At wits end

seanUTD

New Member
I am not sure what to do anymore with my younger panther Herbie... We received him at 1 month old and I was able to hold him that day... And since then... He hasn't been out of his cage...... Ever..... I can't go near him, I can barely feed him, he never sees real sun and I have been trying since day one to remedy the situation with no progress, in fact it has gotten worse... Just today he used a brief moment that I opened his cage to water him, to make a very daring escape. He bolted for the opening and ran on top of the cage. Of course you can't get near him because your bitten the minute you come within a foot of him... I managed to get him back into the cage using a trick I learned from a breeder on the forums using two pieces of tupperware... The whole ordeal was incredibly stressful for us both... For those who will ask I have tried handfeeding, stick training, I've tried moving the cage to zero traffic, covering the cage, we've given him tins of time but he has shown no sign of ever making it past the point of snapping at everything that moves. I listed him on the classifieds because I honestly can't do it anymore. It hurts so bad but I want to make one last attempt to find out maybe is there something anyone out there knows to get him ANY progress... I don't care if I can NEVER hold him, but it's at the point I can't even feed him..
 
I dont know how old he is but often their behaviour changes when they become the adult colouration.

Actually this kind of behaviour is mostly nice if you think of him as a breeder male.

I dont know what you have been actually trying, always approach from the bottom, and if you want to try to get him on your hand with a feeder insect in the other, don't bother, if he is adult let him just get very very hungry, he can do without food for 2weeks.
Also dont show him your afraid, if he wants to bite, i would recommend to let him bite. Bare handed it only goes wrong when you move your hand back quickly, that will open your skin, if you keep your hand still, its not that a big deal :p (otherwise wair gloves)
If he is outside the cage and is on your arm typically their aggresion gets lower as well.
 
well there is a not reccemmended advice and it goes against whathe forums suggests.



basically you handle him as much as possible, use a thick glove if need be, and just let him be on your hand/arm for awhile. 20-30 minutes


you can do this once a day everyday...

Zulu was NOT fond of me athe beginning but do to his burns he had long ago, i had to hold him everyday to apply topical burn cream


he got used to it eventually and doesnt get all fussy, still doesnt generally lie it but is not aggressive, cause he more or less understands im not harming him



have you checked how to handle a mean cham from screameleons???


well i dont recceommend this to everyone, but it seems you have a pretty bad case


goodluck
 
Gotta agree with ace on this.
I got one wc faly that just despises everyone. Me included. I use a thick pair of gloves and he will now tolerate me. to pick him up to do cage cleaning and to move outside or for a shower. He still bites me quite often but slowly hes calming down and getting easier to handle. It just takes time and lots of patience.
 
Another thing you can try is buying him a fake tall ficus tree and let him free range on hat a couple hours a day. Just think, if you were in an enclosed area and had a huge gigantic hand come reaching for you to grab you, wouldn't you try and do whatever it takes to get away from it ? Chams aren't aggressive, they're just defensive.
 
Thanks for your help guys... Unfortunately after a long talk with my fiance she has voiced that the stress of having him be like this is too much for a house hold pet... So if there are any takers for a beautiful red bar ambilobe PM... He is and will remain listed on the classifieds... Not a pleasant day /:
 
Another thing you can try is buying him a fake tall ficus tree and let him free range on hat a couple hours a day. Just think, if you were in an enclosed area and had a huge gigantic hand come reaching for you to grab you, wouldn't you try and do whatever it takes to get away from it ? Chams aren't aggressive, they're just defensive.

I beg to differ lol chams especially hormone rage territorial males are aggressive.... Defensive is one thing but if a Cham follows your hand to just bite it for no reason.... That is what I call aggressive.... My old veiled was put side and fine and was chilling on my hand out of nowhere bit my finger he was holding onto..... lol
 
I personally do not suggest trying to "tame" him at all. In my opinion, the stress you would be causing him isn't worth it. I suggest just using gloves when you absolutely have to handle him, and only handle him when it's needed. Handling chameleons regularly is not something you should expect out of them.
Free ranging may make him less likely to bite, but dont expect anything to come out of it and don't push his limits.
 
I personally do not suggest trying to "tame" him at all. In my opinion, the stress you would be causing him isn't worth it. I suggest just using gloves when you absolutely have to handle him, and only handle him when it's needed. Handling chameleons regularly is not something you should expect out of them.
Free ranging may make him less likely to bite, but dont expect anything to come out of it and don't push his limits.

taming him is not the real go

i think the tolerance can be managed over time...instead of giving up and not being practical about handling

the stress wont be that much trouble....if he is on the hand already and he is still......the cham is causing his own stress....the ynormally tend to calm down because they dont know what to do after being held


for the most part over handling shouldnt be done, but there are always exceptions....he wants to handle him only when necessary an being tolerable...the OP isnt asking much

h doesnt want to handle him everyday but like oyu said, only do what needs to be done

anyway OP, too bad you about your decision, hope you find a good hope for him, goodluck
 
I disagree. If a chameleon is stressed by a human, then the human is still the source of stress no matter what.

