Great Escapes!
- Thread starter Titan
- Start date
ToniandGizmo
New Member
Titan
New Member
He absolutely REFUSES to poop in his cage and has a designated "place" along one of his vines where he goes to drop oneI love how really clean they can be.
I love this part. I just posted something simular in the Free Range post. About how many Chameleons have a designated spot to poop, usually far from where they perch and sleep. Good you free Range him for his duty, makes cleaning it up easier!
Good thing Gizmo didnt slip down into the Trash
B
blackbetty
Guest
Got the jacksons a few weeks ago. Put the female outside on the tree while I got her cage ready, as I wasnt prepared to keep them. Moved the tree to the middle of the porch and assumed (silly me) she would hang out on or in it. Came back about 10-15 minutes later..couldnt find her. Searched the tree 20 times over.. Fear set in as I just got her like 30 min prior and I already lost her! I started freaking out seeing how we have woods behind us and on the side...Searched the deck and all the plants..surely thinking she didnt go off the deck, thats a story up!... Decided to go below deck and check and sure enough, she was hanging out ont he cement part that holds our deck into the ground..Not sure HOW she got down, but she's really lucky she didnt hurt herself and Im really lucky she didnt make off for the trees..Being brown, i woulda never found her!
then I made the mistake of leaving her cage open for literally 2 minutes while I filled the mister..came back and poof, gone again (inside this time). Found her 25 feet away under my bed trying to scale my nightstand! Now I dont dare leave the cage unsupervised.
then I made the mistake of leaving her cage open for literally 2 minutes while I filled the mister..came back and poof, gone again (inside this time). Found her 25 feet away under my bed trying to scale my nightstand! Now I dont dare leave the cage unsupervised.
luckykarma
New Member
Some of these are from me and another from a friend.
My friend who raises chams had a beautiful panther. Something happened and he got out of his outdoor cage. Boom. The unhappy hunt. He finally gave up. A year later I went to his small shop and he had a huge beautiful panther. I asked him about it.
He said he was walking out his front door about to get in his car on the street when he saw a tongue shoot out and grab something in the tree he was passing. It was his lost cham. A year later and it survived freezing rains that killed his other outdoor chams.
We've always freeranged our chams. Our first one, a veil was the boss of the house. He loves to go for walks, rides in the car, any activity he could interact. So when we hung out outside we'd let him run around. He was so attuned to my wife that if he came down the tree and my wife yelled, "Go back up there!" He would turn around and go back up. Then he would watch us carefully and if we were looking away he would try to make a dash.
We went back inside for something and came back out and no Karma. Panic set in like all of you. Finally two days later I found him in the yard of the building next to ours. Whew!
Naturally I didn't learn my lesson and it happened again. I couldn't believe it happened again. I went all over the neighborhood, posted signs, etc. Finally I was so depressed I walked to the beach and back berating myself. The walk is a couple hours round trip. I came back around 4PM to go in the back door, walked past Karma's favorite trees, said hello to Karma........
WHAT! I turned around and he was on his favorite tree having come home after a couple day walkabout. I couldn't believe it. I ripped apart our entire back porch so I knew he wasn't hiding anywhere. He never ran away again.
His wife, Ginger, was different. We would put her on the bushes and she would never ever move around. Then one day a client called with a big problem. It was so intense I forgot about Ginger. We've left her alone before so I was only slightly worried. Gone. To this day I still scan the neighborhood.
My friend who raises chams had a beautiful panther. Something happened and he got out of his outdoor cage. Boom. The unhappy hunt. He finally gave up. A year later I went to his small shop and he had a huge beautiful panther. I asked him about it.
He said he was walking out his front door about to get in his car on the street when he saw a tongue shoot out and grab something in the tree he was passing. It was his lost cham. A year later and it survived freezing rains that killed his other outdoor chams.
We've always freeranged our chams. Our first one, a veil was the boss of the house. He loves to go for walks, rides in the car, any activity he could interact. So when we hung out outside we'd let him run around. He was so attuned to my wife that if he came down the tree and my wife yelled, "Go back up there!" He would turn around and go back up. Then he would watch us carefully and if we were looking away he would try to make a dash.
We went back inside for something and came back out and no Karma. Panic set in like all of you. Finally two days later I found him in the yard of the building next to ours. Whew!
Naturally I didn't learn my lesson and it happened again. I couldn't believe it happened again. I went all over the neighborhood, posted signs, etc. Finally I was so depressed I walked to the beach and back berating myself. The walk is a couple hours round trip. I came back around 4PM to go in the back door, walked past Karma's favorite trees, said hello to Karma........
WHAT! I turned around and he was on his favorite tree having come home after a couple day walkabout. I couldn't believe it. I ripped apart our entire back porch so I knew he wasn't hiding anywhere. He never ran away again.
His wife, Ginger, was different. We would put her on the bushes and she would never ever move around. Then one day a client called with a big problem. It was so intense I forgot about Ginger. We've left her alone before so I was only slightly worried. Gone. To this day I still scan the neighborhood.
gideonus
New Member
Lucy the veiled has disappeared
This happened just yesterday.
I was babysitting a 1.5 year old female veiled, Lucy, for a friend. Sunday was a gorgeous very warm San Francisco day, so I took Lucy out in my enclosed back yard and let her bask on a bush. I was sure to put her on a bush that would let her climb onto a tree of anything else that would allow her to escape out of the yard. I had done this before without any problem. She'd typically navigate around the branches, find a nice sunny spot and bask. This time, though, I ran into the house to answer the phone, came back 3 minutes later, and Lucy was gone. The entire back yard is enclosed by a high fence and there's just no way she could have up and gone, but I looked EVERYWHERE for the better part of two hours, and no Lucy. I am stumped. All I can figure is that perhaps a big Blue Jay may have come by while I was in the house and swooped down to grab her (she was pretty small-maybe 7 inches total). Unfortunately, even if she didn't sucumb to a predatory bird, that evening was very cold and windy, so I doubt she could have made it thru the night. I looked the next morning again, but no luck.
