Free Range Safety

[KingJulien]

It appears that many people let their chameleons walk around the house, or sit in trees in the house, in the shower, or on a tree outside. As a new owner I am cautious. I would love for my chameleon to get out of his cage, as long as it is enjoyable for him but I am concerned about his safety.

How do I get started with this sort of thing? Just put him in a plant on the kitchen couter and watch and see how he reacts? Will chameleons try to run off and hide or climb anything climbable? I have to be especially careful because I have a dog. He seems uninterested in the chameleon, but you never know.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Teresa

 

[jannb]

How old is your chameleon? To start with you could let him come out and just hang on a tree or large plant and keep an eye on him. If you decide to set up a full time free range you will need to cham proof the free range area and he will need the UVB and basking light hung over the FR. You will also need to be able to mist and water your cham. I have free ranged both of mine for years so just let me know if you have anymore questions.

 

[Thompson]

First you need to find a spot where you would like to free range your chameleon. If you have dogs or cats you should put the free range are in a room with a door. Next you need to think like a chameleon, the chameleon will leave it's free range if all of it's needs aren't met. I would put a free range near a sunny window because they seem to like the bright light. Also you need to Cham proof the room, always think can my Cham end up here if he were to wonder off. I wouldn't free range a babie Cham, they wonder off more and can get stuck in small places.

Will this be a permanent free range? What type of chameleon?

 

[carol5208]

You really just have to use common sense. My free range consists of a couple plants on my patio and he can access by a stick to climb back and forth. My patio is like one huge screen cage so he loves climibing on the screen. You just really have to map out where you are setting it up and figure out what else he could get into that could harm them if they fell or something. They are like little Houdinis as you know and figure out real quick how to get around!!! Most of the time I supervise when mine free ranges or I am constantly checking in on him like a little child. Of course, I think we all know that we never put them outside in a plant and leave them unattended in harmsway to some type of predator or they might just escape!

 

[bridgofaith]

You have received great advice so far. If this is just to give him some out-of-cage time, then of course, watch him the same as if you were taking him outside. If you decide to make this permanent, you will need to provide the same things out of the cage that you provide in the cage. I would be very careful regarding the dog.

 

[KingJulien]

I have a spare bedroom that no one is really using, so that has me considering a permanent setup in the future, but for now I'm just thinking along the lines of supervised playtime.

Jann- you have free ranged both of yours for years? That's awesome. Could I keep two panthers (male/male or male/female) in the same room? I'm thinking about getting another. I've had mine for a week and I'm already hooked.

Thompson- My chameleon is about 6 months old, male panther.

carol5208- So when people are talking about free range, for most it's a part time thing, with a good enclosure also? I guess that would be the safest if I'm not there to supervise

bridgofaith- I'm super careful with the dog, he's a big boy. So far he doesn't seem to care about the creature but I still won't put the chameleon where the dog can get to him.

 

[Leedslad88]

You really just have to use common sense. My free range consists of a couple plants on my patio and he can access by a stick to climb back and forth. My patio is like one huge screen cage so he loves climibing on the screen. You just really have to map out where you are setting it up and figure out what else he could get into that could harm them if they fell or something. They are like little Houdinis as you know and figure out real quick how to get around!!! Most of the time I supervise when mine free ranges or I am constantly checking in on him like a little child. Of course, I think we all know that we never put them outside in a plant and leave them unattended in harmsway to some type of predator or they might just escape!

COmmon sense is definatley the way forward!

 

[pssh]

I free range my panther Hyperion full time. I have a nifty 9 foot tall metal thing that you can hang stuff on. I connected a few bushy pothos to eachother (one ontop of eachother) and hung them from that. He has a full 8x2x2 -ish free range plus I can just swing the plants over to an open window for some natural sunlight and UVB. He likes it so far. He even started to willingly climb onto me and refusing to go back in his cage when I had set it up, so I just gave the cage to my boyfriend and now he hangs out in my living room.

He's really starting to warm up to people now. My friend who is frequently over really likes him and feeds him when she's over has had him climb onto her hand voluntarily! He's a real character. Sometimes he puffs up when you go towards him but shortly gets scared and walks away when he doesn't want to be handled/fed/watered.

 

[Thompson]

Could I keep two panthers (male/male or male/female) in the same room? I'm thinking about getting another. I've had mine for a week and I'm already hooked.

You can free range two male chameleons together. They wouls need a very large room though. A member on here free ranges about 9 chams together in 20'x20' room I think. I wouldnt try it until you've had more experience with chameleons and what to look for woth stress colorations and stuff like that. Look up eric thompson, he's the one with ths free range.

