first fall, what do i do?

[Eamon]

my guy just had his first ever fall. I walk into my room and I guess I opened the door to violently and he fell and hit the ground pretty hard. after a couple seconds of staring at me he gets up and climbs right back to the top, he is moving how he usually does and has no obvious injuries. I was wondering how I should go about this, play it by ear or straight to the vet? what would be the most likely injuries and how do i determine if he has them? I just took another look about 5 minutes after the fall and he still looks and acts normally.

 

[Eamon]

checked his legs for breaks and there are none as far as I can tell. how do I check for broken ribs?

 

[Carlton]

How old is he? How far did he fall and on to what? A healthy cham can withstand quite a fall better than we expect. If they have enough time, they will inflate themselves with air that helps cushion the impact. If he did injure himself he would most likely stop moving around, may favor a leg, and he may show a dark grey bruised area on the skin. I've seen my adult chams fall from ceiling height to floor and walk away without batting an eye. I've seen them fall out of trees in the wild, get up and stroll away as if it was nothing.

People often assume they break ribs. Don't forget their ribs are quite flexible with cartilaginous joints. It enables them to flatten out their body shape while basking and to inflate themselves to threaten intruders.

 

[Eamon]

How old is he? How far did he fall and on to what? A healthy cham can withstand a fall better than we expect. If they have enough time, they will inflate themselves with air that helps cushion the impact. If he did injure himself he would most likely stop moving around, may favor a leg, and he may show a dark grey bruised area on the skin.

he is around a year old and he just fell straight to the bottom which is plastic on top of wood. it was around a 3-4 foot fall but I didn't get a good look so I'm just guessing based on where he usually hangs out. how long would he stop moving around for and would it be immediate or would he climb back up then stop moving? no leg favoring or bruises which is good.

 

[Carlton]

Inside a cage? Unless he was really, really unlucky to fall exactly wrong, a 3-4 foot fall is nothing. If he isn't moving around, eating or drinking by tomorrow I'd start to pay closer attention.

 

[Eamon]

Inside a cage? Unless he was really, really unlucky to fall exactly wrong, a 3-4 foot fall is nothing. If he isn't moving around, eating or drinking by tomorrow I'd start to pay closer attention.

that's a relief! he is doing his usual pacing and I will keep an eye on him for the next couple days. thanks so much!

 

[Carlton]

Seem to recall either an African or Malagasy folk legend falling chameleons. Gravid females would let themselves fall out of tall trees, burst open when they hit the ground, releasing their babies. It seemed to be associated with the belief that because chameleons couldn't be killed, they made good hosts for ancestor spirits.

Also seem to recall reading an explorer's account of a large chameleon (maybe Melleri?) suddenly crashing down out of an overhead rainforest tree, hitting the ground with a splat, then walking away as if nothing had happened.

 

[Eamon]

Seem to recall either an African or Malagasy folk legend falling chameleons. Gravid females would let themselves fall out of tall trees, burst open when they hit the ground, releasing their babies. It seemed to be associated with the belief that because chameleons couldn't be killed, they made good hosts for ancestor spirits.

Also seem to recall reading an explorer's account of a large chameleon (maybe Melleri?) suddenly crashing down out of an overhead rainforest tree, hitting the ground with a splat, then walking away as if nothing had happened.

huh, that's pretty interesting.

 

[MissSkittles]

How’s your fella doing today? Any bruising or anything?