What is the natural size/range of chameleon territory in the wild?

[EvilLost]

I am curious what the natural size of a chameleon's territory is in the wild. I'm sorry I don't know the technical term for this.....I'm trying to find out roughly how far a male would travel around a given point (or are they completely nomadic and just wander without any territorial attachment? Somehow I doubt this).


Unfortunately my cat door got propped open by a wire and one of my chameleons has been MIA for 2 days now....just trying to figure out exactly how large of a search radius I should look for him.


On the bright side, my entire neighborhood is planted with Hibiscus plants and the weather has been great...

 

[reptilover]

I am curious what the natural size of a chameleon's territory is in the wild. I'm sorry I don't know the technical term for this.....I'm trying to find out roughly how far a male would travel around a given point (or are they completely nomadic and just wander without any territorial attachment? Somehow I doubt this).


Unfortunately my cat door got propped open by a wire and one of my chameleons has been MIA for 2 days now....just trying to figure out exactly how large of a search radius I should look for him.


On the bright side, my entire neighborhood is planted with Hibiscus plants and the weather has been great...

He made it to the floor and through a cat door and outside? are u sure? That indicates you have a cat... Does this cat eat mice? best of luck to you my friend

 

[EvilLost]

well given I free-range all my chameleons with my cat, they are often on the floor and around the window

at first I thought perhaps he was hiding really well around the house but I have scoured the house and its been 2 days now. Pretty sure :\

just trying to figure out how far I have to search so I'm not wasting time; my neighborhood is pretty big and *thankfully* the environment is oddly appropriate for him, so I think he will survive (short of an encounter with another human).

 

[Kmw]

I hope you find him.. id make sure that cat door stays closed in the future! There was another thread where somone lost their chameleon.. they were recommended to search in the dark using a flash light. Depending on your guys' colours I'd say this is a good way to check outside.

 

[d3s5]

I would think if it is a male looking for a female, they can wander quite a bit. When my cham goes on "walks" he will travel a little over a block in an hour. I just trail along behind him, but it is amazing how far he will travel - especially if your cham is used to being on the ground/floor.

 

[carol5208]

good luck in finding him! I never let mine get more than a few feet when they climb out of their tree outside so I cannot help you! I am glad the weather is nice outside and alteast he will be able to survive.

 

[EvilLost]

yea I have been going out at night with a flashlight and also walking around during peak daylight hours hoping to catch him out basking, but so far no luck.

 

[amalthea23]

I hope you find him.. id make sure that cat door stays closed in the future! There was another thread where somone lost their chameleon.. they were recommended to search in the dark using a flash light. Depending on your guys' colours I'd say this is a good way to check outside.

Do most maintain their colors at night? My Jackson's starts the night light green, but after half an hour or so, she's white until morning. She looks like carved marble. Though I guess that would be easier to spot in a tree at night!

 

[Kmw]

Do most maintain their colors at night? My Jackson's starts the night light green, but after half an hour or so, she's white until morning. She looks like carved marble. Though I guess that would be easier to spot in a tree at night!

i don't know about jackson's personally. but my panther has his prettiest colours out at night a really light/bright pastely green.

 

[justjumpit621]

have you checked all your closets and curtain rods? Sometimes my guy goes missing and I find him in the most awkward places, sometimes after a day or 2. Here are a list of some places he prefers, maybe it will help you because I somehow doubt he went through the cat door

-Under my portable dish washer in the wheels
-behind my stove and refridgerator
-visiting my ball python's cage
-behind the curtains
-on the curtain rod
-inside cabinets!
-in between jackets on a coat rack
-inside closets
-on my water heater
-behind my window blinds(the plastic pull down ones)
-behind the TV
-on all different cords in the house
-inside my dog's crate
-in the bathroom
-on the dog food bowl
-behind furniture pushed up close to the wall
-clinging under the table
-on a fake plant somewhere other than his free range
-in the rafters

that's all the places I can think of that I have found him, hope this checklist helps! They are SO hard to find! You wouldn't think so being so bright colored...

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

mine has traveled several blocks before being found. I think he stopped because the area was familiar to him(my son's school). Wether it is true or not, but I think he wanted to come home to his comfy house after 12 days and went where he was known and knew he would be found

Thats my theory, and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[Alohaholly]

Territory size

Aloha,

I have been wondering the same thing. We live in Hawaii and see Jackson's all over our yard. I know at least two-- adult male and a female--have been sharing the same ironwood tree next to my deck for a week or so. I don't know how many we have at our place but I see them frequently all over. I wonder, is their territory less than a single tree? If so, could one cage be used for two for a time?

I just caught the adult female and a small juvenile (3" size incl tail) male and am planning to bring them to the mainland when we move next week. (yes, I know all the rules for export). Can these two be kept together for awhile until the male gets older? The enclosure I bought is 24"x24"x48".

 

[EvilLost]

@Alohaholly: As a general rule, all chameleons need individual cages once they reach maturity. Before that, they can be kept together in small groups as long as they are all around the smae age.


I would NOT keep the adult female with anything else. I also would keep the baby only with babies of its own size at most.

Since they are wild caught, you should also have them checked for parasites, etc. as it is almost guaranteed they will have something.



My personal belief is to never change the environment of an established (adult) animal; I find that most animals that have grown up in the wild do not adapt well to captivity and vice versa.

 

[pssh]

Was it a male that escaped? Try putting a female out in a cage and see if he will come back. Others have had great success with this method.

 

[EvilLost]

Was it a male that escaped? Try putting a female out in a cage and see if he will come back. Others have had great success with this method.

Excellent idea! Although he seemed to want to get away from her as much as he could, she could use the sun too!

I will do this tomorrow