swim swim swim

[Dankmeleon]

hey guys i was so blown away by that video of that europeons' koi pond, that i decided to try my hand at bathtub swim lessons

step1 clean tub out real good with hot water

tried it a couple ways, both worked well! i'm so excited my cham puffed himself up HUGE and with vivrant color

tried putting him in water he could stand in and slowly filling it until he was forced to swim (keeping in mind i was there to save him if he failed)

and also tried releasing him in water he could not stand in

here are the clips. the first thing he did when the water started to fill was to take a huge dump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJZShHL4ags pre swim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMwo5lxMSk8
swim

 

[xoiceox]

heheh so cute!

 

[Dankmeleon]

yea watch closely the time i put him in, where he fills himself up with air to get his boyouncy!

i also find it fascinating how he knows how to use his tail in this manner! he is less than a year old and never been in water before.

i wonder if this species has ever had its trees flooded

it was also insanely difficult to film this and lifeguard and he didn't really have anywhere to swim but for this being his first time i'd say he def showed some flight instinct.

 

[desultadox]

That looks like some serious exercise.

 

[Dankmeleon]

yea as much as people say chams need to be left alone, i think they like a little bit of activity, it sucks to be in the same cage all day even if your cage owns

 

[bucky]

yea as much as people say chams need to be left alone, i think they like a little bit of activity, it sucks to be in the same cage all day even if your cage owns

I know right!I mean,currently Louie still has some eye problems(hes almost 100% better) and sometimes he chills out in a spot and closes one eye...im like why cant he find anything to do to keep him active,it must get boring stayin in a cage the whole day. And i dont feed him crickets every day,its every other day.

 

[Dankmeleon]

i'm not a scientist or anything but its no coincidence everytime i take my cham out to let him play he turns happy colors

 

[bluegeorge]

my cham actually doesnt like going back in his cage after he has been out in his fiscus tree in the sun...had a dickens of a time getting him in tonight and he gave me the filthiest of looks

 

[Dankmeleon]

thats hilarious mine can't waint to go back in his hahahahahah

 

[Mcfluffin]

Wow...he's suprisingly GOOD at swimming...amazing! I know there's a thread about this somewhere...but strange to see a panther doing it He looked like he was quite keen on doing it too...is that how he seemed to you darkmeleon?

 

[tryme]

hahaha the second vid was wicked

 

[bucky]

Im starting to think maybe they had to do it somehow in madagascar,maybe to cross calm streams to go to another territory?

 

[Nicodemayo]

yea as much as people say chams need to be left alone, i think they like a little bit of activity, it sucks to be in the same cage all day even if your cage owns

i think some species would rather be left alone but your right, my panther paces the cage door when i walk in the room and constantly wants out. Even if i take him out and place him back in the cage at the very back, he comes running back to the door. Not all panthers are this friendly but ive seen quite a few that were always wanting attention. My veiled on the other hand hates me because well, shes a veiled and there are very few friendly veilds out there lol.

 

[Chamgirl]

I think your chameleon was stressed and swimming for survival. I think given something to climb out of the water onto, he would have chosen to not swim...

 

[Dankmeleon]

i think he wasn't stressed at all, i don't disagree with the fact that he was swimming for survival, but he was in the water all of 10 seconds and it was only to make sure before i let him near an area with my pond!

in the future should he go in the water, it will be on his own choice

i also tried doing it with a branch and he swam right to it and got out which is not wat i wanted to test

and further more its hard to see in the vid but he can actually stand in that water and he still chose to swim just because of his boyancy

so to wrap it up i'd have to respectively disagree with you he was having the friggin time of his life, and while I agree he would have chosen not to swim, that choice wasn't left up to him in his swimming lessons, they aren't optional

 

[Trace]

I think your chameleon was stressed and swimming for survival. I think given something to climb out of the water onto, he would have chosen to not swim...

Thanks Chamgirl for speaking your mind because I'm going to have to agree as well.

There's nothing in both of those videos that gives me any indication that your chameleon is enjoying himself. Puffing up for buoyancy is natural - so they don't drown. His tail is desperately looking for something to grasp to steady himself, not to push himself gracefully through the water. Yes! I can say flight instinct in that context too. And finally, his opting to go to a branch as opposed to swimming around certainly tells me he wants out.

Kenneth, you can do what you want with your animals, but I'm not seeing the "fun".

Trace

 

[Dankmeleon]

its not fun, the point is, the guy who has a pond, allows his chams to seek its refuge, and all the beautiful plants and landscape.

should the chameleon fall in we'd like to give him 10 seconds experience, of real life practice.

in my belief he mastered it on his first try, so there is no need to do it again.

however, when i let him roam my pond, and win the photo contest and feel safe about the fact that he can survive. It will be I who appreciates your opinion at least i know some oppose, it makes me sleep good at night.


it actually is one of the benefits of raising one to full growth for instance i would never want to see my female swim, it would be nothing but scary

 

[Washoe]

Dank, all of the greatest minds in the history of scientific endeavor have had their outspoken detractors. However, the bough of scientific knowledge must never bend under the weight of lesser minds, lest the tree of knowledge fail to fully flourish. Having said that though, I really think it’s time to ease up on the ganja a bit. You really should be spending your time a little more productively…

 

[desultadox]

There's an old movie called The Gods Must Be Crazy and there's a certain scene with a flood where they put several chameleons in it to swim for their lives (IIRC they were Jackson's chameleons)... they did not look very graceful at it and I'm sure some of them didn't make it. Obviously, it was a much less controlled environment than what your vid depicted.

 

[Washoe]

Damn, I haven’t seen that movie since before a lot of you guys were born. I’ll have to put it in my Blockbuster queue and check that scene out—I don’t even remember it!