totally freaked out/worried cham somehow outside of cage

[DAD3886]

ok when i got this morning to feed and mist my buddy and set up his dripper fro the day he was in his cage.When i got him i couldnt find him anywhere... it started ti freak me out and then my daughter came in the room and said daddy your chameleon is on the window seal in the sun.... which he was... so what that said how did he get out? any stories of others? i have a small gap between my door of the cage and the cage itself liek maybe .25in + could he of gotten on the screen and crawled out....? i have no clue hopefully my fam will pick up there phone so i can see if anyone was in his cage... i would of been so upset if he was hurt or other.... he looks ok ill take pics he was act bight green with a lil yellow stripe? down his back but now hes back in hes brown again....just worried if u want look under my post for my chams cage and tell me if you think he could fit thru that gap its a 4month cham

 

[DAD3886]

also the cage is atleast 3-4ft from window too... that seems like a long walk for my buddy

 

[Texas Ranger]

Wow thats quite a story. I dont know what could have happen.

 

[DAD3886]

yea me either no takers so far..... do you think he could of fit thru the gap? my pinky wont even fit thru it

 

[DavidBuchan]

I just want to make sure, you didn't open the door before you noticed he'd got out? I mean you are sure he didn't sneak out when you opened the door? That is not a long way for a chameleon to walk along the floor (even if there are no branches and he wants to explore he will do). It is not really good to have a hole in his viv that you think he might have got through, because even if he can't he might hurt himself trying.

 

[EvilLost]

they can walk faster than you think when they are on exposed unfamiliar ground. they can also squeeze themselves through some tiny spots....i would recommend you patch up your cage


Also, if he is purposely crawling to your windowsill to bask in the sun, you might consider checking your UVB bulb (you do have one, right? Although the LIGHT they emit works for a long time, it is important to note that their UVB OUTPUT dies off after 6 months so the light becomes useless and the bulbs must be changed.


Glad you found him though

 

[DAD3886]

ok will fix gap and no i dont think so i was right infront of the cage misting ,getting depre out etc... i didnt see him before i opened it and i dont ever leave it open and walk away...

 

[Elizadolots]

If this is the thread you're talking about, I can't really tell where the gap ends up being. However, I have very little doubt that a 4 month old veiled could get through a 1/4 inch gap. I say this because my then full grown Fischer's once got through a gap of between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. They seem to be able to flatten themselves out a lot.

 

[EvilLost]

I agree with Eliza.....they are very much like cats in that their ribcage seems collapsible to some extent (at least from my experience, I'd love scientific confirmation?). Similar to how they puff up, they can squeeze down surprisingly flat if they want to

 

[DAD3886]

ill take a pic later is upper right hand corner

 

[DavidBuchan]

I agree with Eliza.....they are very much like cats in that their ribcage seems collapsible to some extent (at least from my experience, I'd love scientific confirmation?). Similar to how they puff up, they can squeeze down surprisingly flat if they want to

Ribs are made of cartilage and in the wild if they are being attacked in the trees they can puff themselves up, drop off the branch and have a shock absorber (no broken bones!)