indoor free-range/ photo courtesy K. Francis
A small free range; note electrical cords kept out of reach. / photo K. Francis	Floor is 6 mil plastic with convoluted foam padding underneath. / photo K. Francis

Like almost everything about Meller’s chameleons, this is a subject that is controversial, and for good reason. Dedicated, experienced, focused keepers have had negative experiences with free-ranging. It’s a good estimate that far more keepers have had failures keeping melleri in small enclosures of glass or fine screen. The key to keeping melleri is to be flexible and resourceful, and invent ways to keep your pet stress-free. This method of free-ranging is just one spin on a evolving theme. For another perspective, here is Allison Banks' free-range melleri article, published in 2003:

http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=60

Here is Suzanne Boom's approach to free-range melleri, published in 2008:

http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=121

When you take away the cage walls, the screens that rub noses raw, you also take away the barrier that keeps danger away from your melleri. This includes hot, sharp, or unstable elements that you melleri may climb onto, as well as things that can get to your pet, like other pets. If you decide to not cage your melleri, you must commit to caging everything else that is dangerous to it. That is the essence of safe free-ranging.

This means all other pets must be prevented from entering the melleri’s territory. If you have a dog or cat loose in the house, crate that animal while you are not around. Keep the melleri in a room with a closing door, that no other pets may access. For pets that do not jump or climb, and for optimum ventilation, install a baby gate across the doorway to keep pets out of the melleri room while you are home. Do not leave just the baby gate in place while you are out; a curious melleri can climb the gate and crawl around the rest of the house. Make sure the room is safely shut off from the rest of the house when you are away. When you return, very slowly open the door, in case your melleri has taken a walk and is behind the door. Don’t forget to warn your pet sitter about this. Not only can other pets kill your melleri, your melleri may stand its ground and fight, causing severe bites and infections in your other pet(s). Just because your dog “wouldn’t hurt a fly”, does not mean that your melleri wouldn’t hurt the dog.

For stability, mount light fixtures firmly to the ceiling, wall, or from tall metal stands. A stable lamp stand is easy and inexpensive to make. Buy a pre-finished wood shelf, mount a metal flange, screw in a 6’ metal pipe, add a “T” to the top. You will have a stand that is impossible to tip over, but can hold a 4’ fluorescent vertically and an incandescent single-bulb (flood) fixture at the top. To keep your melleri from climbing onto heaters and burning themselves, make custom metal screen mini-cages around each fixture. Enclose the whole fixture’s hood, as the lizards will get contact burns from the metal. Burns are painful and take years to heal, if they don’t cause fatal stress early on. Do not spray or mist near or at incandescent and electrical fixtures. Warm “hot spot bulbs”, even if they have just been turned off, will explode on contact with water mist or drops. Halogen reptile bulbs, sold through online resources (including PetsMart), are about ten times the price of an incandescent, but they will not explode. They last longer and provide a much more desirable hot spot/UV output. Just because halogens are resistant, does not mean that they should be in contact with water.

Melleri are active and will climb on everything. They don’t know when to quit when it comes to heat. Melleri will literally roast alive, if allowed direct contact with heat sources. Do not assume your melleri, after years of observation, will never try this. This has happened to long-term captive melleri who never, ever got close to their heaters before. It will happen if there are no protective measures.

It is assumed that the keeper will use the same lamp timers for proper daylight cycle, as they would for a caged animal. Keep all wires off the plastic sheeting floor, away from moisture. Keep all parts away from materials that can melt or burn. The “thermal protected” ballasts of fluorescent light fixtures get quite hot and cause melting, even on linoleum. Do not spray or mist near or at incandescents or electrical fixtures.

