Myth #30: “Golden Rule: Any Empty Space is Unusabe Space”

FALSE. Chameleons need free space.

Some self-appointed pseudo-experts claim:

"Chameleons are climbers, so if there's any empty space, they can't use it. Fill in every gap with branches and plants. It should be hard to find your chameleon—they need lots of places to hide and feel safe."

This advice is not just wrong—it's harmful.

If you give chameleons jungle, they will suffer and get sick.

Chameleons are arboreal, yes, but they thrive in open canopies, not tangled thickets. They love air and space. Dense, cluttered enclosures force them to crawl through foliage, which they instinctively avoid. Why? Because chameleons hate being touched—and for good reason.

Touch on their bodies usually means one of three things:

• Rain exposure — which they dislike and actively avoid by hiding under leaves like umbrellas.

• Mating — when hormonal shifts temporarily override their aversion to contact.

• Predation — the most dangerous and stressful scenario.

In all other cases, physical contact triggers stress. So packing an enclosure with plants and branches to eliminate "empty space" is not enriching—it's suffocating.

What to Do Instead:

• Create free corridors for movement.

• Leave open space at the top for basking under IR heat lamps.

• Ensure UVB light reaches unobstructed areas for proper vitamin D3 synthesis and

• if the plants thrive and grow and fill the space, trim them