Aggressive baby chameleon ☹

[faith.j.p]

Hi, I recently got a baby chameleon from a pet store. Her name is Tulip and I've had her for about two weeks. This is her:

During the first couple of days I had her I could easily handle her and she would just climb onto my finger, but today and yesterday she has gotten very aggressive and is hissing and striking at me :-(. I've decided to leave her alone today but now I don't know what to do. I come at her very slowly and I've never hurt her so I don't know whats wrong, is there anyway I can get her to calm down? (She recently went through a shed btw, if that has any correlation at all)

I also have an adult female chameleon named Smiley and she always lets me handle her, shes never striked at me like Tulip, she has hissed though but not very often. This is Smiley:

 

[NashansCamos]

Hi, I recently got a baby chameleon from a pet store. Her name is Tulip and I've had her for about two weeks. This is her:
View attachment 274065
During the first couple of days I had her I could easily handle her and she would just climb onto my finger, but today and yesterday she has gotten very aggressive and is hissing and striking at me :-(. I've decided to leave her alone today but now I don't know what to do. I come at her very slowly and I've never hurt her so I don't know whats wrong, is there anyway I can get her to calm down? (She recently went through a shed btw, if that has any correlation at all)

I also have an adult female chameleon named Smiley and she always lets me handle her, shes never striked at me like Tulip, she has hissed though but not very often. This is Smiley:

sometimes you don't get a friendly cham and you can't do anything about it! The shed could have something to do with it since it is her first ever shed

 

[NashansCamos]

Also, can you please fill out the husbandry form because sometimes stress is associated with poor husbandry.

 

[NashansCamos]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Mrjamwin]

Welcome to the world of chameleon ownership! There is a process where you can try and get your Cham used to you and trust you. From there it may start coming out on your hand and let you handle it but the reality is they are jerks(I say that with a smile) and they may never want to be held. As they get older they have a tendency to get grumpier. So just be advised. This is typical behavior.

 

[NashansCamos]

sometimes you are lucky, sometimes youre not. You cantry to bond with them which helps. Take them outside on a sunny day! I'm very lucky to have an adult female veiled who is an angel and an adult male panther who is also friendly

 

[faith.j.p]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - female veiled chameleon, hatching, 2 weeks
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? once every other day
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? She just stopped eating fruit flies and has moved on to crickets, I also give her wax worms.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? The type of calcium I have is with d3 and I have another without d3 and the brand is zoomed and I also have zoomed reptivite without d3. My schedule is: Plain, straight calcium on all feeders mon-sat
Alternate Multivitamin and calcium with D3 every sun. (twice a month)
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I hand mist Tulips cage, and I also have a dripper going, I mist for 3 minutes twice a day, yes I always see her drinking. Its kinda cute actually she likes to drink directly from the dripper lol.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her feces is solid and is a brown color, her urate is white and she has not been tested for parasites.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. She recently went through a shed.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It is a screened cage, it is a 16" L X 16" W X 30" H (I will get a bigger one when she is an adult ofc this cage is temporary)
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I use two dual fixture lights and a

long strip uvb light:

I turn the lights on at 8am and turn them off at 8pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? The basking spot is 85 degrees F and the bottom of the cage floor is 70 degrees F, the lowest overnight temp 68 degrees F and I measure the temps with a thermometer I have in the cage
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? My humidity level is 50%, I create them by misting and I maintain them by having a shower curtain on the sides of the cage and misting for 3 minutes twice a day. I do not have live plants I do string up collard greens around her cage so she can have a leaf she can actually eat but it dies fairly quickly and I change leaves often.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is located on a shelf at the corner of my room, yes the cage is near a fan but I never have it on, its almost 6 feet off the ground.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Coast of North Carolina USA
Current Problem - My chameleon is aggressive all of a sudden.

 

[faith.j.p]

sometimes you are lucky, sometimes youre not. You cantry to bond with them which helps. Take them outside on a sunny day! I'm very lucky to have an adult female veiled who is an angel and an adult male panther who is also friendly

Yeah thats probaly the case, My adult Female Chameleon is quite friendly I might not of gotten so lucky this time, but I will for sure try to bond with her

 

[NashansCamos]

do you have the uvb turned on in the double dome? She dosent need the double dome uvb+ the long strip uvb. She only needs the long strip uvb. Is it a t5 or a t8 bulb?

Are your feeders gut loaded?

 

[NashansCamos]

I don't understand that animation. It looks like a desert cage for like a leopard gecko or bearded dragon. Can we see some actual photos of the cage?

 

[NashansCamos]

Id also like to see the adult females cage I have an adult female too