free range?

THECHAMMAN

Established Member
ive heard of people saying a freerange setup and i was wondering what that is. i know thats a stupid question, but, bare w/ me
 
exactly as it sounds, a free range set up is where there is no cage just a bunch of plants and branches and vines set up so that the cham can roam as it pleases. i am currently working on a free range setup for my chams so when i clean their cages i can put them it that environment for a few hours ( not at the same time as the other ).
 
:Djust keep an eye on them. make sure you dont have any free ranging dogs or cats in the area :D place your plants and branches so that they cant really climb on a wall or curtains. i am having mine in the corner of my living room, but set up so they are in the plants and cant get on the walls. i guess if they wanted they could just jump out of the tree and walk away but that dont seem like it is an everyday thing. im hanging pothos from the celing and i have two scheffelera trees and basic branches and sticks intermixed to create the range. its next to a window so they will have natural light. i wont keep them in it but for a few hours at the most, no over night vacations are allowed
 
Last edited:
We have a free range veiled that lives in a bay window in our home office. He has vines and plants and his basking lamp and uvb lamp are mounted on the ceiling in front of the window. He gets misted several times a day and drinks from a spray bottle daily. He also gets frequent showers. He's about 4 years old now. He occasionally gets down and wanders around. We have to remember to keep the doors to the office closed when we are not home, lest he disappear into the house. When he wanders across the floor he is often found clinging to the computer cables under my husband's desk. If he's there in the evening he will go to sleep there and we move him before we go to bed, or the next morning.

For a full time free range set up, one of the trickiest parts is making sure the UVB light is mounted, or suspended, where the cham is going to spend the most time. Same with the basking lamp. We did have to move our UVB light when Guido started basking on the other side of his basking lamp area.

Another tricky part is maintaining proper hydration. We live in Washington State, in an area that gets a lot of rain, not far from a temperate rain forest area, actually. So with the mistings, waterings, and showerings, he is able to stay OK. Also, we don't have air conditioning. So the level of humidity here stays reasonable. You don't want the cham some where you cannot mist him without causing an electrical hazard or ruining a family heirloom.

The last tricky part is being sure they won't hurt themselves. They are like toddlers. You'll think- Oh, he'd never make it over there to that area. Then you enter the room, and, sure enough, there he is- right in the last place you'd want him to be. We didn't have any accidents- but it is one reason his lights are actually mounted into the ceiling. His basking light is actually screwed into a recessed light fixture. With no exposed wires. You don't want the cham to be able to climb up wires and crawl onto his hot lights.

P.S. If you feed your cham cockroaches- don't free range the cockroaches.:D
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom