Slow down: he is hiding in plain sight
Every other escape on this list sends you looking under and behind things. A panther chameleon sends you looking at things — slowly, twice, and then a third time. He does not flee and he does not burrow; he climbs to the nearest plant-like structure, flattens his body sideways until he is the thickness of a leaf cluster, shifts his color toward the greens around him, and rocks almost imperceptibly, imitating foliage in a breeze. A chameleon can be on the houseplant you have already walked past four times.
Close the door, move other pets out, and then lower your pace deliberately. This search is won by the person willing to stand still and scan one plant for two full minutes.
Plants and curtain lines, branch by branch
Work through every elevated green or vertical structure in the room: houseplants first, stem by stem and leaf cluster by cluster; then curtain tops and the lines of curtain fabric he can grip; then the top rails of shelving units, the backs of tall chairs, lamps, and any drying rack or coat stand with branch-like geometry. Scan from several angles, because a flattened chameleon is nearly invisible from the side he has chosen and obvious from the other.
Watch for the giveaway he cannot switch off: his eyes. A panther chameleon's turreted eyes move independently, constantly, scouting in two directions at once, and a rotating eye on a still plant is a flicker of motion that betrays the whole animal. Also check the floor route between the enclosure and the plants — occasionally one is simply walking, very slowly, across open carpet toward the big ficus, relying on nobody noticing.
Let him walk onto the branch
The capture rule with chameleons is absolute: never pull one off a perch. His grip is strong, his bones are delicate, and being hauled backward off a branch is both injurious and terrifying to an animal whose stress responses are already fragile. Instead, take a sturdy branch or dowel, hold it in front of him slightly below his feet, and gently encourage him from behind with your other hand until he steps onto it — then carry the branch, with him aboard, straight back to the enclosure and let him transfer onto his own vines in his own time.
If he is high and out of comfortable reach, work the same trick with a longer branch from below rather than climbing after him; a chameleon who feels pursued climbs higher, and a slow approach usually persuades him the branch is simply furniture being rearranged.
Proof he is yours, if a neighbor finds him first
Panther chameleons escape indoors most often through a screen door gap or an open window, and a male in full color on a garden shrub is unmistakably somebody's pet — yet finders hesitate, unsure whether he is wild, whose he is, or what to do with him. Search your own shrubs plant by plant at his pace before assuming he stayed in, checking especially the sunny sides of dense bushes in the morning when he basks.
Back home, let him drink — a long, gentle misting once he is settled on his vines — and inspect the enclosure's mesh and door seams for the flex point he used. KinsLe's Pet Pass holds your chameleon's identity and your contact details on one verified ID card, so if a neighbor does find him glowing in their hedge, you can show them exactly who he is and bring him straight home.