Anyone ever been bitten?

Ren

New Member
I had my 2 Chams outside in a 8ft red oak tree, I took them out for a bask in the warm sun, I also misted them about 4 times in a hour they were out.. when time came to put them back inside April walked right into my hand and took her inside.. Phil however was pissed! Ive never seen him move faster from branch to branch practically running down the tree and eventually to the ground.. was hissing and really was in a sour mood.... i grabbed him before the dog had a chance to (Jack Russel he came running over when he seen the Cham running down the tree) and he really looked like he was gonna bite me, but he didn't and seemed to calm down a bit after i had him.... does it hurt at all when they bite? It doesn't appear so they don't have any teeth but I don't want bit regardless. Just thought I would share.
 
Chameleons do in fact have teeth. They're not particularly sharp, but coupled with the fact that (in good health) they have really strong jaws, a chameleon bite from a sub-adult or adult chameleon can easily break the skin.

On a couple of occasions when I've been careless, I have gotten my fingers in the wrong place, and my adult veiled has left a nice V-shaped cut in my finger.
It doesn't hurt much - more like a paper cut. I'm not sure whether it would require tetanus shots (thanks to another unrelated incident I don't need another tetanus shot until 2 years from now), but whenever you are handling reptiles (particularly with an open wound) there is a risk of picking up a salmonella infection, so if you do get bitten I would wash the wound and disinfect it thoroughly.

The most dangerous part of the incident is that you could be startled by the chameleon's bite, and inadvertently hurt the chameleon as your pain reflexes take over.

So just be careful if you're handling an agitated chameleon - if it gets the chance to bite something, it probably will.
 
Howdy,

I tend to try to imagine being bitten as I'm about to move any of my chameleons to minimize the "surprise factor" of a bite. From experience, a big chameleon's bite hurts :eek:. (These days, doctors are good at sewing fingers back on :eek:.)

Most of the time I wear latex or nitrile gloves when handling any of my critters. This minimizes my chances of getting an infection and minimizes the chances of spreading contaminates between critters since I sanitize or replace the gloves between handlings. The gloves also lesson the chances of chameleon nails scratching/piercing my skin which, infection or no infection, I prefer not happening :rolleyes:.
 
Dave writes: From experience, a big chameleon's bite hurts . (These days, doctors are good at sewing fingers back on .)

Your joke sent a chill through me. I just saw Michael Moore's Sicko and there was a guy who sawed off two of his fingers. His ring finger would cost him 12,000 dollars to sew back on and his index finger 60,000. I can only imagine how they come up with these prices. So the guy romantically chooses his wedding finger. lol
So... er.... will Fractal eat one of my fingers?

Hi Ren,
Just wanted to comment on your male's taste of freedom. Like a kid who doesn't want to come inside from a good play, yeah? lol I know that Fractal ALWAYS wants to stay out. But he's getting better about the routine..... or he's plotting... hm?
 
That is just how they say 'I love you' in Veild talk... Try a stick, I got tired of getting tag'd by mine when it came time to clean the cage and take them out for whatever reason; just herd em onto the stick and that will keep your fingers out of the danger area. :)
 
I haven't been bit by my Cham yet but I had an Iguana that got to be about 5' long and he had a similar kind of mouth as a Cham ( no really big teeth but sharp chompers ) when he bit me I ended up getting about 10 stitches on the fatty part of my hand! He had very strong jaws and his nails would shred you up good if you tried to pick him up. I hope the same thing dosen't happen when my veileds grow up!
 
Yes i have

I had a chameleon who had a bad attitude and when i went to take it out it bit my finger and drew blood, since then though i've never been bitten by any chameleon.
 
The title of this thread should changed to "Anyone ever (NOT) been bitten?". Anything in this world which born with a mouth and teeth will bite when cornered and pissed. Just get used to it. If not, use a glove (cotton or something soft, thick, won't break anyone's teeth and not tearable) when handling your chameleon if you don't wanna bleed.:D
 
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