Moving with Cham

addicted

addicted

Established Member
Hi Guys,
I'm going to be moving within the city at the end of this month and I'm wondering what would be the best (stress free) way to transport my cham. I live in SW Ontario (Canada) so weather may be an issue.

What type of container would be the best, I have quite a few pets so I have a few different 'pet carriers' already, I'm just wondering if they could be suitable, temporarily for a cham. I have 2 'cat carriers', a couple different sized 'cricket keeper' type cages (made from clear acrylic w plastic mesh lid) and his old exo-terra glass enclosure (18x18x24) that he used to live in as a baby.

What should I put in the cage with him to make him comfortable? I was thinking line the bottom with towels and add a couple fake vines to hold onto?

He will need to be safe in cage for max. 2 hours so I don't want to package him completely, the way you would for shipping.

It was so much simpler when I brought him home from the breeder in a little half pint raspberry container. LOL, at 1 year old and 125g, I don't think he'd fit any more:)

Aslan
fish044.jpg
 
I moved my cham in a shoebox with a biovine going through it. I cut two holes, ppoked the vine through, and tied it off. Whenever we arrived at his new home he was sound asleep on the vine. You have to make sure no light gets in the box though, or they will try to climb out and most likely get hurt.

-Andrea
 
I have read posts where members said they used shoeboxes, tupperware and even the cages themselves. On thursday I have to drive both of my chameleons for six hours, talk about stress :rolleyes:. I think I am just going to bungee strap my cages to the car seat and then throw towels over the top of them to block out light. From what I have heard, that chams will sleep when there is no light.
 
The key is primarily achieving total darkness. The cham will practically go into deep sleep and be fine. When i've had to transport mine, I use reptile shipping bags (which are just little cloth sacks), inside a box lined with a towel.
 
If anyone has any pictures of the boxes they use for transport could you please snap a couple pics? That would be great.
 
When I picked up my Melleri, they had to endure a 6 hr car drive. Kristina from Melleri discovery told me to sack them and use a padded container of some sort. I used cheap styro coolers and some clean cotton pillow cases. Worked great. At 3am Feruzi was sleeping so hard I had a hard time waking her to get her onto her perch. I really almost thought she was dead.

If all I had to do was an in-town move. I would try and leave them in their cage and just cover it with towels or a blanket.

Like I was warned, if you sack them make sure to close the sack with a zip tie or a bread twist tie. Do not use a rubber band. The tip of the tail or other small appendages can work their way into the opening and have the circulation to that appendage cut off.
 
Great thread I'm going to need this advice also in the next 2-3 months when I move 5 hours away :)
 
Honestly, I usually try to move my guys with their full cages intact and spill-proofed. I even buckle them in with the seatbelts and then cover the cages with a towel or blanket. This works well if you have room in the car and only a few chams (I only had my two Jackson's when I moved to this house) and will keep them the least stressed.

Other good alternatives are a dark box with towel at the bottom and a good sturdy branch to sit on or even bagging the animal as you would a snake. If I were you, I would keep it dark for him and encourage him to sleep.
 
kenya said:
Honestly, I usually try to move my guys with their full cages intact and spill-proofed. I even buckle them in with the seatbelts and then cover the cages with a towel or blanket. This works well if you have room in the car and only a few chams (I only had my two Jackson's when I moved to this house) and will keep them the least stressed.

Other good alternatives are a dark box with towel at the bottom and a good sturdy branch to sit on or even bagging the animal as you would a snake. If I were you, I would keep it dark for him and encourage him to sleep.
Click to expand...

Don't you have to worry about your cham falling though from all the jerky stop and go motions of the car?
 
I like stuff simple, cheap cooler, pad with a towel & put cham in a pillow case. Easy & safe. Good luck, moving it the pits.
 
kenya said:
Honestly, I usually try to move my guys with their full cages intact and spill-proofed. I even buckle them in with the seatbelts and then cover the cages with a towel or blanket. This works well if you have room in the car and only a few chams (I only had my two Jackson's when I moved to this house) and will keep them the least stressed.

Other good alternatives are a dark box with towel at the bottom and a good sturdy branch to sit on or even bagging the animal as you would a snake. If I were you, I would keep it dark for him and encourage him to sleep.
Click to expand...

There many ways to transport the chams. A cage would be good as well. Just make sure the plant will not shift during the ride. If you had to stop hard enough and the cham was around the container of the pot, he could get crushed by the side of the potted plant.
Lance
 
I'm guessing its not a good idea to play music in the car or put on the air conditioning. Six hours with no tunes, this is gonna be tough :p
 
cushcameleon said:
Don't you have to worry about your cham falling though from all the jerky stop and go motions of the car?
Click to expand...

Nope, we don't jerk the car around. Do you?

If they are covered and it is dark, they stay put and go to sleep. I have never had any fall while being transported.

I forgot to add that you can use pop up cages as well- just stick in a plant and make sure it is secure and you are ready to go! (I use round silver laundry baskets from IKEA)
 
cushcameleon said:
I'm guessing its not a good idea to play music in the car or put on the air conditioning. Six hours with no tunes, this is gonna be tough :p
Click to expand...

I play music on low volume and I shift the balance all to the front. Avoid anything with a lot of bass. AC is fine, just keep it low and on the front. Don't let it hit the chams and make sure your temps stay in good parameter (about 75 would be good)
 
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