Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey this is my first time in here. Ive had my adopted female veiled cham for three years now, and she was a year old when I got her. it became apparent soon after I got her that she didnt like her cage, so I put her on a thoroughly washed potted hibiscus and there she has been since. she seems very happy and has never runs away, though once she hid behind the flower pot it is planted in. it is next to a radiator pipe, so she sleeps next to that at night, and will bask under a lamp during the day. she is truly the happiest and FRIENDLIEST chameleon I have ever met..she will come TEARING accross the plant if you stand near the plant, and try to climb on you and "zap" your hands with her tounge, and will turn a violent shade of greenish yellow. every single leaf on the hibiscus has a single triangle shaped bite mark on it. Strangely enough, she has never become egg bound or laid eggs. does anyone else let their chams "free range"?
-----
- Happy herping!

KE

I have 2 chams that free range. One is a male veiled and the other is a Nose Be. They are the happiest chameleons i have ever seen. I recommend that anyone with a medium range of cham husbandry should at least consider setting up a free range environment for their chams. The only difficulty is keeping your room humid and hot. The rest is easy.

I figured somebody else has tried free-ranging with positive results. It makes sense, they arent like geckos where they like to feel safe and enclosed someplace.
-----
- Happy herping!

KE

I keep my mellers free range. When I got him he seemed to be acting very funny, she was very stressed and tolerated handeling and such. After putting him into a free range enclosure, its like a whole different chameleon. He is acting much more natural and showing his real personality (which means he is a bit more agressive, but thats fine with me as long as he's happy). I feel its the best way to go for larger chams.

A couple months ago i noticed my female was a little darker and i had four 36 inch flourecent lights that were in the walk in closet that she was in on the ceiling and i noticed everytime i took her out she got a lot lighter and she seemed to like it a lot more so i baught her a big Ajii Ficus tree for that back room and i left her out and ever since she has stayed she loves it i just put a little waterfall at the base of the tree and a stick coming out to the heat lamp for basking. She loves it but since shes been there she became less friendly. before she loved to be held and would climb right on your hand when you put it in there but now she doesent like it but she is DEFINATELY more happy.

Free ranging is great for some people who have the space and the right place for it. Most (but not all) chams love it. Some very shy or nervous species might feel too exposed. My melleri loved free roaming in their own room and I will do this for them first. They settled down and were much calmer and contented. But, you have to weigh the technical ability of creating the right humidity and climate as well as the safety of your individual house and lifestyle before trying it. When chams are first free ranged they can wander a lot before realizing their space really does have everything they want. Once they are settled they don't tend to wander very much except for males during breeding season. As for the egg laying, not all unmated veileds produce infertile clutches. Some never do, so I guess you are lucky in not having to deal with that. You are also lucky she's so social...most veileds are not. Enjoy her!