Panther jumped?!

[jamest0o0]

had my panther outside sitting on some plants and a branch. Out of nowhere he just jumped about 2 feet down into a bunch of grass and weeds... he seems fine, should i look for anything, i hope he didn't hurt himself. It really caught me off guard, have never seen this before!

 

[jajeanpierre]

had my panther outside sitting on some plants and a branch. Out of nowhere he just jumped about 2 feet down into a bunch of grass and weeds... he seems fine, should i look for anything, i hope he didn't hurt himself. It really caught me off guard, have never seen this before!

That's an escape strategy. Some species are more inclined to bail off a branch (or your hand) when feeling threatened than others. Babies are the worst. They even have a name for it: disking, which is curling up in a ball and bailing. I've had a wild-caught gracilior that was so bad he would throw himself out from the back of the cage, right @jpowell86? Joel, I can hold him on my hand now and he doesn't fling himself off anymore, and no, he is not dead or deathly ill.

Have you ever noticed how babies all hang out at the edge of a branch or off a leaf? It's so they have a clear path to the ground.

 

[jamest0o0]

Interesting! I wonder what spooked him so bad, with the nicer weather coming for the first time i've had him, maybe he's still getting used to all of the stimulation going on outside? It's 70s and sunny, maybe overheated? I only had him out about 30 minutes max though and i was misting. It was most definitely deliberate, but everything seemed as relax as usual. Any thoughts?

 

[jajeanpierre]

Interesting! I wonder what spooked him so bad, with the nicer weather coming for the first time i've had him, maybe he's still getting used to all of the stimulation going on outside? It's 70s and sunny, maybe overheated? I only had him out about 30 minutes max though and i was misting. It was most definitely deliberate, but everything seemed as relax as usual. Any thoughts?

He might have seen a bird. My chameleons notice the soaring vultures hundreds of feet up.

 

[Goose502]

My male panther jump out of my hands the other day too. We were inside and above hardwood floor, thank god I caught him. He's never done that before, and hasn't since, but I pay more attention now.

 

[Nursemaia]

When my panther was a baby he would launch himself off of me if he had the chance. Now he just bites me

 

[tenchijin]

Yeah it's a "quick ditch" move. Here's a video of a Jackson's cham doing exactly that:

 

[JacksJill]

I was going to dig that clip up. My favorite part is the slow motion near the end.
This is just another reason you have to watch them every second you have them outside out of a cage.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yeah it's a "quick ditch" move. Here's a video of a Jackson's cham doing exactly that:

And I thought it was only my quads and graciliors that would go down to the ground if they were worried outside. @jpowell86

 

[jamest0o0]

Thanks for the responses everyone, i'll have to be more careful now.