Ernie is MIA

[leafling424]

5 days ago while my little girl was just waking up after "camping out" in the beautiful southern air, a sudden wind storm knocked her cage over allowing her to escape. I've been searching for her ever since, looking especially at night, but my yard is surrounded by big trees and I am losing hope...I honestly think she will fend for herself using her amazing camouflage skills and eating all them bugs, but obviously, I am still worried about her, and very sad not knowing where and how she is. Does anybody have any tips for me, or stories about run-away chameleons? I swear she's right above my head laughing at me! It also hasn't rained since that very short, early morning storm. I keep an eye out for her while watering my garden, but is there any way I should really use that to draw her near? I doubt she will drop from the tree to drink from my zucchinis...

 

[jannb]

So sorry to hear about your little girl. If she is a female veiled try putting out some feeders for her in her favorite bowl or feeder cut that she recognizes.

There's plenty of threads on here where members lost there Cham and most find them. She is out there so keep looking.

 

[stacy76]

sorry to hear about your little one.dont give up on searching for her.

 

[Psychobunny]

Keep looking, I know it seems bleak, but believe it or not, lots of ppl find their lost chams
A veiled cham in the wild generally picks a tree with no other cham in it, and stay there.
Male veiled will roam from tree to tree in search of a female.

So there is a very good chance your girl is right in front of you

She probably sees you every time you go outside.

PS. what is the weather like where you live? Is it warm enough for her to survive?

 

[leafling424]

Thank you all, I definitely need the encouragement. It is GREAT to know they choose just one tree, because she would be able to climb all 6 of them in my yard by going branch to branch. My little needle in the haystack. I'm pretty sure I know her general area and can even climb up in there to get a better look. The weather in Alabama is perfect, 80's and dropping to 70's at night, though as I mentioned it hasn't rained since last Thursday morning. I am torn between wanting to lure her to the garden (under the tree I believe she's in) with the water, or if I should spray the tree so she will survive. There are zillions of bugs in there and they will be providing her with hydration...I am sure she is fine!

 

[Lukie Pookie]

Just don't get discouraged. I lost my baby panther after I wasn't very responsible and left him out for a split second. He darted up this HUGE Japanese Maple I had in my yard and I found him not too long after. Just remember not to lose hope or patience. Good luck

 

[leafling424]

I'm glad to hear you found him!! What part of the tree do they like the best? I've looking about the first 15 feet pretty thoroughly, but my pecan tree doesn't have much higher climbing branches for me...do they go as high as they can, stay in the middle, or hang out on the lower branches?

 

[ToniandGizmo]

This happened to me one summer.

When Gizmo was about 3 years old, he came up missing from his outdoor "chateau". I always checked on him when he was outdoors and had caught him several times trying to make his escape. I even knew how long it took him to get down and could always time it perfectly. This particular morning however, a neighbor stopped to talk to me and I missed the scheduled "chameleon check" by about 2 minutes. This was all the time he needed to escape.

I always caught him heading towards my big 60 foot tall evergreen, so that was the first place I looked. Sure enough, there he was, about 50 feet up at the end of a branch, swaying in the sun. It took 3 days for me to get him down. In the meantime, I would spray water up into the tree so he could drink.

My brother, brought over a really long ladder, cleared out a path for me in the tree and off and on for the next 3 days, I'd climb up there with a cricket and try to lure him to me. Finally, he got hungry enough that he came to me. He ate his cricket, walked onto my hand and I climbed down. I NEVER let that happen again. Whew!

 

[ToniandGizmo]

I'm glad to hear you found him!! What part of the tree do they like the best? I've looking about the first 15 feet pretty thoroughly, but my pecan tree doesn't have much higher climbing branches for me...do they go as high as they can, stay in the middle, or hang out on the lower branches?

During his 3 day escapade, Gizmo mostly hung out at the end of the branches. I could almost always see him in the mornings, warming up in the sun. Don't give up.

 

[carol5208]

I also had a male panther escape(cage door was left open accidentally I guess) and he walked on the ground about 100 feet. Then went under a gap in the fence and was rustling around in a bush that was about 2 feet tall on my side yard. I actually thought I would never find him. Really it was my neighbor that spotted him! I was very lucky!!! I hope you find yours. I have seen people on here find them MONTHS after they have escaped and they surprisingly had not wandered that far. Good luck!

 

[leafling424]

thank you everybody for your stories! i obviously know i'm not the only one who has had an escapee but it's good to hear affirmation, haha.

 

[robmd1]

Hi sorry to hear your cham got loose... if you cant find it during the day don't get down better chance finding her as its getting dark or dark... look for the diff color of green in the trees, I have a portable Q-beam spotlight its more powerful then a flashlight but either will work just shine the light in the trees and bushes looking for sleeping colors which will stand out against the rest of the tree.. This is how ive found a few wayward females works great..
good luck to you..

 

[AngieL]

I have seen stories here on the forums where a guy lost his veiled and found him literally months later! Don't lose hope and keep searching! I hope she turns up soon and doesn't go too far!

 

[leafling424]

...better chance finding her as its getting dark or dark... look for the diff color of green in the trees...just shine the light in the trees and bushes looking for sleeping colors which will stand out against the rest of the tree.. This is how ive found a few wayward females works great..
good luck to you..

Thank you! I have been doing this all week, but haven't spotted her yet. My kitten is not a very good hound cat; no help at all! I wish she were in an evergreen like Gizmo because she would stand out brighter at night, but pecans are about the same shade green. I need to round up the neighbor kids to help!

 

[leafling424]

This story has a bad ending. I never saw hide nor tail of her after that storm set her loose. We were hit with 2 pretty hard winters so she can't still be out there....doesn't stop me from checking.

 

[PascalsWager]

I'm sorry you never found her. You did everything you could and then some.