The chameleon with no name, a journey of love and patience (VERY PIC HEAVY).

[MedicMan1]

@Striders_mom , thank you for the kind words! It's been a journey, and isn't over yet. It will continue to be updated and told

As for the lighting, in all my research, I believe that the general consensus is that Arcadia is just about the best setup that you can purchase. They're made in Germany by a British company.
Lightyourreptiles.com is where you can find the whole line. They have so many sizes and options, it's staggering!

PS: I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and Strider (Aragorn) has always been my hero.

I'd love to see your Cham and hear your story!

 

[Angelwolf]

I like (parentheses) too! (Lol) i was an EMT(both paid and volunteer) for about 10 years, till I got burned out. And besides that, I screwed up my neck. I also used to be a volunteer FF. And my hubby was a medic (We met at my dept. About 15 years ago, now. He ran on the medic truck stationed there.) before he had a bad accident while on duty, which he was lucky to live from, let alone be walking around and taking care of our 3 year old!

 

[Striders_mom]

@Striders_mom , thank you for the kind words! It's been a journey, and isn't over yet. It will continue to be updated and told

As for the lighting, in all my research, I believe that the general consensus is that Arcadia is just about the best setup that you can purchase. They're made in Germany by a British company.
Lightyourreptiles.com is where you can find the whole line. They have so many sizes and options, it's staggering!

PS: I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and Strider (Aragorn) has always been my hero.

I'd love to see your Cham and hear your story!

Haha, you totally nailed the reference. I am (obviously) a big LOTR fan, too...one of my cats is even named Pippin (totally suits him!)

Thanks so much for the website recommendation, I'll keep that in mind when I start doing my research for the big move. Trying to decide whether to do something custom (my sister is very handy with power tools, which is great, as I am NOT!), or go with the same brand you chose, Dragon Strand - love the dragon ledges especially!! I'm in Canada, though, so not sure I could afford the shipping, duty & taxes on top of the exchange rate, yikes!!

I'm totally new to this, would your thread be an appropriate place to share my pics, etc? Not sure of forum etiquette!!

 

[MedicMan1]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have some good Developments. First of all, my Cham now has a name!

We decided that because he has a bit of a temper and likes to guard his home, we shall call him SMAUG. I think the name is fitting. He loves to eat hobbits. I mean crickets.

I have taken delivery of a plethora of MistKing supplies (stay tuned), Arcadia lighting (48" quad T5 with timer and LEDs), and the large clear side Dragon Strand should ship any day.

It's about to get real up in here.

Also, little man is being much more cooperative. He's eating out of my hand regularly, and has less attitude. He still likes to show me how big and tough he is, and threaten to bite, but he hasn't bit me yet. I've given him multiple opportunities.

 

[Angelwolf]

Glad to hear he is coming around! You have got to share some pics!

 

[MedicMan1]

As requested, pics! His colors are exploding! He's doing this BLOOD RED bars thing, combined with pastel blues, oranges, and greens.

He was really funny today. He agreed to come out of the cage when I was cleaning it, BUT REFUSED to go back in his cage after it was cleaned. I walked him around the house and took him out in the sun, and he THREW A FIT when I tried to stick him back in the enclosure. He was PISSED.

Needless to say, he's a bit more friendly now. More to come soon!

 

[Peachypink]

Love that soft blue of his lateral line!

 

[Angelwolf]

He is beautiful! Looking great, Smaug!

 

[Striders_mom]

Hello Smaug!!! Excellent name, and sounds like it suits him well. Looking forward to hopefully hearing and seeing more about the new set up. Very inspiring Fantastic colours, he's gorgeous!!

 

[absolutbill]

I love happy endings to stories like this! Keep those pics coming, and know we are all proud of you

 

[Rapunzel's Pascal]

Thank you for rescuing him!! He looks great

 

[MedicMan1]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I am really enjoying improving his quality of life. It is very rewarding and I find myself super excited all the time to learn new things and buy him stuff. LOL!

Speaking of which... THE LARGE CLEARSIDE ATRIUM SHIPPED TODAY!!!!! WHOOOO! It's scheduled for delivery on Tuesday so it looks like I will have it set up by the end of next week! I am STOKED right now!

 

[Andee]

Finally thought I should post here, sometimes I forget to post on the happier threads after I answer the swarm that get updated. Anyway XD I am so glad your little guy has a name now, and you took a while to decide. I find the names that take longer usually fit so much better. He is definitely showing his daddy's baby blues. I assume he will still get a few more color changes in the next three or so sheds. He is looking great. You have done a great job and I am so glad you got to him when you did. Hopefully all the intense rehab reverses whatever serious damage was done in the first part of his life. Kammers takes really good care of their babies so it's possible he had enough reserves he will be relatively OK in his senior years. Always hoping for a good outcome with rescues. It is also just so worth it to see how much more accepting of you he is when you are in his territory. Usually if someone is just not taking care of you and making you feel threatened every time you come near them, I would not be surprised if I too would have problems with aggression. But you showed right here with some patience and good TLC they realize far more than I think we think they do, that we are the individual helping them. Been through a lot of rescue cases and this has almost been 100% true except for one case.

 

[MedicMan1]

I think I may have spoiled him too much with that outing the other day, he is very very very anxious today and has been running laps (including walking on the floor and climbing the ceiling) around his cage trying to get out. I have never seen him so eager to be let out. I opened his door, and he crawled right out, and didn't make a big fuss about being handled. Has anyone else noticed this kind of behavior after showing a Cham how big the world is? He's making me nervous to leave him in his cage today. Nose rubbing is a big concern.

THANK GOD the big cage just shipped.

 

[MedicMan1]

Hi everyone, I hate being in my cage today. I'd rather climb on random things around the house and make my dad chase me... I like giving him anxiety.

 

[MedicMan1]

BIG NEWS!

The large Clearside Atrium and drip tray from Dragon Strand were delivered today. I am at work until tomorrow morning, so nothing can be done today. I will be starting on his enclosure in the morning and making as much progress as is possible over the next three days, as I happen to have them all off work. I plan to finish the cage by this Saturday, and give it two days to reach equilibrium before I place him into it.

The moment of truth is approaching.

 

[Angelwolf]

Congrats, and happy building! Can't wait to see pics!

 

[MedicMan1]

Thanks!! I am deep into the project. Sticking dragon ledges on right now and preparing to put the whole thing together. I will be branching and foaming today also.

I will have pictures to share later. First impressions; this cage is friggin epic as heck. Spoiled ass chameleon.

 

[Angelwolf]

Thanks!! I am deep into the project. Sticking dragon ledges on right now and preparing to put the whole thing together. I will be branching and foaming today also.

I will have pictures to share later. First impressions; this cage is friggin epic as heck. Spoiled ass chameleon.

Lucky chameleon to have found you!

 

[Striders_mom]

Thanks!! I am deep into the project. Sticking dragon ledges on right now and preparing to put the whole thing together. I will be branching and foaming today also.

I will have pictures to share later. First impressions; this cage is friggin epic as heck. Spoiled ass chameleon.

I'm excited to see how this comes together for you. I'm starting to pull ideas together for my guy's "big boy" house (haha, so I can start saving up!!).