Moving

[SycoSquirl]

Hay guys, just wanting to get some advice on moving with my chameleon. I have a 24x24x48 cage and its really heavy from all the plants inside. Recently my guy has gotten very grumpy with me (ive been busy with school so havent had time to get him out regularly to keep him used to me =/) with this being said I have no idea how im going to move him. We are going to be renting a moving truck but would he really be safe in the cage in the back of a moving truck with a all my furniture? Please help so this move goes smoothly for him

 

[AACblackout]

Snack bag and pack him like your shopping if your not going far or something you can put him in and be able to hold while someone drives

 

[laurie]

How far are you moving? I moved a group from southern CA up to Montana. We stayed over 3 nights on the way - lots of fun - not. A pain to haul then in and out every night. But we did it. I can give you ideas based on where you are moving to and from, and if it is just 1 cham it is a lot easier. Also how soon are you moving.

 

[SycoSquirl]

Im just moving a few miles away from where I am now, I would do the bag thing but I cant get anywhere near him without him trying to bite me and getting really grumpy

 

[laurie]

Take any thing out of his cage that could fall and hurt his grumpy little butt, then put his cage in the car. Make sure he is not in the sun so he does not over heat. Then get him out of the car and into the house. Also tell him I said to stop being such a grumpy guy!!

Good luck moving - i hate moving!

 

[SycoSquirl]

thanks guys, yah I hate moving too. only things that can fall in the cage are the plants at the bottom looks like Ill have to brave the bite to get him out just to be safe since everything is so hard to get out of the cage. At least when moving once your done your done for several months at least haha Thanks again for the help =)

 

[BMO]

You can try wearing gardening gloves if you're afraid of being bit. Another method would be to get a stick that is strong enough to support him, coax him onto it and then pull out the stick.

 

[SycoSquirl]

You can try wearing gardening gloves if you're afraid of being bit. Another method would be to get a stick that is strong enough to support him, coax him onto it and then pull out the stick.

PERFECT! I use a gardening glove with my tarantula I dont know why I didnt think of trying that with my grumpy boy too haha Thanks =D

 

[JonRich]

I also like the stick method. I had a Veiled that was cage territorial and would not come out without a fight. Once he came out with the stick he calmed rite down. Try to avoid garbing him.

 

[SycoSquirl]

Yah i know not to grab him, really will stress him out since it makes him feel like a big predator is attacking him

 

[KrazyZen]

just try not to grab him from above but ease your hand underneath him moving slowly and becareful not to pull him out quickly just in case he uses his tail to anchor on a branch. if he does gently move him around til he releases. is it a panther? i've never had one bite me but i doubt it would even hurt i've only seen them open there mouth looking pissed. as for moving i'd just put him in a bag or a decent size styrofoam box. personally i wouldn't have him in the car where he may fall or roam around cuz for one it can be a distraction to you while driving and second risk a possible injury trying to drive to his new home . even having him in a branch is risky, imagine how much grumpier he'll be if you had to brake and stop fast flying forward off the branch lol. i'm sure you 2 will make it in one piece so good luck =)

 

[azrael]

... is it a panther? i've never had one bite me but i doubt it would even hurt i've only seen them open there mouth looking pissed... =)

Panthers can bite, and it does hurt. We have a grumpy guy 2 year old male and if he is not in the mood, he will try to bite. We now wear gardening gloves for those moods if he needs to come out of his cage but thankfully we don't always have to. Before we knew just how testy he could be, he bit my husband and drew blood. We were spoiled with our younger babies when we got him who didn't even so much as hiss at us. The picture below is him in such a mood. Thankfully he give us warning.

 

[jajeanpierre]

i've never had one bite me but i doubt it would even hurt i've only seen them open there mouth looking pissed. as for moving i'd just put him in a bag or a decent size styrofoam box.=)

That's what I thought until I tried to give a 60 gram wild-caught quad medicine. He bit really hard and even drew blood. I was surprised. I have big macaws that can crack open a Brazil nut as if they were peeling a peanut, so have on occasion been nailed by an over-excited macaw. I couldn't imagine that little tiny 60g quad could bite so hard. It felt like his jaws had razor blades for teeth. Whatever you do, if you are ever bitten, don't jerk away--you can hurt the chameleon and make your injury a lot worse. Use gloves if you are afraid of being bitten. Try to get him to step on your hand by going from underneath him. They are hardwired to respond to danger from above.

As far as packing him up, a smaller space is better so he won't get jostled much. Take some paper towels and twist them up so he has something to grab as well as padding. Dampen some at the bottom for humidity. Keep him dark so he settles right down. My vet gave me a bag of IV fluids for a hot water bottle--I just heat it up in the microwave for a few minutes and it holds heat for a really long time. Just be careful to not over heat him.

I would not ever try to move him in his cage, especially a screen cage. There is too much room so he can get hurt if he falls. Also, he might hang on the sides and the screen cages can do a number on their claws.

Just try to be quick and gentle when you move him. The shorter time you take to move him from his cage to the travel cage, the less stress he'll suffer in the long run. Leave him covered up in the travel box until his cage is all set up.

You can use a small shoe-box sized plastic tote with holes drilled in the sides. Dont give him much room and keep it dark. Don't let him see anything--it will only stress him more.

Good luck on your move.

 

[KrazyZen]

i can relate to your pain i been bit by a lesser sulfer cockatoo in a friends pet store and the only reason i didn't scream at it to let go of my finger was because there were customers in the store lol . i just casually walked to the back after it let go and to the restroom to clean up my bleeding finger. normally i probably wouldn't have been so trustful of large birds with strong bite pressure but i got so use to living with my sisters moluccan cockatoo who was super friendly so i didn't think nothing of it but lesson learned. as far as reptiles go i don't know how a panthers bite feels but i been bit by a juv. nile monitor that kind of hurt and took awhile to let go of my finger. was hard to help my customers and look professional while sporting a monitor on my finger lol.

