Taking Chams out

[camaleonte82]

my Chameleons LOVE going places. but since they have been so small we never do it but every once and i while.
we have taken them to friends houses, pet stores, even work to show em off. but now they are getting to a more adult size and i take them out side and would like to take them with us if we run to the pet store for a minute or to my friends house 2 buildings down.... but i dont want to have to put them him/her in the travel cage (yes we have a travel cage that a adult can barely fit in) just to go down the street.
but at the same time i am worried about birds, giant bugs, and other dangers of the outdoors of north east america. so i guess this is sorta a question and sorta not one.
so maybe to put it in question form. 1- is it normal for my chams to love going outside and to places even if its just on my shoulder?
2- whats the best way to go out with them? just hold them in my hands til its safe? (because they dont like being "held")

 

[justjumpit621]

JannB takes her female Sadie on car rides, she has a large scheflere plant she puts in the front seat with some vines on it. I have a piece of drift wood I stick between my front seat headrest and the seat back and Calais chills there when I have to bring him somewhere. If your chameleons don't like being held though, why do you think they like to travel? You do need to hold them, or at least let them crawl on you, when you take them somewhere so if they don't enjoy the attention I wouldn't bother bringing them.

 

[camaleonte82]

JannB takes her female Sadie on car rides, she has a large scheflere plant she puts in the front seat with some vines on it. I have a piece of drift wood I stick between my front seat headrest and the seat back and Calais chills there when I have to bring him somewhere. If your chameleons don't like being held though, why do you think they like to travel? You do need to hold them, or at least let them crawl on you, when you take them somewhere so if they don't enjoy the attention I wouldn't bother bringing them.

they like being on us and being pet and having attention. they just dont like hands ON them. when i took zip out for the first time i held him infront of me on my hand and put my other hand over him and he pushes it away with his lil hand. they liked being held just not feeling restricted but i feel nervous having them on my shoulder or arm in the open where a bird can grab em...

 

[justjumpit621]

they like being on us and being pet and having attention. they just dont like hands ON them. when i took zip out for the first time i held him infront of me on my hand and put my other hand over him and he pushes it away with his lil hand. they liked being held just not feeling restricted but i feel nervous having them on my shoulder or arm in the open where a bird can grab em...

A bird won't grab them if they are on you so don't worry about that They are afraid of you more than they are hungry for the cham.

 

[camaleonte82]

thats kinda comforting. we live in a populated area so the rabbits, birds, and even beavers around here are used to humans. deer dont even run when you walk by

 

[Solid Snake]

my Chameleons LOVE going places.

Did they tell you that outright?

Or in a twitter?

 

[Solid Snake]

A bird won't grab them if they are on you so don't worry about that They are afraid of you more than they are hungry for the cham.

BS



If the bird wants it, it will take it.

 

[camaleonte82]

Did they tell you that outright?

Or in a twitter?

lol. we took them to my friends house and they were really mellow and zip was on my shoulder and ate a moth that was flying around only after a minute of being there. my friend has a veiled and he gets real dark and hides when she takes him places and so does one of ours but the rest really seem to like it

 

[justjumpit621]

BS



If the bird wants it, it will take it.

Do you know this from experience? I own chicks, and if I am out there with them or if my dog is with them I have been told that birds will stay away.

I was told this by a few seasoned farmers. I have never had an issue.

 

[Carlton]

my Chameleons LOVE going places.
but at the same time i am worried about birds, giant bugs, and other dangers of the outdoors of north east america. so i guess this is sorta a question and sorta not one.

Just how does your cham show you it "LOVES" going places? I find it hard to believe really. If your cham is firing up when taken out of its cage, this is a sign of stress, not really happy. The color difference between happy/excited is pretty subtle and very individual, and I think most newer keepers mistake stress/alarm/being uncomfortable colors for happy ones. IMHO, a happy, contented cham that is comfortable will show softer subtler colors while perched in a favorite spot in its known territory.

Think about chams in the wild...they are very territorial and feel most at ease in their space that they can defend. If they are taken out of their territory involuntarily, they are going to start feeling insecure and at risk. To me, this is what they are thinking when you take them on car rides or someplace it doesn't know.

I don't think your cham really enjoys going places with you. You are a social mammal who likes visiting. Your cham is not. You enjoy change of scene, your cham is probably feeling pretty vulnerable and confused by it.

 

[Solid Snake]

Do you know this from experience? I own chicks, and if I am out there with them or if my dog is with them I have been told that birds will stay away.

I was told this by a few seasoned farmers. I have never had an issue.

That was a very crude thing of me to say.

I just feel it is unsound advice, because some birds really dont care.

Ive had plenty of birds land right near me, and there have been reports on here of birds going after peoples chameleons, when they were right there with them.

In my opinion, there is still risk, and I think thats important to say.

Sorry for being rude about it.

 

[justjumpit621]

Or they can just get a bigger travel cage. Simple. Just get a pet carrier.

