I'm a total newb... Don't even know if I'm doing this right....

Okay bare with me here... I'll start off by saying. I'm totally new to the whole chameleon lifestyle. I have had my male veiled chameleon for about a month now. Everything seems to be going pretty good. Just here recently I've been able to get him out of his cage more often when I feed him. He see's his food bowl with the crickets in it and bolts down from his branch and I can kinda coax him onto my arm. So after about three weeks of doing this and keeping him out more and more I got the bright idea to take him outside. Well I have a ton of trees on my property so I just thought I would take him to the bushes in front of my house that don't have any direct access to the bigger trees. So when I let my chameleon start crawling around he starts crawling away from me as fast as he can and every time I try to stick my arm out he goes in total defense mode on me. He crawls out of the bush and at this point he's moving fast towards the trees. Every time I try to pick him up he's hissing, turning bright neon yellow (I've never seen this color on him before), turning sideways, and lunging to bite me, the whole nine yards. Why was he doing this? Like why did he get so defensive and all that on me? I think I take good care of him. Is this a stupid question? I was thinking he was trying to get away from me because he doesn't like his enclosure or something? Like I said, I'm new to all of this... so go easy on me haha... but any suggestions or input would help me!

Welcome to the Forums! We all start off as newbies... As you have probably noticed, chameleons are not social creatures. Although you can slowly gain your cham's trust and he may get used to you, a pet chameleon will still often view a person as a predator. If you think about, they have good reason to. We are large and always sticking our claws in their homes. When you brought your chameleon outside, he was, first off, probably nervous. Then when you put him down, he realized that this was his chance to make a break for it. So this left him running away and you chasing him resulting in a sense of danger. When being chased by a predator, the only reasonable reaction would be a defensive one, like what you witnessed. The neon colors are a chameleon's "exited" colors. Don't confuse this for a good thing. When a chameleon gets "excited" it is usually caused by a stressful stimulus...(there are of course exceptions, like seeing a female... ) I doubt that he was thinking about his cage conditions as he was attempting an escape, but if you want to double check your husbandry, you can have a look at the care-sheets or give some details about his enclosure: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/

I hope this helps!

Chameleons are creatures that live alone in the wild. They do not want nor like us to reach in and grab them. They may tolerate it, but it would be a lot like some 25' person trying to pick you up.

It really has nothing to do with your cage conditions. You're perceived as a predator for the most part. If you're offering food they're a little more trusting, but it is more just to get the food, they don't really trust you. He was simply trying to get away from you. They're not like dogs, they don't build bonds with us. They don't have that ability. My veiled hisses and tries to bite me (actually follows through with the bite not just a fake one) if I even put my hand too near him. The only exception is if I put a super worm on my hand and stick it in, but once he eats it he goes back to trying to bite.

Your cage conditions and the general way he is cared for have literally nothing to do with him trying to escape. You were a predator and he was trying to escape from you. The color changing is one of the defense mechanisms (some animals that are bright colored are poisonous) and indicates a highly stressed little dude. You should never pick your chameleon up from above, as that is how the birds will come and carry him away. Since you were chasing him you were probably doing that as well and not picking him up properly (by placing your finger under his head and letting him walk up you).

The two posters before me pretty much said it all, but I wanted to concur. Chameleons are a "look, don't touch" pet. You may occasionally have to move them, but you shouldn't touch your cham anymore than necessary because it's bad for their health and it stresses them out. If you want to take him outside, it's a good idea to get a small tree for his cage (like ficus or hibiscus) and take him out on that.

Also, veileds are considered one of the more aggressive species of chameleons. There is no danger to you, but it's quite normal for them to gape, hiss and lunge at your hand when you reach in the cage, and to flee away from your hand. He will eventually get used you and calm down some, but he may never stop gaping when touched.

Everyone is a newb at first, and you sound like you really care about your chameleon. Keep reading up and asking questions, and you'll learn a lot. Good luck!

sapphira80 said:

Also, veileds are considered one of the more aggressive species of chameleons

Click to expand...

I don't mean to disagree with you in any way... ... but I must come to the defense of poor misunderstood Veileds everywhere! They aren't "aggressive" they are "defensive". They aren't maliciously attacking, they are just trying to protect themselves. Veileds are particularly prone to stress, but not all Veileds act this way. Mine doesn't. He is a sweetheart. I feel that the "aggressive Veileds" is somewhat a stereotype. Sorry for the rant... just stating my opinion...