Older vs. Young Chameleon speed/movement freerange?

[unixmiah]

Hi,
I just read someone's chameleon escaped and couldn't find him. But hes Chameleon was
very small.

I have one large 5 months Veiled and a 7 weeks panther. I have plans on letting the Veiled be a free ranger since they have their own room-- all carpeted with a door window locked shut--

I'm scared to let the young panther roam-- he is really quick and I'm afraid he will hide or not be seen plus hes small to spot and his movement is 10x faster than the semi-adult chameleon.

I want to make have my 5 months veiled roam freely-- i dont want him in his enclosure all the time-- just at night to get him properly misteed, fed and when he's basking but I want him to have an opportunity to wonder-- I do want him people friendly so letting him out of his age on his own would be a start-- i was going to setup the entire room with vines visually please of course-- kind of like a amazon tropical room.

Is it a bad idea to let the small one wonder? vs. letting an older Chameleon wonder?

Big Guy:

Small Guy:

 

[nightanole]

Id only let adults wander. They will develop habits of only sleeping in 1 area each day, and will be easy to find once they are good at free range. However for the first several weeks-months they will get lost and not come home to roost.

 

[Blink]

When my Veiled was small and young, I would not have trusted him to free-range like he does now. He was constantly wandering and like you said, hard to spot. I know that some people do free-range when they are that young, but I personally think that it would be better for him to grow before free-ranging him full-time. That doesn't mean that he can't come out, though. You could set up a small free-range tree for him to enjoy periodically under complete supervision. That is what I did with mine until he was big enough to handle a larger free-range. Hope this helps!

 

[unixmiah]

What's the proper age for free range? Mine is 5 months and my lil panther mr skittles is 7 weeks now.

Should I wait until my Veiled is 8 month until he can range unsupervised?

 

[jannb]

I free range all my animals but I set them up in a way that they can't harm themselves or each other. You could set up your young panther with a corall like in the 6th and 7th picture here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/photos-some-free-ranges-137228/#post1219560

 

[JaxyGirl]

My Panther is 5.5 months now and I've been free ranging him for the last 3 weeks full time (morning and night) and he's been doing great! Like Jann, all my chams have always Free Ranged. My male's free range is located right in our kitchen/dining room area and it has a fair amount of trafic. But he's got a ton of room and vegetation to hide in if he wants privacy.His free range hangs from the ceiling with branches to climb on and pathos vines that hang down. He's still a little shy but he spends his time out in the open a little more everyday.
Regarding your chams, I think it depends on how shy your chams are. If they aren't to scared of you and aren't trying to hide all the time I say go for it with the older one. I started with a Free ranging mine all day then putting him in his cage at night, feeding and watering him in the morning and letting him out during the day. After about a week of that routine and getting used to it he now free ranges permently. I myself would wait till about till your little one is 4 to 5 months to free range full time, but I would allow a fair amount of free range time under supervision until he's old enough to spend the night out by himself.
One thing that I find about free ranging is that my chams have always been more interactive with me and become friendlier. They really enjoy being fed by hand and tolerate a little scratch on the head every now and then. It makes for a great experience for both the owner and the Cham.