Outdoor Freeranging a panther and oustalet

MK1

New Member
I wanted to hear suggestions on free ranging this summer outdoors. I have a few metal light poles in my back yard i want to run some vine and foliage for my boys to get some real sun. They would be 20 feet apart. Im aware of the heat and water needs of these guys.

My concern is them escaping or any predator that might try to get them. What precautions should I take and can I leave them outside all night? The "vine" would be 6-8 foot of the ground and i dont believe any cat could climb the side of my house or jump that far. As my house faces east they would be in the shade until after noon then full to partial shade. Ill take some pics of what my idea will be.
 
They will escape or else a bird is gonna grab one and then your SOL. If you want to do a semi free range you could set up a flight cage like people do for their pet birds. If you got some netting and placed that over some nice sized trees they could free range on the tree until you wanted to recapture them.
 
what types of snakes are rural in your area? a panther would make a nice meal for a local king snake.
 
I should add that i Live in Omaha Nebraska, with fairly hot and humid summers. No snakes, just 1ft max gardener snakes.
 
Ditto TPM's response. Either watch the animals 24/7 or build something that protects them. Hardware cloth is nice and sturdy. A cat or raccoon might still be able to snag a chameleon through hardware cloth though...
 
If you are going to freerange outside, then be prepared to spend your time sitting out there the whole time and monitoring the situation. My cham was nearly snatched up by a hawk and I was sitting within about a foot of him when it happened. Also, chams are great explorers. You wouldn't be the first person to go inside and come back out and find your chameleon missing. Not a great idea unless you are going to spend the time outside with them. Build him an awesome outdoor cage! I have one and I love it!!!! and so does my cham!!! I never leave mine outside at night even though I have a sturdy cage. that is just me though.
 
Good insight, thank you for the quick replies. I will have to change my plans on outdoor free ranging. I guess I didnt realize all the threats to a 12"-2 ft long cham. I really dont want anything to happen to these guys so I'll just keep them out under strict supervision and no nights out on the town for them.
 
you'd be surprised how many predators we have in big cities. My friend who lives down the street from me has these two cats that attack, take down, kill, then eat jackrabbits. We live out in the suburbs near a small field though. My boyfriend had a crow and a hawk try to go for his jacksons right in the middle of the city!. He was between the animals too! The jacksons has very good eyes though and always warns him when he sees a bird.
 
Outdoor bugs - risks?

We have this cute little hibiscus tree outside I was planning on letting them climb on while I'm sitting out there, I got some netting to throw over the tree to protect them from birds. I'm wondering though about the bugs that might be out there already on the tree, and the parasite or poisonous risks involved with those, should they get gulped?
 
my buddy took a dog kennel and put it on its side covered it with nylon screen and he was good to go. huge enclosure ( to a chameleon ) safe an secure. leaving them out overnight might be a risk not worth taking. i cant think of a benefit of keeping them out there overnight.
 
Night time temperature drop and natural humidity along with natural light schedules.
 
one of my cats was taken by a hawk when they were protecting my turtles.
a raccoon made off with the the lid i had for thier summer home the night before and cats chased the raccoon off before getting one of my turtles. and i lived in a main city.

i have since moved still in a main city but this summer ima use a dog kennel or one of them "snap together" green houses with screen or make something when my willow gets bigger.
 
Freerangeing

I would think it would be hard to have some kind of enclosure for a freerange cham outside in Omaha. (I live in Omaha as well). As I live closer to the fields, I would really be worried about all the predators that can be found during the day, much less the night. Good luck with your Chams and let me know if you decide to build something for them! :)
Shannan and "Freddy" (Female Veiled Cham)
 
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