Rescue Uninvited Guest???

Makehaven

New Member
Sorry to barge in this way (spanking new registrant), but I've an uninvited chameleon lurking somewhere in my house and was hoping someone could suggest humane method of locating & returning it to the backyard from whence he sprang. Impossible?

He (she) slipped in through the door a week or so ago and though I've not seen him since, judging from attitude of my small & usually non-predatory housecat... chameleon has housed himself in my clothes closet. Discovered chameleon's detached tail two days ago.

Been around these tiny creatures all my life, holding great fondness for them, and do not mind presence in slightest... but darned if I want him to expire in clothes closet for fear of clothing absorbing odor of deceased lizard. Besides... I've an odd habit of rescuing rather than exterminating most outdoor interlopers, excepting flies & roaches.

Would anyone have suggestions on how I might locate/trap/rescue or otherwise lure this uninvited houseguest back to his proper homestead in my front yard? Over-due for quarterly home pest-control spritzing of interior to baseboards, etc... which I'm assured will kill the little bugger. Am delaying in hope of salvaging this lost wayfarer. They say a 'weed' is no more than a plant in the wrong place. Unfortunately, this poor chameleon has unwittingly become a weed. Any suggestions?
 
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Your chameleon is probably an anole. If an old world chameleon lost its tail, you would have very likely already found its body. Here is a link to a site on the green anole: http://www.wildherps.com/species/A.carolinensis.html

There might be someone on the forum who owns these and has a special trick for catching them, but you would probably have better success going to a forum that specializes in anoles and asking there.

Good luck!

Heika
 
Your chameleon is probably an anole. If an old world chameleon lost its tail, you would have very likely already found its body. Here is a link to a site on the green anole: http://www.wildherps.com/species/A.carolinensis.html

There might be someone on the forum who owns these and has a special trick for catching them, but you would probably have better success going to a forum that specializes in anoles and asking there.

Good luck!

Heika
Thanks, I'll check it out. I live in southeastern US where 4 to 6 inch chameleons are commonplace, and I've been told since childhood they can lose their tails without injury as a defensive mechanism. Old Wive's tale perhaps.
 
One of many species of anoles:
green%20anole.JPG


One of many species of Chamleons:
chameleon%20picture.jpg


Anyways, if it were a chameleon, you wouldn't have too much trouble catching it. They aren't as... swift as anoles are. just be patient, and use two people to herd it back between one another. if its on a flat surface, cup your hand and slap it down over it, softly flatten out your cupped hand to pin it down, lift a finger or two and use two fingers from youor other hand to hold that upper back and cheast bone under the neck. then peel him away from the wall, toss him in a pillow cases and take him outside.

Most of the people here that have worked in pet stores, etc. have just honed in on their skills and know how to anticapate the reptiles following moves.

I can't really think of anything to 'lure' him out though.
 
Quite so: Anole

As made obvious by photos. Many thanks. Will Google further resources. Believe him to be still alive or housecat would have dredged him up by now and (if they're anything like Geckos) they can go semingly forever with almost no water and live off household insects. Owned resident Gecko for couple years to keep down cockroaches but shock of suddenly finding him clinging above your head to ceiling could be a bit unnerving.

Thanks and good luck to you all.
 
they are diurnal (sleep at night) so you might be able to carefully look for it at night in the closet with a tiny flashlight (so as not to give off too much light). Have a small fish net or other item to put him in. If you have holes in the closet from heat pipes or other he may be in the walls.

Here is one of the best sites on the web (IMO) on anoles. Try emailing him for tips. under the leaves

good luck!
 
Will Do

Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a whirl after checking out the site. Then all I have to do is clean up the closet of all the junk I've been storing there. Grateful for the advice.
 
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