Any ideas what might have happened? Chams aren't such magicians that they can come down from a comfortable bush, walk to the other end of the yard and climb up and over a 9 foot fence without the aid of climbing branches. OR?
P.S. it's now the second day and I looked again, no success, but I didn't think of using a binocular to scan the 40 foot white fir tree or the palm tree. Oh, and the "friend" is actually an 8th grade science teacher, and Lucy is the class chameleon. And now the kids are really pissed at me. They think I'm a cham killer.
One poster said that I shouldn't underestimate veileds ability to survive. But the last couple of nights have been in the low 40's (F) and windy; one of those cold windy San Fran nights. Could she survive that kind of abuse, especially if she's up a tall tree and getting pummeled by an icy wind?
This happened just yesterday.
I was babysitting a 1.5 year old female veiled, Lucy, for a friend. Sunday was a gorgeous very warm San Francisco day, so I took Lucy out in my enclosed back yard and let her bask on a bush. I was sure to put her on a bush that would let her climb onto a tree of anything else that would allow her to escape out of the yard. I had done this before without any problem. She'd typically navigate around the branches, find a nice sunny spot and bask. This time, though, I ran into the house to answer the phone, came back 3 minutes later, and Lucy was gone. The entire back yard is enclosed by a high fence and there's just no way she could have up and gone, but I looked EVERYWHERE for the better part of two hours, and no Lucy. I am stumped. All I can figure is that perhaps a big Blue Jay may have come by while I was in the house and swooped down to grab her (she was pretty small-maybe 7 inches total). Unfortunately, even if she didn't sucumb to a predatory bird, that evening was very cold and windy, so I doubt she could have made it thru the night. I looked the next morning again, but no luck.
Any ideas what might have happened? Chams aren't such magicians that they can come down from a comfortable bush, walk to the other end of the yard and climb up and over a 9 foot fence without the aid of climbing branches. OR?
P.S. it's now the second day and I looked again, no success, but I didn't think of using a binocular to scan the 40 foot white fir tree or the palm tree. Oh, and the "friend" is actually an 8th grade science teacher, and Lucy is the class chameleon. And now the kids are really pissed at me. They think I'm a cham killer.
One poster said that I shouldn't underestimate veileds ability to survive. But the last couple of nights have been in the low 40's (F) and windy; one of those cold windy San Fran nights. Could she survive that kind of abuse, especially if she's up a tall tree and getting pummeled by an icy wind?
hallenhe
Avid Member
Thaxter has the run of the living room. He has a Chameleon Condo (hanging plant set-up with basking light, drip system and catch basin), and ZooMed and/or Pothos vines that allow him to get from one end of the room to the other without coming down to the ground. The first couple years we had him, we conscientiously lowered the "lizard gate" (sheet of plywood) that we could step over, but that kept him in the living room, but he's slowing down as he reaches middle-aged, and we no longer find it necessary.
That's what I told the sitter the last day before I left to visit my Dad in Vegas and Jason took over feeding the lizards. I went home that last evening, took Thaxter out in the sun for a bit, sat inside with him for a bit, and left him on the couch while I went out for a sub. 20 minutes later, I'm back with dinner and there's no chameleon to be seen.
Finally found him in the bedroom (up 18 stairs, each as tall as he is), on the back of a chair. I looked at the stairs when I'd come home, and several times as I was looking for him, and no sign of him, so he pretty much had to get off the couch and sprint (in chameleon terms) across the living room, up the stairs and turn the corner into the bedroom the moment I left.
I let him stay there for the night. He was not at all pleased to be found in this new place he had discovered, and he hardly consented to climb on my hand for a superworm in the morning. I lowered the lizard gate and left a note for the sitter.
That's what I told the sitter the last day before I left to visit my Dad in Vegas and Jason took over feeding the lizards. I went home that last evening, took Thaxter out in the sun for a bit, sat inside with him for a bit, and left him on the couch while I went out for a sub. 20 minutes later, I'm back with dinner and there's no chameleon to be seen.
Finally found him in the bedroom (up 18 stairs, each as tall as he is), on the back of a chair. I looked at the stairs when I'd come home, and several times as I was looking for him, and no sign of him, so he pretty much had to get off the couch and sprint (in chameleon terms) across the living room, up the stairs and turn the corner into the bedroom the moment I left.
I let him stay there for the night. He was not at all pleased to be found in this new place he had discovered, and he hardly consented to climb on my hand for a superworm in the morning. I lowered the lizard gate and left a note for the sitter.
chamer
New Member
I had a Veil cham that could open the cage door. He would do it every time if I did not lock it. he would use the top of his head to be between the bars and push it open. My Panther now has full range of screen porch, in FL he loves it, but still refuses to eat crickets. I only feed him this the first year and now he only eats wax worms.
lanceman
New Member
Ok my cham cage sits atop my beardie cage towards the top of the beardie cage are vent holes. My cham that likes to escape and wander got out of his enclosure and somehow droped and caught hold of the vent hole crazy thing is it was way to far to reach even at full tail extension so he had to pull some major acrobatics(or just got lucky) So i came home to find them almost siting together basking perfectly content i even looked at em said high and kept walkin. Couple seconds later the double take hapened.
Lizardlover
New Member
When Sam was a wee chameleon, I was adding new plants to his cage, as i was washing his desert rose i came back to an empty cage....i thought maybe he fell off the stand (i dont know how he got anywhere, my stand is like an island) after much panic and 15 minutes of searching i found him on a flag pole in my garage, he was NOT happy to see me 
