Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I remember a while back there was such a thing for sale online called the "Chameleon Condo". It was a cageless set up that had a top and a bottom with vines and plants in between, but no cage around it. It was designed for the chameleon to live on, but had nothing surrounding it.

I cannot find it online anywhere. Maybe they went out of business? Anybody have any info?

Also, is that kind of cage really realistic? I would imagine that the cham wouldn't wander off.... but do they?

Is it possible to just set something up like a ficus tree and some other plants that the cham will just live on, with lights set up around it?

Thanks!

Yes it is. I think it all depends on the animal. I have a male Fischers chameleon who lives in a large ficus tree in our living room. It is a 6-7ft tree and not trimmed back. We place a cup with food on a branch each morning and mist him 3 times a day. Our house stays in the upper 70's during the day and humid since we are in socal on the coast.we do not have a basking light but he is put outdoors every day to bask. Sometimes he will escape and we have to find him but other than that it works great. However if i had room for a big cage i would opt for that over free ranging him. The trick is BIG. any cham will try to escape if the plant you use is not big. It has to be tree. Use a large pot and fill the soil only half way up. This will allow you to put feeders on the bottom if you want. Also use a smooth glass pot, it will deter the cham from escaping- but it will eventually.

I have seen this type of set up as well, and other interesting free range set ups. A friend had his male veiled on a huge piece of tangled wood. That was mounted inside of a shallow glass aquarium. He loved it there. The cham condo inspired me to build my cage, however I opted to enclose it because I have 3 dogs and way to much activity in my house.

It was fairly inexpensive to do, and it works great for us.

Here is a few pics of it. The one looks squished due to resizing, but it is 4 feet tall and 24 inches in diameter.

Good luck finding one, or creating your own.

Kris

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