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Falling chameleon

bluegrl Apr 25, 2006 04:57 PM

I have a female vieled. We have a free range setup which has worked quite well for about a year. On a sofa table which is about 3 ft. high are 2 very large potted plants and several smaller ones with lots of additional branches. Total area for her is about 4'x4'x3'. In the year we have had this set up there have been about 4 occasions where I would come home at lunch or after work and she would be across the room up on a shelf. I pondered for some time how she got down, assuming a cord but it did not seem that there would be enough space for that. Yesterday i was home with a sick kid and she was walking around on the table looking down the side like she was going to make her escape. i just sat and watch so i could figure out how she was doing this. Finally she leaned off the edge of the table that does not have a cevering and no traction and fell flat on her belly all fours straight out. When i went over to her she got right up and walked across the floor to a large plant. I will continue to think of some way to make sure this does not happen again but what sort of damage could this cause? We tried to put her in a large cage but she was having none of it and really seems to like her set-up. Could this fall cause so much damage that we should put her in a dreaded cage anyway?
Sorry for the long post! Thanks in advance!

Micah
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0.1 California Kingsnake - Jamie
0.2 Leopard Gecko - Big One & Little One
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Blue
2.1 Hubby & Rugrats

Replies (3)

lele Apr 25, 2006 05:06 PM

chams will often puff themselves up with air if/when they fall - especially if it is intentional, which sounds like your little girl's was

Something has made her decide to do some wandering. have you changed anything that may have encouraged this? New drapes, prettier plants on the other side of the room? Maybe her plants have gotten thinned out and she would do better with more lush environment. Offer some vines going to places in "her" area leading to new SAFE places. Not knowing what it looks like it is sort of hard to give ideas.

Your other option is to put up some screening at the most distance you can to give her the free range feel. There are a few folks on here who free range and may be able to give you better suggestions. Can you post pics? Although an occasional fall from a short distance should not be a problem it is certainly not something you want to continue. Hope this helps to get you thinking while waiting for others input. Not sure if it will give you ideas, but here is an article on free range setup.

lele
Free Range Setup

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - swifty and blotcha for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

MdngtRain Apr 25, 2006 05:42 PM

I'd kinda agree with lele in suggesting alternate routs to "safe" zones. If she is adament about getting to the shelf, maybe provide her with a safe arial passage (vine, rope, etc.) to get to the shelf (assuming the shelf is a safe place for her with plants & the like). She may just like the different view.
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0.0.2 Crested Gecko (Anton (or Angelina) & Harley)
1.1 Crazy dogs (Alex & Sadie)
0.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee)
0.1 Amazing Wife =o)
Charlie - RIP 9-8-05 (Veiled Cham)

Carlton Apr 26, 2006 03:10 PM

I've found that once a free range cham "learns" that there is a desirable spot somewhere in the house they will want to go there even if their habitat is OK. They have a very acute spatial memory. She's learned that this is a safe route and a safe place to go, so it is part of her mental territory map. It could be seasonal too, depending on your house temps or where bright sun hits. If she is landing on carpet and is planning her "falls", she probably won't hurt herself much. But, I agree with the idea to make a safer route to that spot so she can climb to it or take the temptation away completely (close a door, put up a door barrier, remove or block the shelf).

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