Introducing chameleons to free range

[dreamforthedead]

After a lot of reading up on free ranging i now feel i could keep my chameleon free ranged 24/7. I've still got loads of more plants to buy and so on (im really excited) Mia is gonna love it and im pretty much given up half my bedroom for her. Lol My question is how do you go about introducing chameleons to being free ranged? I was thinking a couple of hours a day and then getting longer until its 24/7 would that work? She's been caged all her life and i really don't wanna cause her any stress even though she always seems happier out her cage.

P.S. Gonna go and pay for a baby yemen Wednesday or Thursday, hopefully get a male.

 

[sdheli420]

sounds like a good resonable plan..just watch them closley and see how they react to the new environment..

p.s. if you want a male, just get the one with the biggest bumps on the heels of the back feet( spurs)..good luck

 

[Hoj]

i dont believe that free ranging you cham will cause it any stress just keep an eye out for hazards, lamps, heaters, ect and i would periodicly show it the cage now and then. my guy spend almost all his time free ranging when im at home and loves it. they seem to have a good sence of direction as he always goes back to his cage or his fav tree to sleep.

 

[ktravelet]

I was a little worried about the transistion as well. Heres how I ended up going about it:

Take Hanket (female veiled) out of reptibreaze, put in free range set up, put cage in closet never to be seen again. lol

 

[bridgofaith]

What I do is open the cage door and use vines leading out of the cage into the free range area. Then leave them to expore on their own. They can go back into the cage as they please. As they become more comfortable coming out of their cage, they will begin spending more and more time out in the free range.

 

[Olimpia]

All I did was open up the cage and let them come out at their own pace, and then dismantled the cages lol Choosing to come out and explore at their own pace seems to have worked well for my guys.

 

[dreamforthedead]

Making sure there was no danger in my room i left the cage open and put some branches leading to the free range. Locked my door and went out to work when i got home i checked on her right away she was sitting in one of her free range plants. I've been nervous all day man but she seems to have had a ball. Thats the first time i've left her that long. I've put her back in her cage for bed as i'm waiting for my brother to fix her uv and basking light over her free range.

 

[hallenhe]

Sounds like you're doing it right. I've opened the cage door next to the free range and let them come out of their own volition.

 

[Midnighthwk]

i would love to FR my guy but i think my cat would stress him out too much. he always loved being out of his old cage and i felt it was too small so instead of a FR for now he is in a 29''dx38''wx72''t cage.
i know my cat wouldnt hurt him but i dont know how he would feel about my cat.
i let my turtles and beardie run around the house and "play" with my cat.
she mostly lays there and gaurds them and hiss's at me when i put them back in thier cages. my cat is always bringing me live critters to check out.

one night my frog got loes when i was doing a full clean on his tank and didnt notic ( got distracted ) and few hours later i noticed he wasnt in the carring cage. few hours later my cat came and wouldnt stop headbutting me till i followed her and she showed me where the frog was. she didnt know if it was food or a pet.

every pet i have had but my cham is a rescue pet.
right now i got 6 res turtles, 1 beardie, 1 cat, 1 frog, 1 veiled cham
frog and cham are the only one i havnt let run the house freely yet.
oh and i dont let the beardie and turtles out at the same time. i know 2 of my turtles would try to eat him. and 1 turtle is a hatchling.

i sure like adding "useless" stuff

 

[BOSS HIPPIE]

what dangers should you be looking for on FR

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

what dangers should you be looking for on FR

Other animals in the house are a huge concern - even caged ones if there is any chance at all your cham can reach its cage. Also if they can get to the ground easily they could stepped on if you're not paying attention. Basic husbandry concerns include adequate UVB light exposure since they won't be in the exact same place all the time, humidity levels of a whole room instead of just a cage, cup feeding unless you want crickets everywhere! People do it very successfully but address those risks first.

 

[sdheli420]

Other animals in the house are a huge concern - even caged ones if there is any chance at all your cham can reach its cage. Also if they can get to the ground easily they could stepped on if you're not paying attention. Basic husbandry concerns include adequate UVB light exposure since they won't be in the exact same place all the time, humidity levels of a whole room instead of just a cage, cup feeding unless you want crickets everywhere! People do it very successfully but address those risks first.

+1 totally agree!! it takes alot more envolvement than standard cage set ups

 

[SarahChamlove]

+1 totally agree!! it takes alot more envolvement than standard cage set ups

So what would a free range set up look like? I'm really curious now. You would probably need alot of trees. definately a humidifer and a deep bucket for food. somehow hang lights and uvb light.

WOW! I want one. i could make mine look so good too!

Okay someone needs to help me find info on this. I think i would like to have my cham free range when she gets bigger

 

[Archaleon]

I have about 150 picts of free range set ups on my disk.

I can forward them by email (because seems posting them pose problems of picture ownership since they re not mine)

Interrested people can contact me by Private Message and give me their email adress.

 

[lecham]

what dangers should you be looking for on FR

There are several things you should look out for like your chameleon not being able to climb up to the uvb light fixtures or the basking light, open windows, other pets reactions and what they will do when your not there, open vents, make sure the sturdiness of your fixture is appropriate, make sure there is plenty of vertical space for the cham to climb up and down as it pleases and make sure it cannot go down to the floor so it wont get lost, i had that happen to me lol well these are just some things i can think of off the top of my head ..i wish u the best