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I just moved my chameleon to her 175g reptarium outdoors full time. The enclosure is loaded with foliage from 4 ficus trees and with most of the filmsy part, which Lola seems to gravitate toward, i postioned several long skinny wooden bird perches so she has something more sturdy to climb on. I have two problems.

One is that she has lost the prehensile end of her tail after surgery she received last fall. This greatly compromises her balance and climbing ability. The enclosure is about 4 feet tall, but the bottom foot or so is packed with towels, clothes and other thing to give her a soft landing in case she falls. She has fallen and Im concerned. I want to give her room to move around (shes been recovering in a 38 gallon reptarium for the last 6 months) and strengthen her muscles, plus get used to climbing without her tail. But, of course I dont want her to get hurt. What should I do? Am i risking too much by keeping her in a large outdoor enclosure? Should I down size the enclosure?

Second concern- Since she's been outside she become very "stand -off-ish", in a chameleon way. I was actually happy to see this because I had read that they will revert back to their wild "roots' (i.e.- they become mean,) when they become comfortable outside. She wont let me near her. It's kind of bittersweet, haha. The problem with this is that during her recovery, I had been hand feeding her and as a result, her aim with her tongue sucks. So, I made her a feeding station out of a small container tied to a branch. I saw her use it the first day I put it out and I was thrilled. Unfortunatley, I havent seen her use it since, and that was 2 days ago. In fact, she seems to steer clear of it intentionally. I'm hoping she's been eating the ficus leaves. The cage is too large to let the crickets free-roam, so she'll never find them. What do you all think I should do?

Sorry for the long post, but I feel like I need to thoroughly desribe everything. I'm like that in person, too. Haha.
Anyway, any thoughts, comments, or siggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

1st: How much of her tail is gone? Can she not use any of what is left? The structure and mass of small animals makes falling larger distances less vital than say you or me falling from comparable distances, I'm sure your cushion is good enough.

2nd: Females don't need to eat everyday, unless she looks unhealthy, I don't see a problem. I've heard of chameleons going on food strikes also. I think she will eat if she is hungry..

3rd: Is she drinking and getting well hydrated?

The more experienced owners might have more to say or correct me if I have given you any wrong information. Good luck, keep us posted!

Travis
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Lex and Cecily sittin in a tree.

Thanks for the reply. She does not seem thin, so I dont think she's losing weight. I spray her a few times a day, and I have a dripper going, and her eyes are not sunken in so I also think she is hydrated. How can I get her more interested in fruits and vegetables? How do you all offer them? Thanks again.

Oh, and she lost about the lower half of her tail, the part that she used to grab on to things with. She can use the remaining part, but she cant really curl it. Let's say she has limited use of it.

To get her interested in fruits or veggies (not all veileds decide they like them), try putting pieces in the feeding bin. The insects will chew on them which is fine, but she may also get some on her tongue while shooting them and will "discover" them. Chams are suspicious about new foods and don't recognize them as safe. You can also use a twist tie to put chunks or sprays of food near a convenient perch for her to test out on her own.

Also twist tie greens this way...and if she is chewing on her plants she may try eating greens you leave for her. Dandelions (unsprayed), kale, Romaine lettuce, celery tops, carrot tops, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about falls. A cham falling that short a distance shouldn't hurt itself too easily. All the foliage will help break the force of the fall along with the cushioning. Try using a larger plastic box for a feeding dish, and put a convenient branch down into it from the rim. She can stalk and shoot from there. Sometimes chams don't like shooting into a small cup.

Thanks for the advice. The container I have her food in now is actually fairly large, but it cant hurt to try something larger. I just cant decide if it is better for her to be in a more wide open enclosure with the chance of falling a few feet ( assuming she doesnt get her balance/strength back) or give her a smaller enclosure with less chance of her falling. Im really worried that the falls are really stressing her out to the point that she wont want to eat and be comfortable. Im hoping that she will regain some of her strength/balance after she gets used to moving around in much larger enclosure than she's used to.

Something else I just thought of... there is a bird feeder very close to her cage. So close that I have seen small birds landing on top of the cage. I dont know how I over looked this. They are definately not large enough to rattle the enclosure and knock her off a branch, but could this be a cause of her falling? What do you all think?

It wouldn't surprise me if the birds are frightening her even if
they are small. She may be seeing their shadows "flashing" over
her and think that they are predators.

We may be onto something. I have seen her fall...while trying to climb to the bottom. In fact, I find her hiding in the towels, so you may be correct. But why would she want to climb to the bottom to escape the birds? Wouldnt an aboreal cham feel less secure on the bottom with no ground cover aside from the packed towels? There is plenty of foliage in the trees for her to hide in. She is always trying to get to the bottom though. There's planty of shade, the temps are right, she has a dripper, so unless the birds are really the problem, she has no reason to want to get out of the reptarium. Either way, I'm moving the bird feeder. Another thought I had: is it possible that even though she cant produce eggs anymore, she still has the instinct to try to lay? Seems unlikely, but Im out of ideas.

So, Ive moved the bird feeder and I was all excited because she hadnt been on the bottom in a few days. Unfortunatley, today I found her on the bottom yet again. This time I left her there to see what she would do, hoping she would climb back up on her own. When I returned to check on her, she was at the bottom of a plant with part of her head under a towel. The way I have the cage setup, she did have to climb a good amount to get where I found her. Why would she not try to climb up into the tree? Anyone have any other advice? This poor thing has really been through alot. I just want to give her as happy and as comfortable a life as I can. Maybe I should bring her back inside and downsize the enclosure. What else can I do? Thanks.

You asked..."why would she want to climb to the bottom to escape
the birds?"...are you sure that she is climbing down?
Some/many chameleons will release the branch and drop to the
ground when frightened. Could this be what she is doing?

You asked..."Wouldnt an aboreal cham feel less secure on the
bottom with no ground cover aside from the packed towels?"...I
would think so...but if she feels that the predator is coming
from above, then she might feel like she has no alternative.

You said..."is it possible that even though she cant produce
eggs anymore, she still has the instinct to try to lay?"
Why can't she produce eggs?
I wouldn't be surprised if she still thinks that she can lay
eggs.

Am I wrong to assume that she has no trouble holding onto the
branches?

Can't think of any other ideas or reasons for the behavior at
the moment. Sorry!

She could be exhibiting the "drop response". The birds are mostly above her. I shouldnt say I have seen her climb all the way down. Rather I have seen her climbing on her way down, but not quite there yet. I have not seen her just drop out of her tree, either, though.

She has been ovariectomized ( surgury to remove eggs). I should have made that more clear earlier. I have moved the bird feeder, but where I have her is still in a high bird "traffic" area. Unfortunately, the only area I have to keep her outside my appartment is on a balcony where the birds are. I guess I'll have to bring her inside. I do have an awful lot of horizontal branches of different diameters that I placed throughout her enclosure. I'm pretty sure she has no problem grasping them I have also ordered a slighly smaller repatarium so that the plants will be more compacted in there to stop or at least break her falls.

Am I doing the right thing by bringing her back inside? I mean, is it favorable to keep her inside under artificial lighting with no preceived predators, (except me, of course) instead of a more natural enviornment but around those birds? What's the healthier scenario? Thanks to everyone who has responded. We (my cham and I) really appeciate it.