 

[KingJulien]

I free range my panther Hyperion full time. I have a nifty 9 foot tall metal thing that you can hang stuff on. I connected a few bushy pothos to eachother (one ontop of eachother) and hung them from that. He has a full 8x2x2 -ish free range plus I can just swing the plants over to an open window for some natural sunlight and UVB. He likes it so far. He even started to willingly climb onto me and refusing to go back in his cage when I had set it up, so I just gave the cage to my boyfriend and now he hangs out in my living room.

He's really starting to warm up to people now. My friend who is frequently over really likes him and feeds him when she's over has had him climb onto her hand voluntarily! He's a real character. Sometimes he puffs up when you go towards him but shortly gets scared and walks away when he doesn't want to be handled/fed/watered.

Do you have a UVB light hanging from his metal thing? I think I saw a picture of something like this before, it looked like an industrial kitchen shelf. How do you keep him from coming too close to the lights/heat source? Do you have a way to keep him from leaving his free range area, or is this not a concern?

The comfort level around the keepers is exactly what I'm hoping for. It seems that when my chameleon is happy he is much less afraid of me, so hopefully he will warm up to me in this kind of setup.

You can free range two male chameleons together. They wouls need a very large room though. A member on here free ranges about 9 chams together in 20'x20' room I think. I wouldnt try it until you've had more experience with chameleons and what to look for woth stress colorations and stuff like that. Look up eric thompson, he's the one with ths free range.

Maybe for two males they could have seperate areas on opposite sides of the room? I will definitely wait a while before trying anything like this.

Thanks everyone for the input. I will look up Eric's posts.

 

[laurie]

Free ranging is great if you have the time, expertise and space for it. Now some things that can go wrong. I have had a couple of these happen so I know they can. Cham hanging upside down under uvb light that puts him about 2" from bulb, cham gets to floor walks in front of door, you open door and hurt cham (I did that one ), cham is eating dirt or other items you are unaware of, cham gets into open worm bin - yes again one of mine. Just a few things to think about.

 

[morpheon]

Did any of your chameleons join you in your bed when you woke up late Laurie?? Like a dog or a cat would do to get food?

 

[leftyaudi]

my panther personally lives in his own tree in the house. i went to the store and bought a small tree and put it in a large tank. the tank was big enough to where he couldnt reach the edges. once he was used to his tree i removed the tank. he hasnt come down in months and really guards his tree. loves it.

 

[reptimom]

I free range my Mellers - they have a large 250 gallon reptarium that has plants and vines and it's topped with uvb lights and a plant light. It is covered with clear plastic on 3 sides to keep water off the walls. I have a large tree just outside the reptarium opening where they can hang out. They are in my guest bedroom with the door closed at all times since I have cats and dogs. They could roam the room if they wanted, but pretty much hang out in their space. Once in a while one will climb up on the top of the curtains.

 

[zwhitman]

Free range can be great. It has many benefits in terms of improving the mental health, stress levels, and tameness of your cham. It also has MANY dangers. Just about every free range cham owner has at least one accident or horror story. Your cham will explore his entire environment. After he learns where everything is, he will mostly stay on his tree (if it is well designed). The ENTIRE room needs to be cham proofed

Here are a few things that come to mind...

Open topped containers (garbage cans, empty fish tanks) that the cham can get into but not out of.

Electrical cords look a lot like branches and your cham will climb them. Electrocution becomes a concern.

Escape. It only takes one well meaning roommate to open the wrong window, or leave the door open for a few minutes for your cham to take off. From personal experience, looking for a chameleon outdoors is NOT FUN. Check your screens. Push on them HARD. My only free range horror story is that I lost a cham through a defective window screen.

Other pets. As far as I am concerned cats and chams are an absolute no no. I have both and my chams are in my snake room where there are no cats allowed. With a dog you can control the situation. You should not avoid it as you have been. You don't want the first time your dog meets your cham to be the time you forget to close the door all the way. Introduce the dog to the cham while you are holding it carefully. Let him smell the cham. Reward him if he acts gently and calmly, and reprimand him harshly if he tries to take the lizard in his mouth or gets excited and wants to play. If your dog is very interested in the cham, a squirt gun, shock collar, ect, can be good tools to discourage them. If your dog knows "down, stay" you can do that while you supervise the cham roaming at first. Some dogs have too strong of a prey drive and these dogs just cant be trusted with a cham. Other dogs would never hurt a fly.

Injury caused by you. It is easy to take a step backwards, or move a box, or open a door, and seriously injure your cham. If you free range your cham, the first thing you need to do EVERY time you walk into the room is find the lizard, so you don't do something stupid. If you have floors, the door will just slide the cham across the floor. If you have carpet (which I wouldn't recomend due to poop issues) the door can hurt them. I would put a plastic mat (like the kind for a computer chair) to minimize the chance of this injury.

No matter how careful, your cham will find things that you didn't think of. You should be very nearby for the first several days of free range.