chameleons and other pets: halp!

[ChamLady]

Buy gerbils! Just kidding, but my personal experience is with a senior cat, age 11 when I adopted her last year. She loves watching the gerbils in their 2 story habitat, but doesn't seem to recognize the existence of the chams. Still, as a precautionary measure, I keep the chams in their own room, where I can close the door if I wish.

 

[CheyEevee]

I have a young female Veiled Chameleon named Perle. I also have two beautiful and well-behaved cats, Sabrina (F) and Cosmo (M).

They both love Perle and only show interest in her cage when I buy crickets, or when I have her out to change the cage up. Other than that they really don't pay her any mind. Cosmo likes to try to sniff her, but if she hisses he will back off. Sabrina is an avid bugger and she will eat the crickets if they get out. I don't know why I bother to buy her cat food

I have the cham cage out in the dining room and they never ever have tried to get on top or inside. When they are bad kitties I spray them with water.

I would never throw them outside just because they are curious about something. I want them to see other animals and to be good with them. That is just how I feel. I do agree with keeping an over curious pet away from any lizard cage.

The only thing that I worry about with Perle is over curious guests that want to stick their hands in the cage and try to touch her. I would electrocute them lol.

To sum it up. Keep and eye on the cat or cats that you have. If they act up spray them with water or make a place that they can get up higher than the cham cage. Please dont shock them, or kick them, or otherwise just for being cats.

 

[Trillian]

I think the point about it seeming inconsiderate to choose to have predators in your chameleon initially seems valid, however I do have a few observations:

Firstly, your are also a big terrifying predator to your chameleon, and you are regularly imposing your presence on him.

Secondly, there are predators in their natural habitat in the wild, which is why they have evolved to hide, and why they feel so secure when we provide them with a lot of dense foliage to hide in.

Yes it would be scary to see a lion prowling around you if you were trapped in a tiny cage, but it would be different if the cage was actually a well-furnished house in which you had learned to feel safe and the lion toured the neighbourhood at regular times every day and you had never seen threatening behaviour from it, or even seen it make eye-contact with you.

Let's face it, having pets is unnatural, period. We just have to make life as good as possible for the animals we choose to bring into our homes, and that means respecting their nature and not treating them like mindless objects that can be instructed like automata.

 

[kgallego]

I 100% agree with Sandra..

Cats + chameleons = disasters just waiting to happen

I have a young female Veiled Chameleon named Perle. I also have two beautiful and well-behaved cats, Sabrina (F) and Cosmo (M).

They both love Perle and only show interest in her cage when I buy crickets, or when I have her out to change the cage up. Other than that they really don't pay her any mind. Cosmo likes to try to sniff her, but if she hisses he will back off. Sabrina is an avid bugger and she will eat the crickets if they get out. I don't know why I bother to buy her cat food

I have the cham cage out in the dining room and they never ever have tried to get on top or inside. When they are bad kitties I spray them with water.

I would never throw them outside just because they are curious about something. I want them to see other animals and to be good with them. That is just how I feel. I do agree with keeping an over curious pet away from any lizard cage.

The only thing that I worry about with Perle is over curious guests that want to stick their hands in the cage and try to touch her. I would electrocute them lol.

To sum it up. Keep and eye on the cat or cats that you have. If they act up spray them with water or make a place that they can get up higher than the cham cage. Please dont shock them, or kick them, or otherwise just for being cats.

Cats will be cats. That's what they are. Natural predators. And chameleons are natural prey.

The fact that your cham is hissing at your cats show that it is being threatened and stressed. What may seem like playful curiosity to you may be a terrifying life and death situation to your chameleon. It's just like SaintJimmy said above:

Cats + chameleons = disasters just waiting to happen

There are no bad cats and no bad chameleons, just pet owners who make poor decisions with their pets.

Do what you like, but I wouldn't put them in the same vicinity.

I have a dog and keep it so that it can't get near my vivariums.

I think the point about it seeming inconsiderate to choose to have predators in your chameleon initially seems valid, however I do have a few observations:

Firstly, your are also a big terrifying predator to your chameleon, and you are regularly imposing your presence on him.

Secondly, there are predators in their natural habitat in the wild, which is why they have evolved to hide, and why they feel so secure when we provide them with a lot of dense foliage to hide in.

Yes it would be scary to see a lion prowling around you if you were trapped in a tiny cage, but it would be different if the cage was actually a well-furnished house in which you had learned to feel safe and the lion toured the neighbourhood at regular times every day and you had never seen threatening behaviour from it, or even seen it make eye-contact with you.

Let's face it, having pets is unnatural, period. We just have to make life as good as possible for the animals we choose to bring into our homes, and that means respecting their nature and not treating them like mindless objects that can be instructed like automata.

I concur 100%. People are big/terrifying predators to Cham's. Which is why I believe that it's a good idea to handle cham's as little as possible. One difference is that Cham's begin to link people to food as you feed them over time. They begin to get comfortable with you around.

Cats don't bring food. There is nothing good that can come from mixing a cat and a chameleon.