Sanitation

With a free-range, one would think this is difficult, but it’s surprisingly easy. The floor should be covered with heavy clear plastic sheeting, 6mil or thicker. Fold up the edges into walls like a child’s play pool, and staple them in an upright position. Adult melleri tend to defecate in one select spot of their territory. If you keep a dry habitat, you can lay down paper towels to catch the feces. Replace with fresh towels whenever you remove waste. When run-off water, leaves, and dust build-up on the floor, it’s time to clean the set-up. This can be done with gentle household cleaners, while the melleri are outdoors basking or in the rain chamber. Some keepers use a moisture-trapping natural media on the floor of the free-range. This may include: paper pulp, sphagnum moss (can get messy), or baked leaf litter. Do not use cedar products; many pets, including chameleons, are sensitive. Avoid wood chips, as these are easily mistaken for prey, and can cause digestive blockages. Pine needles are not recommended. Remove feces as it happens. Escaped prey will fall into the floor media/catch area, and will eat whatever they find, crawl back into the chameleons’ range, and be eaten. Stop this unhealthy cycle by counting prey, keeping the floor as clean as possible, and smelling the set-up for sourness or ammonia. In a large free-range, it is difficult if not impossible to create a natural breakdown of feces, so it is very important that you remove it. When water collects at the bottom of the media, drain it by bailing or sopping it up, and refresh the media.

Some melleri require more moisture than others. If the free-range room is in a house, take care to not allow it to become too moist. Mildew can cause upper respiratory infections in all animals, including humans. Opening a window in the room, on a humid, mild day is a good idea for ventilation. Take care that the window has been adapted for melleri, by placing a heavy-duty wide mesh screen over the interior. Regular household window screens are not barriers to melleri, who will claw their way outdoors in a couple of hours. Cool moisture evaporative humidifiers work well, year-round. Place them up at mid-height in the set-up for best results. Ultrasonic or warm mist humidifiers can create too much moisture. Use them with care. Do not allow your melleri to touch the warm mist nozzle, as this can cause steam burns. Misting with a spray bottle is a good idea, but avoid electrical fixtures. Take care that perches and trees dry out thoroughly between misting. Use of a shower or rain chamber yields good results. Melleri can get fully hydrated with moist air, falling “rain”, and yet have a dry, mold-free range to return to.  This regimen has caused no skin fungus or degeneration problems, common in continually wet conditions. Spare no expense of time to find your melleri’s best hydration level. If hand-watering by bottle, dripping water on the chameleon gets the best drinking response. Commit to it for 20-40 minutes, at least twice a day. Make sure to provide water from several methods until you find the one that suits your individual melleri. Reduce the buildup of water on the floor by doing the most watering where the melleri is perched over a plant’s pot. You can water the trees and the lizard at the same time.

Live potted plants are needed for this kind of set-up. If your ceiling has exposed beams, attach hanging plants and branches for high climbing. The smaller ficus trees, potted and placed on sturdy stands, give shelter and height. Your melleri will ignore a tree that is only 4’ tall, so stands are needed. Stands are easier to clean around. Long, thick branches, vines, and ropes, make nice pathways for melleri to crawl along. Melleri love to cruise their territory, being one of the most active of the large chameleon species. Even in ideal captive environments, melleri can twist a toe or hurt the skin on the bottom of their foot from the torque of their grip. It is a good idea to wrap the branches with 3M Vetrap® for traction and protection from rough surfaces. In the wild, chameleons sustain these injuries, but they are not under the same limited conditions as captive animals, which can become quickly infected.

It is initially a lot of work to create, but in the long run, it means less work and more enjoyment of your melleri. Melleri experience reduced stress, increased natural behaviors, and overall psychological benefits. Wild-caught, formerly abused, and/or vicious melleri may become gentle pets almost overnight. The security of a cluster of trees and perches, without cage walls (except for the walls of your actual building), does a great deal for the melleri’s emotional state. The first few days of free-ranging, the melleri may roam the room, exploring the limits of its view; from then on, only a major need such as thirst, hunger, or mating drive will make the melleri leave its trees. Oddly enough, the more their captive environment mirrors the wild state, the tamer melleri become. With less stress, less illness occurs, and normal behaviors like basking, climbing, exercising, even breeding, are all possible without the keeper’s intervention. As long as the chameleon’s needs are met, it will have no reason to leave the safety of its trees.

There are aesthetic benefits for the keeper, as well: there are no cage walls obscuring view of the chameleon, and the animals show their finest colors in ambient indoor light. The lighting may simulate the interior of tree canopies they reside in, in the wild. Natural behaviors can be observed as they unfold, a great source of new data and entertainment for keepers.