Oh nooo!!!!

[Chrisq0904]

OK im in a state of panic right now!!!!!! I took my baby cham out of its cage today to hold her and she always freaks out when i hold her and this time she jumped and hit the floor!!!! about a 4foot drop!!! im so stupid... she is acting fine now...anything i should look out for??? anything i can do so she doesnt freakout when i hold her?

 

[Syn]

Well if she freaks out when you hold her maybe you shouldn't have held her in the first place, or at least not that high up. Does she LOOK hurt? Is she acting hurt?

 

[Chase]

Just look for her not moving around a lot. Also, make sure to give her extra calcium just in case.

 

[NewOwner]

Chameleons are not meant to be held, in there natural place, where they come from they are not held... they do not like being held, its stresses them To the MAX, I hold mine sometimes, but just to clean the cage, and when it comes out when im misting or whatever, But they are definately not meant to be held, Ive heard that when they get older, they usually change and start Hissing, Biting Etc..

As for the four foot drop, Why would you hold her so high? Why not sit and hold her... And i agree with the extra calcium cause a lil chameleon and a 4 foot drop is pretty hard... Might have fractured something I do not know...

Im sure if im wrong someone will correct me, i am no expert but i have learned, that these lil guys get stressed really easy, and Ive been told to hold them as little as possible.. Sorry that yours fell, and i hope shes ok...

Im not sure what to do if yours did break any bones, ive seen many of MBD and stuff like that where youll see a bump usually, Meaning that its fractured or something.. But like i said i am not sure, But please Hold your cham as little as Possible!

Please, if im wrong, someone correct me

 

[THECHAMMAN]

they can easily take a fall of four feet. she should be okay. just check on here for bad signs ex: not moving, broken looking bones...etc. she should be fine.

 

[Syn]

It's not like they've never took a four foot drop in the wild - but it's also not like they have ever fallen on a house floor, and not a nicely padded forest floor etc.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Same thing happened to me! We had had Hugo in the house for 5 minutes! I was taking him out of the box and he just jumped. He looked ok but we took him straight to the vets just to make sure. Check the bones, does anything look broken? Apparently they inflate their bodies just before they land to help protect them when they drop, and their ribcage is hardened to protect them. Obviously you still need to make sure it doesnt happen too often, but i think as long as he is using his legs and tail, he should be ok. If in doubt, a vet visit never hurts!

 

[Lancecham]

For the most part, they can handle a fall like that, but if they hit the ground in the wrong position, they can die. This unfortunately happened to me about a month ago. I was doing a photo shoot with a 3 month old ambilobe. I just finished taking the pictures and was taking him back to his cage and he fell from my hands. Poor guy lasted 5 minutes before succombing to his injuries

So be careful.

 

[Lizardlover]

The fall should have no effect on her...thats the first thing my Sam did the first day i brought him home, except like a five foot drop, usually its not problem but as Lancecham said if they arent prepared and are in the wrong position it can effect them

 

[ciafardo 4]

For the most part, they can handle a fall like that, but if they hit the ground in the wrong position, they can die. This unfortunately happened to me about a month ago. I was doing a photo shoot with a 3 month old ambilobe. I just finished taking the pictures and was taking him back to his cage and he fell from my hands. Poor guy lasted 5 minutes before succombing to his injuries

So be careful.

wow thats the first i have heard of that these guys can take some pretty high falls with no injury thats a freak accident lance sorry to hear that

 

[naich]

sooo sorry for that ufortunate loss.....

 

[Chrisq0904]

She seems to be acting normal and moving around like normal... for now ill deff hold back my temptations to hold her...

 

[jojackson]

Use a good twig/stick, simply put it infront of it, and touch the tail, this usually encourages them to walk forward onto the twig.
Cup your other hand, or jumper/sweater shirt etc under the cham & twig, and carry slowly to the new place when/if nessesary.
They will always attempt to move to higher place when alarmed (avoiding predators)
so be aware of this. Also be aware that they can move very fast when they want to,
this will increase the risk of a badly placed step and a resulting fall.

Be sure to observe it closely on a regular basis to detect any problem at the earliest!

 

[jannb]

For the most part, they can handle a fall like that, but if they hit the ground in the wrong position, they can die. This unfortunately happened to me about a month ago. I was doing a photo shoot with a 3 month old ambilobe. I just finished taking the pictures and was taking him back to his cage and he fell from my hands. Poor guy lasted 5 minutes before succombing to his injuries

So be careful.

That's awful Lance.....so sad. Jann

 

[dodolah]

Chameleon usually can handle that kind of fall (there is some exception such as in Lance's case).
instinctively, they flattened their body and enlarged their body surface so it slows the speed of the fall (like a parachute).
The whole thing that they did will lessened the impact of falling.
Plus, their rib cages are designed to handle such impact.

For couple of days, watch how she walk, see if there is any broken bone/ bumps.
Other than that, i think she'll b ok.

This is one perfect example of why I do not recommend handling regimen.

 

[Syn]

Did not know that about chams, with the rib cages, parachutes, etc. How odd. :O Sorry for your loss Lance, that's really sad..

 

[OntarioLizardman]

hey welcome to the forums! your chams should be fine, just give her a lil space and watch her to make sure!

 

[jojackson]

Did not know that about chams, with the rib cages, parachutes, etc

That was slightly over simplified, true but never-the-less, As somebody mentioned, theres a big difference between a floor and soft padding of fallen leaf litter, and very young chams wouldnt be falling much. The younger the cham, the more chance of breaking limbs or sustaining internal injuries still, like lances unfortunate pet. Re: slowing its descent, I seriously doubt thats a factor
of measurable difference over 4 feet. (love to see that on 'mythbusters'!)

Prevention is much better than cure, in short.

 

[SYeretzian]

Lance, sorry for your loss that had to be a bad day. I wanted to know did you see his landing? If you did-he land upside down, on his belly, or sideways?

I had a panther jump from a tall fake tree I put him in for a cage cleaning I knew he was flighty and aggresive it wasnt his first jump, he would even jump from the top of his cage when I opened it up if he didnt try to bite me first. Before I even got my hand close to him he lept and hit the floor belly down, nothing happend to him however, but it still made me worry.

They are not that heavy if you think about it. whats that old saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall" its true im big and when I fall the ground shakes haha.

I would just watch for what the other members already pointed out.

 

[Syn]

Oh lookie here! There's a chameleon falls from the treetops slowly gliding down as he reforms his body into a parachute...