Garage Free Range: Day 1

[danTHAman152000]

So I noticed my 4 month old veiled Foley (hey, I am a new grad RN and had to pay tribute some how) really enjoyed natural sunlight over his Reptisun 5.0 and 60 watt heat bulb. I moved his cage to a spot in the garage where I can open the garage door and the afternoon sun beams into half of his cage. He would run over almost immediately. I have a couple silk ficus trees and a 4 foot stick that I used to make a bridge from his open Zilla (30x18x30) cage to these trees that were outside in the sun. He learned right away to cross the bridge (took about 5 minutes from doing the "one step forward, two steps backward" leaf dance) to find his favorite sun spot. After a few times, I noticed he always seemed pissed to be in his cage. His colors weren't as vibrant as they were in the last weeks.

So I set up a free range set up in the garage. I set up the lights and MistKing in the rafters. I put the two trees in a long storage bin that has a hole for drainage. Then I chickened out and took the whole thing down.

The next day I saw him sitting there, looking mad to be in his cage. I thought it might be time already to start designing his adult custom cage. Then I thought I'd give it ago again. I put the lights and MistKing back in the rafters. So here is what I have:





Then I noticed the odd leaves of one of the artificial trees that my grandmother bought me lol



So I saw him sitting on top, king of the castle and content:



Today is my birthday and had a fun late night with friends last night to celebrate, so by the time I woke up this morning (Saturday), I woke up to an empty FR. I panicked a bit... I accused my dog of eating Foley... I tried to think like a chameleon to find his hiding spot. After about 30 minutes of crawling and searching, I saw this:



Don't ask me how he managed to get to this spot. I do not know if he went UP and over, or DOWN then over and UP. But I laughed and was relieved to see that my dog really wasn't responsible for the disappearance of her new younger brother.

I was confident that he would not leave the trees because he never tries to get down from them when he was sunning, and also because they are on an end table and three feet off the ground and easily nearly 8 feet high. I think he woke up and was like "whoa, where am I" and said "well I'm hungry" and went for a walk. So today I figured I would try again. I set my alarm to wake up when his lights turn on. I made a "Sunny D death trap." I have not yet seen him zap a cricket from it, but a couple managed to jump out and he ignored them crawling on the plant as well. But ever since a few weeks ago when he had some blue bottle flies, he has been ignoring his crickets. And he will not eat lobsters or any type of worm.

So that was the story of my birthday... woke up hung over and afraid. Hopefully I can update this post tomorrow with some good news.

 

[danTHAman152000]

Well I ended up having to take down my free range set up because my chameleon decided he wanted to wander around. I found him two more times on the other side of the room. He was not a fan of the sunny D death trap, which I think was why he went for a walk. Also I am not too sure if he realized the spray from the MistKing was for him to drink.

So now hes back in his cage and I can tell he isn't too happy. He was his dark chamo colors and hanging out on the side of the screen.

I'm pretty bummed because the free range set up would have been perfect if he wouldn't wander off his trees!

I guess I will have to make his adult cage sooner than later.

 

[maxttu]

Nice try! Just keep tweaking and Cham-proofing and give it another go when you're comfortable with the setup!

 

[danTHAman152000]

Thanks for the reply!

I was really hoping he would stay in his darn tree because he is always so happy and nicely colored when sitting in it. I am thinking I will instead choose a large cage (5x3x6). At least with that size he will enjoy plenty of space and I can ensure he will not escape. Unfortunately I do not have an extra room for his own free range room.

 

[maxttu]

Thanks for the reply!

I was really hoping he would stay in his darn tree because he is always so happy and nicely colored when sitting in it. I am thinking I will instead choose a large cage (5x3x6). At least with that size he will enjoy plenty of space and I can ensure he will not escape. Unfortunately I do not have an extra room for his own free range room.

He'll be more than comfortable in that! Git r dun!

 

[danTHAman152000]

Well I gave in and decided to try once more with the free range set up. I made some changes: added an extra 40 watt bulb, added a dripper, added a couple more branches, and also moved the set up away from anything in the room.

Hopefully now he will not want to get down, as the only way will be a two foot drop instead of simply climbing off onto the counter top that was a few inches away.

Also I am pleased to say that he ate 2 big crickets from his sunny d death trap, who had been chomping on an orange for two hours. Hopefully with extra warmth, full belly, and juicy crickets, his needs will be fully met and he will not feel like venturing off like Robinson Crusoe!

 

[jannb]

I have always free ranged all of my animals and they often leave their trees. You can not make a chameleon stay in a free range. You need to Cham proof the areas that your chameleon can get to or he can get hurt/killed.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

What types of things can be done to cham proof an area?

 

[DavidBuchan]

I don't know much about free-ranging but it looks really good to me.....as long as you can make sure he doesn't get anywhere he shouldn't. Something about your grandmothers present reminded me of this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFM_yhZfFGg

 

[jannb]

What types of things can be done to cham proof an area?

