Who here keeps chameleons while having cats/dogs?

[jamest0o0]

I’m trying to set up a reptile corner in our finished basement, but I do have cats. Besides the obvious cat proofing of an enclosure, my concern with a Cham would be the stress of seeing the cats walk around. Anytime in the past I could tell they weren’t happy when a cat would walk in the room. That said, chams are the same way with people until they recognize us as not a threat, then they generally chill out. So for those of you that have cats or dogs, did you notice over time your Cham didn’t get bothered by them walking around? This is all assuming that they couldn’t get to or harass the Cham in anyway.

 

[Beman]

I have dogs and a cat. Beman is fine seeing either but I also had dogs with him in the room where his cage was when he was young. Not sure if that made a difference. Now my daughter's cat from hell is another story. I had to put up a modified baby gate on my bedroom door to keep the cat out but not block airflow to my room. Beman would barely move and the cat will try to climb the cage. Which yes would cause Beman to freak out. So no more kitty in my room for Beman's safety. I have never had a cat with such a high prey drive and honestly swore I would not allow my daughter to get one due to having a chameleon in the house. But I broke down. We work around it but I will never have Beman's cage in a room with our cat again.

 

[Sherbertsmysunshine]

I have two dogs and two cats that could be near my cham. I put up a curtain wire and made a little room with dark curtains, so my chameleon couldn't see the other animals. This also helped when people were over. The dogs never cared to look for him, but the cats would venture past the curtain a few times. It only took a couple squirts with the spray water bottle to get them to leave him alone, and my cham had his own little room.

 

[jamest0o0]

Thank you both for the input!

It’s tough with cats because they are so unpredictable. I have a fairly large Savannah, so I’d definitely need things sturdy, but he hasn’t bothered our crab/aquarium. I’m confident I could set things up in a way they couldn’t break, I just hope a Cham could get fine with seeing them walk by occasionally. I’ll have to look at my options for visual barriers just incase.

Luckily, our cats don’t hang out in the basement much other than to eat and use the litter box(which are in a different room anyway). Neither of them are big on staring, even when our pet crab is walking around in his tank they ignore him, but that said I don’t trust them for a second and given the chance I’m sure they’d try something. So far they bother our house plants the most, but I’ve been using this natural bitter spray that’s been working pretty well to deter them.

 

[MissSkittles]

I don’t think any of my chams have ever been bothered by seeing my cats or dog. I do have my some fake plants hanging on the front of my enclosures and maybe that helps them feel more secure. My cats and dog have never messed with trying to get to the chameleons. When stepdaughter lived with me, she had a kitten that had too much interest in the chameleons for my taste, but there was no easy way for her to reach them.
Now, one of my chameleons is bothered by one of my beardies. I’ve blocked the view as much as possible, but every now and then he goes and crams himself in the corner to the one little area where he can stare at her and gets all fired up.

 

[Beman]

I think as long as your cats don't have a high prey drive and will leave the cham alone your good. Beman has never reacted to anything with my pets. I mean my puppy when she was a baby would put her front feet up on the stand and sniff the cage. Beman would come from the basking level down to the bottom floor to look at her. Never saw any sign of stress with Beman with anything except another chameleon.

 

[jamest0o0]

Well you all are giving me some good hope then! I miss being part of this community, feels like a part of me is off not having a chameleon . Finally have somewhat of a solid plan in place though.

When I had Cham’s the cats weren’t able to go in the room and the few times they did my panthers would show stress colors, but probably because it was something new they weren’t used to.

 

[Beman]

Well you all are giving me some good hope then! I miss being part of this community, feels like a part of me is off not having a chameleon . Finally have somewhat of a solid plan in place though.

When I had Cham’s the cats weren’t able to go in the room and the few times they did my panthers would show stress colors, but probably because it was something new they weren’t used to.

Need to get back in on the fun hun. That could be… Beman’s cage was in my living room next to my desk where he saw my family and dogs all the time. And that was when I was dumb and had him in a small cham kit so he was not that far away from the ground. He was 4 months old so from that point on he was always in view and able to watch us. Only time he ever freaked out was when he saw my panther cham walking by his cage on me when he was roughly 11 months old. Went black and hid. Never saw that reaction though when he saw any of my veileds though. He barely would fire up seeing them.

 

[nightanole]

Never had a cat that wanted into "the lizard room". But the dogs of 25-75 pounds always wanted in for inspection. The crew didnt mind. Once tame, the crew didnt mind even getting smelled.

Though i had one water dragon that would not have it. If someone was going in for a smell, they are getting bit square on the nose. The dogs learned quick.

In current news, the tegu feels if you are bigger than him, you are there to feed him. So the dogs walk in, the tegu walks out of the closet, and then follows the dog out the door...



But in other other news, you could put very light drapes etc in view so the chams dont see EVERYTHING. Ive had to do that just because some lizards dont like seeing other lizards.

 

[jamest0o0]

Never had a cat that wanted into "the lizard room". But the dogs of 25-75 pounds always wanted in for inspection. The crew didnt mind. Once tame, the crew didnt mind even getting smelled.

Though i had one water dragon that would not have it. If someone was going in for a smell, they are getting bit square on the nose. The dogs learned quick.

In current news, the tegu feels if you are bigger than him, you are there to feed him. So the dogs walk in, the tegu walks out of the closet, and then follows the dog out the door...



But in other other news, you could put very light drapes etc in view so the chams dont see EVERYTHING. Ive had to do that just because some lizards dont like seeing other lizards.

You gotta get that on video!

And thank you feeling much better about my plan now

 

[Steve A]

I’m trying to set up a reptile corner in our finished basement, but I do have cats. Besides the obvious cat proofing of an enclosure, my concern with a Cham would be the stress of seeing the cats walk around. Anytime in the past I could tell they weren’t happy when a cat would walk in the room. That said, chams are the same way with people until they recognize us as not a threat, then they generally chill out. So for those of you that have cats or dogs, did you notice over time your Cham didn’t get bothered by them walking around? This is all assuming that they couldn’t get to or harass the Cham in anyway.

I have extremely active/curious guardian dogs. With the way things are in our new home, we actually have Spikes enclosure in our room, instead of our sons room. Our dogs sleep with us at night and they sleep on our bed all right, pretty much right in front of Spikes enclosure.

They even kind of interact with me or sit near Spikes enclosure when I feed him. He isn't a huge fan of them lol, but he doesn't get too bothered by them either. I don't ever let them get close to him, unless his enclosure is shut. And when it is, they don't really pay him any attention, at all. Spike just seems to go about his business.

However, I would NEVER let them anywhere near him if I were to handle him outside of his enclosure. They would go in their crates, or our bedroom door would be shut.

IMO, cats are much more to worry about. Cats are likely to have their attention go towards a chameleon when they see them move, and they're more likely to do things like climb on the enclosure and try to get him.

I don't have experience with cats in my home (my dogs would never allow that lol) so I can't be of much help, but I would worry more about the cats. Maybe it's just my situation, but Spike seems perfectly fine with my dogs walking around. Probably because they don't even look his way 99% of the time. Meanwhile a cat would likely lock eyes with him.

 

[jamest0o0]

I have extremely active/curious guardian dogs. With the way things are in our new home, we actually have Spikes enclosure in our room, instead of our sons room. Our dogs sleep with us at night and they sleep on our bed all right, pretty much right in front of Spikes enclosure.

They even kind of interact with me or sit near Spikes enclosure when I feed him. He isn't a huge fan of them lol, but he doesn't get too bothered by them either. I don't ever let them get close to him, unless his enclosure is shut. And when it is, they don't really pay him any attention, at all. Spike just seems to go about his business.

However, I would NEVER let them anywhere near him if I were to handle him outside of his enclosure. They would go in their crates, or our bedroom door would be shut.

IMO, cats are much more to worry about. Cats are likely to have their attention go towards a chameleon when they see them move, and they're more likely to do things like climb on the enclosure and try to get him.

I don't have experience with cats in my home (my dogs would never allow that lol) so I can't be of much help, but I would worry more about the cats. Maybe it's just my situation, but Spike seems perfectly fine with my dogs walking around. Probably because they don't even look his way 99% of the time. Meanwhile a cat would likely lock eyes with him.

You’re not wrong at all and it’s definitely something to consider! Our Savannah especially is nearly 20 lbs and no exaggeration has claws 2-3x larger than a normal cat. The enclosure would have to be sturdy wood/pvc or something of that nature. Heavy duty scratching posts and cat proof couches are not safe from him, the strength a 20lb animal can have is amazing lol.

 

[Steve A]

You’re not wrong at all and it’s definitely something to consider! Our Savannah especially is nearly 20 lbs and no exaggeration has claws 2-3x larger than a normal cat. The enclosure would have to be sturdy wood/pvc or something of that nature. Heavy duty scratching posts and cat proof couches are not safe from him, the strength a 20lb animal can have is amazing lol.

I actually built my own enclosure using decent sized wood. In fact if I were to make another, I'd probably use smaller wood. But you can definitely do this with very basic skills. I really don't have any carpenter skills and mine came out okay. I mean the details of it suck, it's not like the nicest looking thing lmao but it works great for my chameleon. Have had no issues with it. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer.

 

[nightanole]

You gotta get that on video!

And thank you feeling much better about my plan now

No videos for at least a few months...

