Noob with a FR question Re: other pets

[paschallraschalls]

Hello everyone

I currently have an area in our home as my "Critter Room" In it I have some tortoises, sugar gliders, and am about to add a Veiled Cham. to it later this week (my 10yo DDs birthday present)

The space measures ~6dx9wx5t. I have my tortoises enclosures on the ground and a cage of sugar gliders up higher. I would love to try FRing my daughter's Veiled Cham but didn't know if there would be any danger with the other critters. My main concern is not aggression/interaction but more illness related (germs/parasites foreign to chams.).

Also, if down the road we were to get another cham. how far apart do FR setups need to be?

Thanks in advance for any help you might have to offer!

 

[Tweaked tC]

its risky as a small cham with it being close to the sugar gliders. I know if my gliders were able to get their hands on anythng small enough for them to eat they will. I dont think you would have a problem with the turtle. What kind of sugar glider cage do you have?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

First, welcome to the forums!

The tortoises would probably not be a problem, but if your chameleon ever had the opportunity to climb on your sugar glider cage (and believe me, they can find a way to get to any seemingly impossible place!) your sugar gliders could cause very serious harm to it. Though not vicious by nature, their curiosity will be enough to cause them to nibble. Rats and mice have decimated the feet and legs of chameleons multiple times, and I would be shocked if sugar gliders didn't do the same. I would highly advise against it for that reason.

I'd recommend trying the cage approach for your first chameleon. Free ranging can be more challenging, and chameleons are challenging on their own. I still keep all my chams in cages because they're so sneaky at escaping. You can have a free range in addition to a cage and then give them time in the free range when you're around, but have the option of containment in case it's needed or unsupervised.

 

[paschallraschalls]

Thanks, looks like cage with supervised FR time is going to be the way to go.

Tweaked- I don't know if it makes a difference, but the Cham is an adult female. My glider cage is one of the PVC and plastic hardware-cloth DIYs.

ferreninmyshoes- I liked this point/idea
"You can have a free range in addition to a cage and then give them time in the free range when you're around, but have the option of containment in case it's needed or unsupervised."

 

[Tweaked tC]

I only asked what type of sugar glider cage it was cause some of them have covers available for during the day, and the day night cycle of the glider and cham are different thus putting a cover on the cage, would eliminate the cham from being able to get into the cage. I have seen a thread on here where someones panther got into their bird cage and they seemed to get along ok. I wouldnt do this, but it was interesting that they didnt hurt each other. I know for a fact that gliders will kill anything small enough for them to eat. Back when they first came into country, it was part of their "suggested" diet to feed mouse pinkies to them, and have heard of multiple accounts of them eating their young due to improper diet, or something being wrong with the joey. Also, do you allow the glider to have free time outside the cage at night? If so, you will need to find a safe place for the cham to hide while the glider is out. One more thing, I'm not sure, but chameleons may or may not have things living on them that could harm the glider. Kinda like salmonella with turtles, but I dont know, I always wash my hands after touching any of my animals. I havent heard of it, but its not something I have read up on.