Free Range Dilema-Can they jump?!

[Andie]

My Panther cham, Pixel, has become quite the little Houdini on his free range.
We've tried everything we can think of to keep him contained to his free range, but he always manages to escape somehow. UGH!

This leads us to wonder if he's able to jump. Does anyone know if they have this capability?
We have 2 large plants, set inside giant pots, elevated from the floor. Our inspiration for lighting was from Jann, and we hid them inside an upside down planter.
The plants sit in our huge, bay window of our bedroom. I wrapped poster board around the bottoms of the planters, because we suspected he was able to climb down by hanging from his tail, but we're not totally sure.

The only thing we haven't yet done, is to find some way to put a wall around the base of the floor. I've even temporarily taken down my shears, so see if that's what he's using to jump onto.

I even tried using the time-lapse feature of my iPhone to see if I could catch him in the act. He was just too patient and waited. lol!

If anyone knows if they can jump, please chime in. I don't mind having to put him back, but he's starting to get irritated with always being "sent home."

 

[distortionz]

Not as much jump as fall to the ground lol.. But yes I have a male I've watched take the leap about 6-7 ft high from a hanging plant to try and get to a female across the room

 

[nightanole]

Yup. Cant jump up though.

Reminds me of my water dragon. It used to shimmy up a hung pant leg, and just jump right back onto the floor, rinse repeat.

 

[Andie]

Some photos of his free range.

 

[Andie]

Yup. Cant jump up though.

Reminds me of my water dragon. It used to shimmy up a hung pant leg, and just jump right back onto the floor, rinse repeat.

OMGOSH! That's hilarious!
By the last, spread-eagled, slow mo shot, I was laughing out loud!

 

[Carlton]

My Panther cham, Pixel, has become quite the little Houdini on his free range.
We've tried everything we can think of to keep him contained to his free range, but he always manages to escape somehow. UGH!

This leads us to wonder if he's able to jump. Does anyone know if they have this capability?
We have 2 large plants, set inside giant pots, elevated from the floor. Our inspiration for lighting was from Jann, and we hid them inside an upside down planter.
The plants sit in our huge, bay window of our bedroom. I wrapped poster board around the bottoms of the planters, because we suspected he was able to climb down by hanging from his tail, but we're not totally sure.

The only thing we haven't yet done, is to find some way to put a wall around the base of the floor. I've even temporarily taken down my shears, so see if that's what he's using to jump onto.

I even tried using the time-lapse feature of my iPhone to see if I could catch him in the act. He was just too patient and waited. lol!

If anyone knows if they can jump, please chime in. I don't mind having to put him back, but he's starting to get irritated with always being "sent home."

How long have you been using the free range? If its recent, he's still "deciding" that this is a good spot to stay in. If he keeps trying to escape, he may not like something about the free range (maybe he feels too exposed), or he can see someplace BETTER from there that he wants to get to. I have created a simple containment fence around the base of a free range by cutting up a large cardboard box, making stabilizing tabs to keep it upright, and arranging it vertically around the base of the area. It makes a smooth wall too tall for him to climb over and you can just fold it up when you don't need it.

 

[Andie]

How long have you been using the free range? If its recent, he's still "deciding" that this is a good spot to stay in. If he keeps trying to escape, he may not like something about the free range (maybe he feels too exposed), or he can see someplace BETTER from there that he wants to get to. I have created a simple containment fence around the base of a free range by cutting up a large cardboard box, making stabilizing tabs to keep it upright, and arranging it vertically around the base of the area. It makes a smooth wall too tall for him to climb over and you can just fold it up when you don't need it.

Thanks, Carlton. He's been on it since he was around 4-5 months old. I've raised him from a baby. He's just bigger now, so he can reach new places.
We usually find him on top of my curtain finials, looking down at us. Once in a while, he'll stroll across my headboard. lol!

Now that I know he can jump, I'm worried there's no options left, but to cage him. This would be a bummer, as I hate the way the big cage looks, and (more importantly), I don't want to do that to him.

My fear is that, once we put up a wall on the floor, he'll still jump over to the drapes. I've pulled them as far away as I can, but if he's leaping......

 

[Andie]

So, after several different tries, over many days, we finally decided to cage Pixel. I tried everything I could think of to contain him, but he's just jumping out too far for me to contain him.
I took down all my drapes and shears, so he couldn't jump onto them. I covered the bottoms of the plant stands.....nothing worked. He's just too clever for his own good!

We're away for 10 days, with someone house sitting for us. I didn't want them having to chase him all over the place, so we set up a beautiful ( formerly for a parrot), open air cage for him.

I'm hoping Jann will see this post and respond. Have you ever had a cham you couldn't free range? Will he be alright?

 

[Decadancin]

So, after several different tries, over many days, we finally decided to cage Pixel. I tried everything I could think of to contain him, but he's just jumping out too far for me to contain him.
I took down all my drapes and shears, so he couldn't jump onto them. I covered the bottoms of the plant stands.....nothing worked. He's just too clever for his own good!

We're away for 10 days, with someone house sitting for us. I didn't want them having to chase him all over the place, so we set up a beautiful ( formerly for a parrot), open air cage for him.

I'm hoping Jann will see this post and respond. Have you ever had a cham you couldn't free range? Will he be alright?

