Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Budsteam]

Although this concerns our cham Bud I'm posting in General as it could happy to anything kept in a Flexarium.

Some readers may recall my post about problems we had with the zipper on the flexi and I am now in the process of sewing velcro around the zip of one of our past reject flexis, in the meantime we had to resort to sewing up the zipper and leaving a gap at the top to get food in to Bud. (Although after this saga I'm not sure Velcro will be a good enough stop-gap)
Unfortunately Bud is a pretty smart little cham and knows that when she scratches on the zipper we usually let her out. However with the zipper now sewn up she had to wait for us to cut the stitches and let her out.

Well yesterday she got fed up waiting and pushed enough to force open the bottom of the flexi zipper, which up to that point had still been working, and loosen my needle work to point she could squeeze out and go walkabouts.

Unfortunately, being a nice day Jerry was outside tinkering and had left the back door ajar to let some air in - you guessed it EXIT BUD.
Well that's what we feared.
By the time I got home at 7pm it was dark and getting cold, Jerry had already been searching for 2 hours and no sign of Bud. Needless to say he was beside himself.
We looked in what you would think the most likely spots and searched the veranda outside the back door including guttering beams etc. ie anywhere where she could climb. I then thought back and knew that Bud had never been beyond the back door unless we carried her out on a sunny day and even then did not wander when outside. It's like her natural instincts would tell her to stay with us. So we hoped that habit would be on our side and continued the search inside.

Now unlike a wild cham, Bud has no fear wandering around the home - it's just an extension of her flexi, and whilst she often climbs she thinks nothing of taking a stroll across the living room when your back is turned.
(yep she knows she shouldn't so she actually waits 'til we are not looking!)

So we started looking amongst clothes, crap on the floor etc and in 10 minutes our instincts paid off -
BINGO there was Bud asleep under out bed! Fast asleep! (we're in a bungalow)

She was a bit pale and really dozy but 5 mins cuddles by the radiator and she was bright green again and raring to go home and soon started hunting for supper.

So a happy ending BUT PLEASE
if you are using Flaxariums BE WARNED the zips are not at all reliable - even a 12 inch chameleon can force the flipping zips open if they find a weak spot. SO whatever you are keeping in the flexi, if it has any escapist tendencies at all please be aware.

Bud is now confined to barracks until new accommodation sorted!

[Scott W]

a happy ending

Always great when you find one that has gone on a 'walk about', I lost 3 baby royals over the last 3 months and found everyone on the same day
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Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

[Jwonni]

With the flex could you not use a really small padlock (like the x-mas craker ones) and use it through the whole in the zip end and thread through the mest at the bit where it is completely locked? so the only way it will budge is by ripping the flexi mesh (which it shouldn't be able to do)

would even something like a safety pin do this job if no mini padlock around

[Rickeezee]

Glad Bud was OK. The other day I inadvertently left the top open on a young female Ambilobes viv, realised my mistake and went back she had gone!

Panic a stunning young female lose in my bedroom (does not happen that often ).

So I looked in a few high up places, no luck!

Then I had a weird thought (this does often happen), what if the poor thing had managed to get in the Silvana Tropicalis tub! Well imagine my surprise when I checked and there she was clinging onto the water filter electric cable with her tail dangling in the water! How weird is that!

She was fine, a big sigh of relief!
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www.rickslivefood.co.uk

[Budsteam]

Sheesh, close call Rick, glad she was OK.

Re the zipper - the zip teeth come apart half way along the zip. The weakness tends to start on corners and soon when you zip it up, holes appear at interval all along the zip - so I sewed it up. Where she got out the zip teeth gave way behind the the puller on the bottom of the flexi so padlock was no good- the sides of the flexi came apart- hence the velcro project.