Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone else do it? My panther has been free in my room for weeks now. He's trained to eat dead food, so everday I just hand it to him (I gut load by attaching veggies with bee pollen mixed with water!) and I give him water via a syringe. He just does whatever the heck he wants.

I found him here, he's easier to find than my iguana!

As long as you keep him somewhat contained to a room or rooms where you can keep him from getting into things that will hurt him(other pets unattended heat lamps etc.) AND you pay attention to his conditions he might do better than in a cage. I kept a pair of parsons like this for several years and they did excellent. Hydration is really important so pay attention to it. I suggest that you give him a shower for a few hours 2 to 3 times a week in addition to spot misting.You will also need to pay attention to your temps and be aware of potential access to any basking light you use by your cham. I personally think that the vast majority of problems with chameleons that are attributed to other factors are actually the result of stress caused by keeping them in cages that are way too small. While the free roaming room thing can cause problems if you don't do it right, if you do it right your chameleon could do a lot better than in a cage.

Btw if you are keeping a free roaming Iguana and the chameleon in the same room...DON'T...Iguanas really stress out chamleons not to mention that Iguanas are not always the herbivores their vegan worshipers would like us to believe. I know of people who had green iguanas that would hunt down and eat anoles. I have one right now that probably would if any got into it's cage (in fact it just might and I don't see it.) it certainly tries to go after butterflies. You might just end up with an expensive meal on your hands.

But that doesn't prove iguanas aren't vegans, they will try to eat anything! They aren't nickle-a-vores either, but many accidently eat coins. Besides, buterflies look a lot like flowers. But mine is in a cage.

I have worked with Iguanas and many other reptiles for many years and I've seen a lot of odd behavior in those many years. Iguanas will take animal protein on their own on occasion. I have seen it myself and know others who have seen some horrific examples of it. My point was that you probably DON'T want to keep your Panther somewhere where the Iguana can get at it. The Iguana will definately stress out your cham and at $150 to $250 it might just be a really expensive meal if worse comes to worst. I recently witness an "herbivorous" monkey-tailed skink attack a striped gecko maintained in the former's enclosure for several years for roach control. The skink ate the gecko's tail and monkey- tails will also occasionally consume crickets. It's better to err on the side of safety.

That much I agree with, I was just commenting on the iguana's diet.

I hope that pic was taken at night...a cham sitting with eyes closed during the day is in trouble!

I've kept melleri free ranged and know it can be done. It can be tough to thoroughly cham-proof a room. One concern I would have is exposure to UV light. Unless he has access to a lamp such as a ReptiSun 5.0 or gets outside in true sunlight a lot, he may develop MBD. Curious, why are you feeding dead prey? Live prey is much more nutritious. You can set up a feeding bin for him. Get a plastic critter keeper and put it somewhere he can reach it easily such as near his basking spot. Each day you can put live feeders in it with gutload. He can hunt from the rim.

Yes the pic was taken at night.

So does it just crap all over your room?