Just as an FYI,I'm not sure if you know this trick, but if you want Jann to see a post of yours, you just need to tag her user name @jannb and she should get an alert to the thread and see you are looking for her input. As far as I know she has had all her chameleons free ranging at least part of the time. She has some really cool types. If your cham is an escape artist, I wouldn't let him free range unsupervised.

 

[jannb]

I recommend you put a large coral around the bottom so he can't escape. You can see my corals here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...e-chameleon-condos-with-drainage-pans.146593/

 

[jannb]

Just as an FYI,I'm not sure if you know this trick, but if you want Jann to see a post of yours, you just need to tag her user name @jannb and she should get an alert to the thread and see you are looking for her input. As far as I know she has had all her chameleons free ranging at least part of the time. She has some really cool types. If your cham is an escape artist, I wouldn't let him free range unsupervised.

No, I've never had a cham that I couldn't free range but I'm often creative. I free range from hatch or from the time I get them until they pass. The only time I use a cage is the large outside sun cages for a few house a day when I can not be outside watching them in a tree.

 

[medgecko]

Egads ... using oleander as a prop? That stuff is uber poisonous.

 

[Belzar420]

So, after several different tries, over many days, we finally decided to cage Pixel. I tried everything I could think of to contain him, but he's just jumping out too far for me to contain him.
I took down all my drapes and shears, so he couldn't jump onto them. I covered the bottoms of the plant stands.....nothing worked. He's just too clever for his own good!

We're away for 10 days, with someone house sitting for us. I didn't want them having to chase him all over the place, so we set up a beautiful ( formerly for a parrot), open air cage for him.

I'm hoping Jann will see this post and respond. Have you ever had a cham you couldn't free range? Will he be alright?

Hey Andie! I'm New to the Chamaeleon life and wondered if you've considered draping a garden mesh or fine net material from the height of the top of the lights to the floor (with like a wood intersection placed over the top of the lights to make it easy to hang) in a large circumference that gives him a free range space. So if he wanted to jump to the garden mesh/fine net material, he can climb all over it and still be im a sense free range and contained and the garden material net would also allow for air flow i would think a slightly heavier material over the top of the wood intersection referred to earlier would be an extra precaution so he doesnt climb over the top of the net wall and climb right back down on the outside lol As well, the videos of the jackson breed of chameleon jumping may not be whats going on with your panther chams breeds ability. He could just be falling like another member said :/ and if he is trying to leave the home you raised him in, maybe he simply needs a large tree. The pictures you displayed, if I may positively criticize , did look to be really open and fairly limited in height for what he knows he has the ability to climb higher when he gets ahold of the drapes lol but if you expanded that region by maybe making the lights higher or attached to the ceiling, then you could maybe buy him a large nee tree all together Especially if he is searching for new territory. And a bushier tree or increased plants might help his home feel a bit more secluded too. Hope you dont mind the short story lol here's a pic of my veiled cham Belzar's "free range" "contained enclosure". I have plans to install a shelf on the wall opposite the lights to place an overgrown safe potted plant to drape over to extend his climbing past the tree top and a second, smaller potted tree-like plant to provide much more foliage for where its bare. Hope you get ideas cause glass and metal walls suck, but stuff like this for non jumpers or a draped garden material wall for jumpers is good effort.

 

[Belzar420]

Egads ... using oleander as a prop? That stuff is uber poisonous.

Letting the little dude flop on himself like that with no pile of leaves at least too isnt cool just for the sake of proof to the world he can jump.

 

[Andie]

Hey Andie! I'm New to the Chamaeleon life and wondered if you've considered draping a garden mesh or fine net material from the height of the top of the lights to the floor (with like a wood intersection placed over the top of the lights to make it easy to hang) in a large circumference that gives him a free range space. So if he wanted to jump to the garden mesh/fine net material, he can climb all over it and still be im a sense free range and contained and the garden material net would also allow for air flow i would think a slightly heavier material over the top of the wood intersection referred to earlier would be an extra precaution so he doesnt climb over the top of the net wall and climb right back down on the outside lol As well, the videos of the jackson breed of chameleon jumping may not be whats going on with your panther chams breeds ability. He could just be falling like another member said :/ and if he is trying to leave the home you raised him in, maybe he simply needs a large tree. The pictures you displayed, if I may positively criticize , did look to be really open and fairly limited in height for what he knows he has the ability to climb higher when he gets ahold of the drapes lol but if you expanded that region by maybe making the lights higher or attached to the ceiling, then you could maybe buy him a large nee tree all together Especially if he is searching for new territory. And a bushier tree or increased plants might help his home feel a bit more secluded too. Hope you dont mind the short story lol here's a pic of my veiled cham Belzar's "free range" "contained enclosure". I have plans to install a shelf on the wall opposite the lights to place an overgrown safe potted plant to drape over to extend his climbing past the tree top and a second, smaller potted tree-like plant to provide much more foliage for where its bare. Hope you get ideas cause glass and metal walls suck, but stuff like this for non jumpers or a draped garden material wall for jumpers is good effort.

Thank you for the ideas.

 

[ChameSecret]

Yup. Cant jump up though.

Reminds me of my water dragon. It used to shimmy up a hung pant leg, and just jump right back onto the floor, rinse repeat.

This is amazing. XTREME.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

You could always build some type of wall that your chameleon is unable to climb over, kind of like what this user did here...

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/my-free-range-setup-check-it-out.150454/#post-1273105

Theirs looks very neat and clean and is seemingly escape-proof.