How stressful is moving the cage...

[rachelk]

I am going home for springbreak for exactly a week and I am taking my male veiled cham with me. There is no one I could trust with him so I have no choice. Do you think this will be stressful on him? I've never had any problems with him and I'd like to keep it that way, from reading other peoples forums of moving their cham cages to a different room, problems come up like not eating, etc. On the drive home, would it be better to leave him in his cage or put him in a small container? I was thinking to put him in a small container in case he falls if he were to be in his cage... any suggestions to making this transistion as stress free as possible?

 

[Miss Lily]

I think most people use a small cardboard box with a stick or something in for the cham to hold on to. Put an old towel in the bottom for padding. Your cham will probably sleep through the journey if the box is completely dark. There are a few older threads on here about transporting chams for vets visits, etc. Try the 'search' tab at the top of the page to find more info.

 

[Heavy Stella]

well how long is your drive???
i would suggest if it was short like 10 20 25 mins you could keep him in a bag if it was longer like 1 hour keep him in a card board box and keep him HOT under a jacket

 

[rachelk]

it's a 3 hour drive,

 

[Fireball]

Well if you are leaving at night time you can put him in a cardboard box with lots of holes in it and something for him to hold on to or run a few vines through the box so he has some thing to stand on. Also put a towel in the bottom of the box. Use a small box when doing this so if your cham does fall the fall will be short and padded. Put your cham in the box about the normal time you shut off the lights for your cham. He or she will fall asleep in the box and will probally be sleeping when you open the box and be unaware of the move.

You can also do this during the day time but maybe more stressful as they are awake during the day and know that something is going on because they are trapped in a box all day.

I had 4 chams overnighted from Florida to Oregon over night and they were still asleep when I opened the box. One of the chams didnt wake up until i touched her. So take caution when getting your cham out because they might freak out and try to run off when they realize things are not the same. They will calm down about 5 mins after you put them in their cage and things will be back to normal again.

 

[Fireball]

Use the box idea i just posted above, its only a 3 hour drive your cham will do just fine in a box for 3 hours just make sure he is getting enough air flow. sorry for the double post as your posted while i was posting

 

[rachelk]

ok sounds good, thanks everyone! i'll just worried about the stress on him, i have a smaller cage back at home (where im staying during spring break ) that is ready for him but i think im going to just take his cage that he is in now to eliminate any added stress, im thinking switching cages might be worse on him?

 

[Djscifee]

i took mine on a 6 hour plane ride from hawaii and she is doing fine now. lol

 

[chambabysitter1]

i took mine on a 6 hour plane ride from hawaii and she is doing fine now. lol

Glad to hear she is doing better now.

I don't think it's fair to say it was fine though. Let's not kid ourselves, a couple days in your hands, and then a plane ride after being plucked from it's home wasn't exactly stress free. I am glad to hear she is adjusting well though.

 

[leid]

Most chameleons don't do well with change. I had to add a water catcher basin at the bottom of the vine underneath the dripper because it was nearly flooding my cage, and Fred's been upset about it ever since.

The best thing to do on your drive, or anyone taking their cham long distance, is to put them in a container that is not familiar to them. This may stress them out, but when they return to their cage after the ride, this might help them feel more secure and forget about the fact that they're in new surroundings outside of their cage, as they are placed back into a more familiar setting.

If you don't, they may focus on what's going on outside and realize that their surroundings are different. This is what has worked for me when I take Fred to and fro from the vet. He seems to cope well with this method.

 

[blackbetty]

Im gonna be frank,. I think me moving Leos cage is what caused the downward spiral..which ultimately killed him.

can you hire a petsitter? I know that sounds silly.. and some vet offices will petsit. They do charge of course and yea, you would be moving him, but at least it would be stable until you returned home.. Not unsure and bumpy..