Letting him wander around

[Slofe]

I am moving into my own place in September, no more sharing with strangers for me . Isamabard will of course be coming with me and will be housed in the living room. As there's no one in the house but me and as I can actually put all my stuff (which aint much) in different rooms, and therefore keep the place tidier, i'm thinking of letting him explore the living room while i'm out for the day.

I don't really handle him much as he clearly doesn't like it, he's quite a gentle soul and rarely hisses but can tell he feels uneasy sitting on my hand. So was wondering, how do those of you that let their chameleons wander free go about getting them back in? Is it just a case of leaving them a path back to the cage? Does the heat of the basking lamp attract them? He'll have lots of shelving to climb on and i'm gonna get him another tree so he can chill out in that too.

 

[tkilgour]

One of my panther chams loves to come out of his enclosure when I open the door. He rushes off his perch and right to me whenever I approach. However, I would not trust to just let him wander around the room. Simply for fear he would dissappear in an air vent or possibly fall down a toilet bowl or down the sink drain. Call me paranoid but I wouldnt do that. I am sure some do it w/ no problem. However, I would worry all day I was gone.

 

[Slofe]

One of my panther chams loves to come out of his enclosure when I open the door. He rushes off his perch and right to me whenever I approach. However, I would not trust to just let him wander around the room. Simply for fear he would dissappear in an air vent or possibly fall down a toilet bowl or down the sink drain. Call me paranoid but I wouldnt do that. I am sure some do it w/ no problem. However, I would worry all day I was gone.

There's no vents or anything in the room, just a window that i'd keep closed and the door, I wouldn't let him go round the whole apartment! He probably wouldn't come out anyway! he seems to like it too much in there

 

[tkilgour]

some chams would prob. be okay. I have serveral others that would never venture outside the enclosure even w/ the door open. Prob. depends on the cham. and how you feel about it.

 

[kinyonga]

How will he stay warm enough?
How can you give him enough UVB?

 

[Slofe]

How will he stay warm enough?
How can you give him enough UVB?

Well this is what i'm asking when I mentioned about them being attracted to the heat source etc.

 

[Jono]

After basking, etc. the biggest problems for a freeranger is at some point hes going to end up somewhere unexpected, like under the door when you open it from the other side, or clinging to the inside frame when you close it. It really means that you have to be EXTRA EXTRA careful and if there is a chance anyone else will be in his space he needs to go back into his cage before they get there. People are generally forgetful and clumsy and one wrong step could lose you a chameleon as well as a friend.

And of course there's the poop.

 

[Syn]

My chameleon got out of his old cage once.. oh god, I found a nice big poop right on top of my TV.. *cries*

 

[jannb]

I free range. You will need to have your house/room cham proof and the proper lighting. You should be able to get some ideas from this older thread.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/who-else-keeping-their-13878/

 

[hallenhe]

I've always free-ranged in the living room (aside from pygmies and juveniles). We have a large board (I believe it was once the headboard to a bed) that we put across the living room door that chams can't climb over; my last apartment had an entry way that could also have been blocked by this "lizard gate". I learned from very sad experience the vital necessity of covering all fish tanks (air hoses and power cords can be climbed); since then, all has been well. My chams explore, but they have a good idea of where "home" is, and there are always two or three preferred spots. As Thaxter has gotten on in years, he has become less adventuresome, and rarely strays from a set number of preferred places. I don't let the heat get below 64 at night in the winter (daytime is 68 ambient, with basking light on and warmer), and he knows where to find water and bugs.