 

[jajeanpierre]

i can relate to your pain i been bit by a lesser sulfer cockatoo in a friends pet store and the only reason i didn't scream at it to let go of my finger was because there were customers in the store lol . i just casually walked to the back after it let go and to the restroom to clean up my bleeding finger. normally i probably wouldn't have been so trustful of large birds with strong bite pressure but i got so use to living with my sisters moluccan cockatoo who was super friendly so i didn't think nothing of it but lesson learned. as far as reptiles go i don't know how a panthers bite feels but i been bit by a juv. nile monitor that kind of hurt and took awhile to let go of my finger. was hard to help my customers and look professional while sporting a monitor on my finger lol.

The cockatoos do a lot of damage because they have a little notch in their beak unlike all other parrots. A lot of people have permanent nerve damage from a bite to the face from cockatoos. The big macaws just crush. Cockatoos can give quite a serious bite. I never let a big bird on my shoulder, but sometimes they ambush me from behind. It is so easy to get nailed really hard by a bird who is just over excited and vents their excitement through their beak.

I was really surprised how much that bite from the 60g quad hurt. I unwittingly put my finger in his mouth to hold it open when I gave him some meds. He bit down, hard.

 

[KrazyZen]

actually the blue hyacinth macaw is probably the worse bite of all parrots since it has the strongiest bite pressure that it uses to open hard nuts they are like crocs but with wings. not that this has anything to do with moving lol.

 

[SycoSquirl]

you guys just gave me so many nightmare scenarios in my head about moving haha but you also gave perfect ways to avoid scary dangerous stuff. Ill pad an old shoe box of mine with paper towels and put the lid on that (still has the two holes on both sides for air) and he will be on the lap of one of my parents for safe keeping. As for getting him out if he decides he is in no mood to come out I can put on this green flannel I have thats really big and use it to cover my hand to get under him. Usually just getting near him is the struggle but once he is on me he usually calms down and starts exploring.

Ive had a pet tarantula for around 4 years now and was always afraid of her when she would rear up all grumpy because I thought she would try and bite me but she never did
Then my old boy Gilligan which was a Veiled which I had for 3 months this past summer would constantly try to bite me getting him out of the cage because he was so sick he needed to go to the vet twice a week, (the store that sold him said he was around 8-9months but he was really 3-4 years and really really sick) so my dad started just reaching in and grabbing him which always hurt me to watch because I knew it stressed him out so much but it was the only way to try and help make his life better
My current boy Bowser is a red body blue bar panther and he was sweet and curious in his smaller cage, but since i moved him to his bigger cage he is more grumpy and not wanting to be touched so I havent held him as much as I used to.

I hope to remedy this at the place I am moving to because I think he is going off of the emotions I have where I am living now, but also the apartment im moving to already has a ceiling hook by the window where I want to put his cage so I can set up a free range now so maybe he wont be so grumpy all the time haha (of coarse when I'm not home he will be put back in his cage for safe keeping though)

 

[jajeanpierre]

you guys just gave me so many nightmare scenarios in my head about moving haha but you also gave perfect ways to avoid scary dangerous stuff. Ill pad an old shoe box of mine with paper towels and put the lid on that (still has the two holes on both sides for air) and he will be on the lap of one of my parents for safe keeping. As for getting him out if he decides he is in no mood to come out I can put on this green flannel I have thats really big and use it to cover my hand to get under him. Usually just getting near him is the struggle but once he is on me he usually calms down and starts exploring.

Ive had a pet tarantula for around 4 years now and was always afraid of her when she would rear up all grumpy because I thought she would try and bite me but she never did
Then my old boy Gilligan which was a Veiled which I had for 3 months this past summer would constantly try to bite me getting him out of the cage because he was so sick he needed to go to the vet twice a week, (the store that sold him said he was around 8-9months but he was really 3-4 years and really really sick) so my dad started just reaching in and grabbing him which always hurt me to watch because I knew it stressed him out so much but it was the only way to try and help make his life better
My current boy Bowser is a red body blue bar panther and he was sweet and curious in his smaller cage, but since i moved him to his bigger cage he is more grumpy and not wanting to be touched so I havent held him as much as I used to.

I hope to remedy this at the place I am moving to because I think he is going off of the emotions I have where I am living now, but also the apartment im moving to already has a ceiling hook by the window where I want to put his cage so I can set up a free range now so maybe he wont be so grumpy all the time haha (of coarse when I'm not home he will be put back in his cage for safe keeping though)

Tape the box shut. He needs to be secure in his travel box not matter what happens.

Just take your time getting him out of the cage and go from below. Anything from above really triggers their survival instincts, which makes sense since any predator is going to grab them from above. You can always do things like dismantle what he is sitting on in the cage and bring it out in the open. He isn't as likely to be as defensive/aggressive outside his cage because he'll feel a bit vulnerable.

Don't open the box even to peak until his cage is set up in the new apartment. Then, just open the box and let him decide when to climb out of it.

Young chameleons are often quite compliant about handling and as they get older they start having opinions about things. A lot of cage aggression is just territorial aggression, and once out of their territory, they are not aggressive. Some never get over it and you just develop strategies to work around them.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

If you need advice, just send me a PM.

 

[maya2]

I like the stick method as well.

Although, I have a veiled and had to move recently and he was just not standing for it, so I ended up taking out all of the parts that could dislodge and just moving him in his enclosure.

Also, unrelated, I'm from Santa Fe! Nice to see another New Mexican on the forums