Guido, the free ranging veiled cham
Has anyone ever tried free ranging veileds?
OUr veiled cham, Guido, lives on the miniblinds in our home office (the miniblinds are the wide, wooden type.
This is why: When we got him we housed him in a traditional mesh enclosure designed for canopy dwelling chams such as veileds. He had the mister, heat lamp, UV lamp, live ficus, etc. We hand fed him, frequently luring him out of his cage. He didn't mind the handling, was very curious, and would spend some time climbing about outside his screened cage (which measured 18x18x36), climbing on the cage, on us, on the desks in the office, etc. In fact, he liked it too much. He reached a point where, when placed in his cage, he would rub his nose on the mesh until it bled. We would treat the wound, put him back in the cage, and thought, leave him be, he'll get tired of that act and settle down. Well, he didn't.
In the mean time we monitored his cage temperatures, adjusted the misting, etc., trying to keep him happy. He still tried to get out. The moment we would let him out he'd turn his happy green color and strut around confidently, like nobody's business.
Well, we read about a woman whose cham lived in a window, on a mini-blind, during the day. So we tried that, and he loved it. Everyday we would move heat lamp, UV bulb, plants, from his cage to the miniblind. He would happily sit on the miniblind for hours on end watching the world outside his window. Finally we just set him up on the minblind full time, with all his accoutrements, and with herp vines leading to a bookcase, and back to his cage (he ignored his cage).
Since then, we enlarged out home office, built Guido a special bay window set up, with his lights, and plants, and with vines reaching out into the room, and there he lives, happy as a lark. He has a southern exposure, so he gets to sunbathe, too.
To compensate for this open environment (and its reduced humidity) we mist him regularly, have him drink from a spray bottle, and give him frequent showers (in our bathroom shower, sitting on a large schefflera). We really stay on our toes concerning his hydration.
We have to be very mindful of the temperature of the room, and to keep the office doors closed. If a cham disappears into a house, it can be impossible to find. And, once the cham cools down it will shut down, and if not found and rescued, it would die. So, this, and the hydration, are two major concerns with the "free roaming" set up.
Of course, Guido is the only cham we have. This would not work for multiple chams, as they would not wish to share the window.
Congrats! Let me know if you go the route of free ranging. I can't do that because I have a cat as well and don't want my cham to become a late night snack...
