Kamikaze Plunge?

[Winpooh718]

I have a question regarding my chameleons...

Sometimes they open their arms wide, and appear to dive off of people and surfaces.

I've been calling it the "Kamikaze Plunge" for lack of a better description. It worries me that they will eventually get hurt by free-diving that way.

Sometimes their tails keep them from falling, but, not all the time.

Is this "normal"? What are they doing? Why are they doing it?

 

[Virgil1972]

If they are jumping off of people that are holding them it sounds like they are trying to get away. If they are that desperate to get away then handling them must cause them a lot of stress.

 

[guanagator]

Your chameleons are stressed and attempting to flee the giant predator they think is attempting to kill and eat them. These are animals that thrive when we observe them and not force human interaction on them. If hand feeding and gradual trust building is done correctly some can "tame" down to the point of comfort with their handler however they can distinguish between individuals and that trust is not always extended to all humans often it's not, for example when I'm in the chameleon room cleaning, working, feeding almost all of them just go about their routines, if someone else walks in 2/3 swivel on their branches and hide. When you observe them actively attempting to run away or jump it is a flight response to the stress your chameleon is feeling and is extremely bad for the long term health of the animal. Continued exposure to stress incidents can leave your animals immune system compromised and them more vulnerable to infections and disease. I would stop putting the chameleon in those stressful situations and slowly work on rebuilding a trusting relationship with handfeeding and positive reinforcement. Anytime your chameleon shows a stress reaction to your interaction retreat wait and try again later, observe them and note the signs of stress and back up before the flare up, gape, hiss or any of that. Make them comfortable with you by moving slow and handfeeding as much as possible, eventually they may decide that your a friendly enough moving tree that they can crawl on without needing to flee or jump.

 

[guanagator]

This process takes months, sometimes they will never get to that point. I have a young male Panther chameleon that has been with me since 2 months old, he's handfed for 8 months before walking out on my arm the first time on his own. I've got a pair of quads that have handfed since day one but neither will walk onto me and they are only ever handled to get weighed or go outside. Minimizing your chameleons stress is key to keeping them happy and healthy. Plenty of other species are far more comfortable being a lap lizard but you won't find them in the chameleon family.

 

[Winpooh718]

Thanks Virgil1972 and guanagator!

I understand about stressing them by holding them.

The first time I noticed the "Plunge" my chameleon was on top of her cage trying to get to the top of my bearded dragons cage. It appeared as if she was going to dive over the edge, and before I could react, she took the plunge.

She landed on a sprayer, and was not harmed, so I started to give her assistance to cross to the next cage. She likes to be as high up as possible.

Only once more did I keave the cages ajar and she wound up on my ceiling (pic attached).

I get the diving off people, but, why would they do the same from furniture / cages?

 

[Decadancin]

Part of the issue may be that the enclosure isn't up high enough. Your chameleon may feel secure when up higher tan everything around.