Remove anything and everything they could get hurt on. I also keep all my bathroom doors shut at all times, they can get in the toilet and be very careful when you open the door to their room because 99% of the time they will be right behind it. I have seen numerous injuries/deaths here on the forums from unsafe free ranging.

 

[djfishygillz]

I have always free ranged all of my animals and they often leave their trees. You can not make a chameleon stay in a free range. You need to Cham proof the areas that your chameleon can get to or he can get hurt/killed.

This is very important, and difficult.

I have seen my chameleons stretch to lengths I did not know possible to creep into places they shouldn't be.

Also be very careful they can not climb on the light fixtures or else they can and probably will grab onto them and can get burns

Good luck with the free range they are so rewarding! And your chameleons will get INCREDIBLE STRONGER and BIGGER! If done right

 

[nick barta]

A Thought: Get a kids swimming pool that is large enough if he drops from the outside edge of the trees, he still lands in an area he can't climb out of.

 

[jannb]

A Thought: Get a kids swimming pool that is large enough if he drops from the outside edge of the trees, he still lands in an area he can't climb out of.

Just be sure you get a pool with flat smooth sides. Mine climbed right out of the one with the ridges.

 

[danTHAman152000]

Thanks for the replies!

Yeah I am doing my best to figure out how to maintain his safety. I have the lights above in a distance he cannot currently reach. I am going to wake up when his lights turn on so I can keep an eye on him. I check every half hour or so to see where he is.

I wish I could use our extra bathroom as his free range but that wouldn't work out as we have family staying all the time!

I am thinking the kiddy pool might actually work out the best.

I really was thinking he might stay in the free range because when I had him in a tree in the sun, he would sit there all day! I am hoping now that he realized his sunny d death trap is actually a dinner plate.

It was hilarious to see him sitting under the MistKing when it turned on for 10 seconds. I think he thought the sky was falling!

 

[dlegare]

I love the free range concept but I'm so scared of my cham getting into trouble.

I do have a large ficus tree that I use like a playpen but its amazing how quickly a cham can get down and into trouble when you're not watching.

I think the only truly safe free range is one where its designed into an entire room.

Its nice to let them get the exercise and free space but man is it a bummer when they get themselves into trouble.

 

[danTHAman152000]

I took a couple more pictures of my setup and wanted to give an update.

Since I have gotten him to eat from his sunny d death trap, he has stayed on his island paradise. He has a dripper that lasts all day, as well as a MistKing that goes off every hour (60, 30, and 10 second intervals from 1000 to 1700).

I noticed yesterday that he had one eye closed. He did that like two months ago, but stopped that until I noticed yesterday. At that time, I had a 100 watt basking spot (88 F) and a 40 watt (80 F), as well as other areas with just ReptiSun 5.0 exposure (about 12" away). I thought maybe the 100 watt was too much so I swapped it with a 60, hoping his "one eye blinking" would be done. Even after I noticed he still would alternate eyes with a long blinking (up to 20 seconds).

Then I misted him with hot water with a hand mister. For once, he did not run! I was happy to see him blink both eyes and open his mouth for some hydration. Since then I have not seen him "blink" and I am hoping that a near shed has to do with it (my light set up shouldn't cause an issue!).

Yesterday, before I was successful at misting him with a spray bottle, I was concerned with his eye and started to spray him. He ran down his tree to the plastic bin I have to catch water. I watched him from the shadows to see if he would drop down or how he would leave his "island."

He went straight for the spot that was close to an escape route before I made some changes. He sat there for a while, and realized he couldn't reach anywhere. Then he tried to climb back. I noticed he was having trouble so I grabbed him and put him in his tree and put an extra jungle vine that would reach that same spot and give him an easy way back to the tree. That is what's in the pictures.

Anyways, I am learning every day from other experienced learners, and I am glad to have SOME room to have a free range set up. I hope he can stay in it as he has for the last 4 days so that we both can be happy! He is always such a nice color now (vs. nearly always dark in his 30x18x30 Zilla).

Gosh, I am almost embarrassed to say that in the future when I am going to buy a house, I will always be looking for a "chameleon room" lol. Well I shouldn't be embarrassed saying that here, but I am in the "real life" lol.

Anyways, any criticisms/comments are very welcomed!

(for some reason my photos are appearing upside down so I will make another post with appropriate pics!)

 

[Shawn Raquel]

Very true, you cant stop them from wandering. My guy comes down a few times a day just to check things out in his room then back he goes. If you make sure he has everything he needs he will return. Maybe not in any sort of timely fashion, mine was gone for three days a few months ago, and I still dont know where he was! They are like little Houdini's! Free range takes care and patience, I think its worth it in the end tho!