at him he is most likely focused on me. He is a normal happy color... but always keeps an eye on me while I sit at my computer. My Female Veiled likes to bask. I think she might have another clutch in the works. She just waits for me to open her cage for some food and sits under her basking lamp.

As I said.. they all do their own thing. I think your cham will enjoy his alone time very much. I don't think its good to handle chams a lot... as in sit with them on your shoulder watching TV. Handling should be kept for times when needed, like moving to a sunny basking spot or sunning cage outside or vet visits or cage cleaning.
 
Something you said there made me wonder if chams would prefer to be able to at least see lots of things going on.....from a distance? I have heard cham owners say that their cham likes looking out of a window. Now obviously we all know that chams are better kept in a quiet area of the house as apposed to a high traffic area but In the wild I would imagin that there would be lots more happening for them than in a viv....probably all stuff that would stress the heck out of them LOL but I am sure you know what I mean. Does anyone else have an oppinion on this?
 
I like to give them plenty to do - which is not to say I teach them games or play with them, but we have a lot of plants, vines real and artificial, and things and places to climb. With my chams, I've found that they readily investigate new things in their environment (branches, vines and plants) and, while they have favored perches, they seem to appreciate a variety of options for things to climb on and different perches. Add to this going outside in the warmer months (for real sunlight; "intellectual stimulation" is very much a secondary concern), the ability to see out windows and see the fish swimming in their tank (I don't know whether he actually spends any time looking there)...
 
Yes thats cool. Perhaps you are right about a well equiped viv being interesting enough to keep them amused. Maybe that really is all they need? all though I would be interested to hear other peoples oppinions on this.
 
Enrichment is important for any captive animal.
I agree that an elaborate enclosure (as big as possible with lots of plants and branches etc) is a good source of enrichment for chameleons. And so is food, but not just the variety, also how it's presented. Allowing the chameleons to hunt for their food is a lot more stimulating then just offering it in a bowl all the time.
Since my melleri live in a free range I can't just let the crickets and roaches run around, so I usually hand feed. However I still try to make it interesting for them by moving the bug around among the plants or holding it well outside their reach so they have to find a way to get close enough to catch it.

Allowing them to interact with others of their species can also be a form of enrichment. Even though most chameleon species are solitary, in the wild they would still have to interact with others to defend their territory and to find mates. Of course I'm not saying you should put your chams together and let them duke it out. It can be enough to just show them their own reflection for a short while.

To give an example of this: Our iguana has free roam of the entire house and although he spends 95% of his time on his shelves, I'm convinced that he sees the entire 1st and 2nd floor as his territory.
Every so often he will leave his room and wander around upstairs and downstairs. And as he surveys his territory he asserts his dominance to other iguanas (reflections of himself) and basks in sunbeams. Once he feels reassured that he is still the lord and master he returns to his room.
I think that this is a very important part of an adult male iguana's behavior and part of why he's still going strong after approx. 21 years.

Great topic BTW!
 
It has been noted that Meller's truly appreciate an unobstructed view of the world. I have certainly witnessed this in ours when we free range him for hours at a time, either ouitside or in. He looks much more content and happy when he's on a branch high up in the room, just looking down on us. Not overly alert, not scared, doesn't flinch when you walk by, nothing. But as soon as you walk by his cage, and he's in it with the door closed, he just doean't look as content. He doesn't do too much roaming in the cage, so I know he doesn't mind the current setup, but he is much more paranoid and quick to "get away" once you apprach him.

Anyway, I don't think there is that much "going-on" directly around them. Remember, they live up in trees and find areas to hide etc... its not like a pack of lemurs hurrys by every ten minutes. Im sure they go days without seeing much of anything other than bugs or the occasional bird.

Well, that is obvioudly my guess, as I've not lived in the trees of Africa or Madagascar for long periods of time! :p

Luis
 
IMNO they do need enrichment anything from brumation, to showing a male p.parsonii to another male to aid in mating.

if you have ever seen the reaction of a cham when you show them a bright green bug they havent seen in a while......to me its clear they are being stimulated in a way.
 
I have 4 of my chams set up in front of my sliding glass doors and they all sit looking out of the window all day.
 
Sepioteuthis said:
I agree that an elaborate enclosure (as big as possible with lots of plants and branches etc) is a good source of enrichment for chameleons. And so is food, but not just the variety, also how it's presented. Allowing the chameleons to hunt for their food is a lot more stimulating then just offering it in a bowl all the time.
Click to expand...

ditto!

I cup feed every weekday morning, but usually let them hunt their afternoon snacks and most weekend meals. I think hunting, along with prey choice and vine/banch choice, is probably good for them.
 
I sure do hope that the suggestion of teaching your chameleon tricks is simply a joke. If so then :D, if not then I am quite worried.
 
I had Leo in the sunroom for a week..During this time (up untilt he last few days when he freaked out and wasnt so well), he would climb down to a vine that looked out the window and just sit and watch..i swear he had longing in his eyes... and even so when I put him out of the cage to clean it..He would stare..Not puffed or scared..just stare longingly..:rolleyes:
IMG_2270.jpg
That was taken when he wasnt feeling well hence the darkness and stressed eyes.

But I moved him back to his dark corner where he seems happier..Someone mentioned that the reflection in a window could cause health issue from stress..
 
The tricks thing has to be a joke...I mean come on LMAO! My question about enrichment was mearly to ask if what most folks provide for their chams is enough for thm to have a good life that does not send them into unnatural stress related behavious. I mean if i was kept in an enclosure with just food and water I might live a long while but would be banging my head against the wall in frustration and bordom LOL.
 
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