Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning on moving my cham outside this summer and I was wondering about the bugs that he will encounter. His cage will be screen but I'm going to try to make one with hardware cloth.

I live in BFE so I don't have to worry about pesticides, I'm mainly worried about lightning bugs and stuff like that. Will he know not to eat the bad bugs?
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Thanks Dawn
1.0 Veiled (Moe)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.2 Southern Toads (Tiny and Bubba)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Joker)
3.1 Cats (Buffy, Spike, London, and Lilly)

He probably will not know whats bad for him. He'll eat anything that looks taisty.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.0 Veileds
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Do not use the hardware cloth next to the chameleon, it will
wear his nails down, or rip them out, plus it can cause
cuts to the delicate underside of the feet. You can use a PVC
or vinyl coated wire next to him, then go out a inch or so and
use the hardware cloth. The hardware cloth will protect him from
injuries cause by rats, racoons etc. The bigger the cage the
better! I would recommend a height of 8ft. and plenty of
room inside the cage to put several plants, so that he can
roam. Lighting bugs are toxic, but they should not be a factor
if he is in his cage at night when they come out. Feed him
grasshoppers, chams love them!

Great I was so busy worrying about what he would eat not what would eat him. Will racoons really bother him? Maybe I should bring him in at night.
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Thanks Dawn
1.0 Veiled (Moe)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.2 Southern Toads (Tiny and Bubba)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Joker)
3.1 Cats (Buffy, Spike, London, and Lilly)

Racoons will definately try to kill and consume your chameleon.
They are very smart, and can tear up cages that are not well
built. As for whether on not you should bring in your chameleon
at nite, only you know what the preditor situation is where you
live. I live near a major river, and several species of raptors
live here. We are building a large enclosure that will house
my panther colony. We are using the hardware cloth for the outside, and the PVC coated wire for the inside. Each individual
cage is 8ft tall, and 4ft by 4ft. Build a cage as big as you can
afford to, and add some tasty plants for your veiled to munch
on. Good Luck on your project.

Legendcham