 

[PrincessSpaz]

I have 3 cats who were utterly TERRIFIED of my Spazzy girl. They would watch her from a distance but wouldn't venture very close to her house after the first time. Spazzy butt was quite opinionated and very bossy (she passed in September, I visit the forum to ogle pictures of everyone's chams ... especially on the harder days )
Her hiss scared my 3 ... and the fact she climbed out of her house, down my back and grabbed Charlotte by the ears. Spaz was not the least bit phased by the cats I wish I'd gotten a picture but I was elbow deep in cleaning out her lay bin/house floor
Charlotte has taken to laying on the floor in the spot where Spazzy's enclosure once was, I think she kind of misses her

 

[CharlieWhiskey]

Raise your handI’m trying to set up a reptile corner in our finished basement, but I do have cats. Besides the obvious cat proofing of an enclosure, my concern with a Cham would be the stress of seeing the cats walk around. Anytime in the past I could tell they weren’t happy when a cat would walk in the room. That said, chams are the same way with people until they recognize us as not a threat, then they generally chill out. So for those of you that have cats or dogs, did you notice over time your Cham didn’t get bothered by them walking around? This is all assuming that they couldn’t get to or harass the Cham in anyway.

 

[jamest0o0]

I have 3 cats who were utterly TERRIFIED of my Spazzy girl. They would watch her from a distance but wouldn't venture very close to her house after the first time. Spazzy butt was quite opinionated and very bossy (she passed in September, I visit the forum to ogle pictures of everyone's chams ... especially on the harder days )
Her hiss scared my 3 ... and the fact she climbed out of her house, down my back and grabbed Charlotte by the ears. Spaz was not the least bit phased by the cats I wish I'd gotten a picture but I was elbow deep in cleaning out her lay bin/house floor
Charlotte has taken to laying on the floor in the spot where Spazzy's enclosure once was, I think she kind of misses her

I wouldn’t trust mine that far, they won’t hesitate to kill the poor chipmunk or squirrel that comes into our house(we’re in the woods). They’d likely behead a Cham after torturing it for a while.

 

[CharlieWhiskey]

Louie puffed up once when he was just seeing the cats for the first time. He was out and a cat jumped up on the couch next to him. 2 of our cats really don’t care at all( we had dogs at one point also and one puff from him and they were terrified ). Then we adopted a third and he was fascinated by Louie. He would sit( unbeknownst to us) on the dining room table and watch Louie or sit below his cage and watch him for hours. Now, he will even come get us if Louie is hanging from a branch because I think he’s worried he’ll get hurt .
Our cats have gotten used to Louie and he’s ok with them. We all will often hang out in the living room together and Louie doesn’t even react if a cat jumps up.
Basically, I think once you Cham is comfortable with seeing them and knows they aren’t a threat all will be well.
In fact, as I’m tying this I have Lou on my shoulder and 2 cats in the window behind me .

 

[MissSkittles]

Louie puffed up once when he was just seeing the cats for the first time. He was out and a cat jumped up on the couch next to him. 2 of our cats really don’t care at all( we had dogs at one point also and one puff from him and they were terrified ). Then we adopted a third and he was fascinated by Louie. He would sit( unbeknownst to us) on the dining room table and watch Louie or sit below his cage and watch him for hours. Now, he will even come get us if Louie is hanging from a branch because I think he’s worried he’ll get hurt .
Our cats have gotten used to Louie and he’s ok with them. We all will often hang out in the living room together and Louie doesn’t even react if a cat jumps up.
Basically, I think once you Cham is comfortable with seeing them and knows they aren’t a threat all will be well.
In fact, as I’m tying this I have Lou on my shoulder and 2 cats in the window behind me .

I absolutely adore cats and being a cat lady is my birthright. However, they are and always will be the very last animal I trust with any other creature smaller than themselves. My cat, who is a senior and never played when she was younger, much less now, still gets pawsy (with claws out) and tries to bat at my beardie if she’s sitting near me when I’m holding him. I’m sure you’re careful, but it can’t be said enough be even more careful. One cat bite can go thru a chameleon. Sadly we’ve seen it here a few times.

 

[snitz427]

My dog and cat frequented the “free range” area. I had a barrier up but a determined dog or cat could get past. I was lucky to have two very chill (lazy?) pets. They were both getting up there in age (RIP) which Im sure helped. They showed zero interest in the chams, and for the most part, the chams weren’t interested in them either. If they were up moving around, the chams would take note of them, but never retreated. They usually stayed right out in the open edges of the tree, so I dont think they were uncomfortable.

My dog and cat have since passed. We now have two 4 month old puppies who have seen the chams, but aren’t allowed on the same floor or area. Dont trust them with them. And the chams dont trust the puppies, either. I do introduce them, occasionally and from a safe distance. I want them to know they live here, too, and are not friends or toys.