 

[camaleonte82]

Just how does your cham show you it "LOVES" going places? I find it hard to believe really. If your cham is firing up when taken out of its cage, this is a sign of stress, not really happy. The color difference between happy/excited is pretty subtle and very individual, and I think most newer keepers mistake stress/alarm/being uncomfortable colors for happy ones. IMHO, a happy, contented cham that is comfortable will show softer subtler colors while perched in a favorite spot in its known territory.

Think about chams in the wild...they are very territorial and feel most at ease in their space that they can defend. If they are taken out of their territory involuntarily, they are going to start feeling insecure and at risk. To me, this is what they are thinking when you take on on car rides or someplace it doesn't know (like a familiar basking cage outdoors for example).

I don't think your cham really enjoys going places with you. You are a social mammal who likes visiting. Your cham is not.

i dont mistake stressed out colors for showing off or anything. my girl jewel is the most social cham i have. when my friend walks in the room it doesnt matter how close she is jewel will walk to her. same when we go out. i give them the option to go or stay in their cage, they come to me. i give em the option to stay on free range and they come to me, i watch for signs of stress every time we go out and i never see any except from Xylia (female veiled). they love playing in the yard and eating bugs and exploring new places. if i leave the room while they free range they get to the weirdest places. it is true that chameleons have their "territory" in the wild but do people know for a fact how small they consider their territory to be? perhaps a male cham would claim a three mile radius as his but only does a half a mile because their are other male chams who claim a half a mile each already. or he just doesnt live that long to obtain that much space.
regardless. my chams may not "LOVE" going out as i worded it, my mistake. but they certainly don't mind it in the least because if they did i wouldnt do it. the reason i posted this was to get suggestions for a safer way to go about it so its less worry for me and i can be relaxed when we go out instead of eyeing every bird in range. i love my chams and would never hurt them. or allow them to get hurt.

 

[Solid Snake]

In my mind, we provide very particular care, and environments for these animals, so that they can take care of themselves. We just provide the tools for them.

Anytime they are out of that environment, they cannot regulate heat/UVB for example. This is stress. Anytime the animal does not have what it needs, it is stressed. Stress kills, because they cant get the things they need, either because its unavailable, or they are too nervous to take proper care of themselves.

 

[camaleonte82]

im not taking it out in the dead of winter. it eats when we go out if not before. the sun is in the sky and its warm. i'm not taking them to fishing trips to canada. its across the street or down the road for 10 min tops. i have found them in my clothes closet in the dark, on a sweater in the middle of winter and it was cold in the closet. they had a lamp above the free range and he got down from the tree and went to the coldest spot closet to him and turned really dark. when i found him he was so happy to get back in his cage and he basked. so to me they obviously love to roam

 

[huskerhoek]

That was a very crude thing of me to say.

I just feel it is unsound advice, because some birds really dont care.

Ive had plenty of birds land right near me, and there have been reports on here of birds going after peoples chameleons, when they were right there with them.

In my opinion, there is still risk, and I think thats important to say.

Sorry for being rude about it.

Sorry if this is random or off topic entirely.... but I had a seagull ambush me and rip a cheeseburger right out of my hand in san diego a couple of years ago (not sure if it is relevant to chameleons however, and in all fairness the gull might of just realized i was a weak tourist .. but never again.. you hear me California Seagulls!?... Never Again!)...

 

[justjumpit621]

Sorry if this is random or off topic entirely.... but I had a seagull ambush me and rip a cheeseburger right out of my hand in san diego a couple of years ago (not sure if it is relevant to chameleons however, and in all fairness the gull might of just realized i was a weak tourist .. but never again.. you hear me California Seagulls!?... Never Again!)...

well yeah I guess birds used to humans hand feeding them will, I have had gulls take french fries out of my hand, but the general bird population would be more nervous, just don't take him to the beach, or the big city best idea would just be to leave them home and take a dog or some other pet.

 

[darryl99]

I recently had a seagull steal a whole slice of pizza out of my hand. Took everything but the paper plate

In my opinion I also doubt your chameleon likes to travel with you. I'm sure they like to free range but I believe it is probably experiencing undue stress when you are carting it around.

 

[camaleonte82]

well yeah I guess birds used to humans hand feeding them will, I have had gulls take french fries out of my hand, but the general bird population would be more nervous, just don't take him to the beach, or the big city best idea would just be to leave them home and take a dog or some other pet.

haha speaking of biting... off topic but... my friend had an Anole that was preg and sick so we went to the vet and when we went up to the counter my friend showed the girl and a lady next to us screamed and said "it wont bite will it?!"
really lady... its a three inch long Anole thats laying down panting with a swollen stomach and its mouth can barely fit over your finger tip..... yes it bites hahaha

 

[justjumpit621]

haha speaking of biting... off topic but... my friend had an Anole that was preg and sick so we went to the vet and when we went up to the counter my friend showed the girl and a lady next to us screamed and said "it wont bite will it?!"
really lady... its a three inch long Anole thats laying down panting with a swollen stomach and its mouth can barely fit over your finger tip..... yes it bites hahaha

I get that with my snake, followed by swears...