It's not a battle of wills. If the chameleon is stressed out by the handler, and it doesn't get used to the handler, then it is best to just let the chameleon be. For the sake of its health anyways. Enough stress can cause problems that may lead to the chameleon's demise.
 
I disagree. If a chameleon is stressed by a human, then the human is still the source of stress no matter what.

It's not a battle of wills. If the chameleon is stressed out by the handler, and it doesn't get used to the handler, then it is best to just let the chameleon be. For the sake of its health anyways. Enough stress can cause problems that may lead to the chameleon's demise.

i agree to a certain point... but i disagree with how much stress is really bad for them. As far as on the forums are, we make extra precautions to minimze stress, but we dont give enough credit to chameleons especially the common kept ones they deserve as far as how much stress they can handle.

I also am not implying this on young smaller chams, but with common larger species such as veields and panthers, i dont see as a problem when they are near adult hood.
 
I dont know how old he is but often their behaviour changes when they become the adult colouration.

Actually this kind of behaviour is mostly nice if you think of him as a breeder male.

I dont know what you have been actually trying, always approach from the bottom, and if you want to try to get him on your hand with a feeder insect in the other, don't bother, if he is adult let him just get very very hungry, he can do without food for 2weeks.
Also dont show him your afraid, if he wants to bite, i would recommend to let him bite. Bare handed it only goes wrong when you move your hand back quickly, that will open your skin, if you keep your hand still, its not that a big deal :p (otherwise wair gloves)
If he is outside the cage and is on your arm typically their aggresion gets lower as well.

please dont suggest to not feed an animal. esp for that long.
 
please dont suggest to not feed an animal. esp for that long.

A healthy full grown chameleon will be perfectly fine without food for 2 weeks, the more common mistake in captivity is severely over-feeding your chameleon to the point it becomes obese.
 
Healthy adult chameleons can go quite a while without food. More than a month even in some cases. They are not like mammals.


It's not the stress that kills them, it's what the stress causes that kills them. If an animal is stressed out enough, it's body stops functioning the way it would normally. In fact, stress can cause a suppression of the immune system which can cause all sorts of issues as far as illnesses and parasites go.
 
i dont want to come across as rude, as im really not trying to be, but whats the issue here? why do you HAVE to handle him? ive never even tried handfeeding my baby veiled, as i want him to feel as natural as possible.he eats when he wants to, where he wants to. all animals are like people, with greatly varying personalities and id hate to think that your chams personality is leading you to want to get rid of him. i mean personally id rather sit on the floor watching my cham in his "natural" enviroment than handle him and stress him out any day. im really trying not to sound like an ass, and i dont want to come across as antagonistic, i just dont understand why handling him is such a big deal..
 
i dont want to come across as rude, as im really not trying to be, but whats the issue here? why do you HAVE to handle him? ive never even tried handfeeding my baby veiled, as i want him to feel as natural as possible.he eats when he wants to, where he wants to. all animals are like people, with greatly varying personalities and id hate to think that your chams personality is leading you to want to get rid of him. i mean personally id rather sit on the floor watching my cham in his "natural" enviroment than handle him and stress him out any day. im really trying not to sound like an ass, and i dont want to come across as antagonistic, i just dont understand why handling him is such a big deal..

if you paid attention, its not really about handling but being able to "rarely" get him so he can do normal stuff, like clean the cage, take him to a vet, check for any health issues without biting... you wants to leave him alone, but if a problem to just hold him for a couple of minutes is a problem then there is something that needs to be done

he doesnt want to handle him for fun....and it can be stressful, and to some people it gets in the way of happily owning a cham...though i disagree in selliing him for that reason, i prefer to work on it with alot pf patience and the results are worth it in my opinion
 
Why do you think "something needs to be done?" A chameleon is a chameleon. Some chameleons will not change their reaction no matter how much you try to get it to. Some chameleons bite. It's what they do. It's in their instincts to fight back when a giant "predator" is going for them. IMO, it's something that is normal and not something that needs to be "trained" out of them.
 
As a new member and cham owner this topic, although declared dead by the starters last comment, is of importance to me and many new cham owners. I too have attempted to handle my cham with less than satisfactory results. Mine does not bite or hiss but definately does not want to be handled, and makes full use of his large densely vined enclosure to escape. His deceptive speed and iron grip make retrieving him chore. He willingly accepts food by hand but not handling.

This is a concern as I know how beneficial natural sunlight is for chams and how necessary it is to have checkups with the vet. In addition, a good looking over now and then by a keeper is good no matter what the species. I guess what is a bit frustrating is wanting to keep good growth measurements and provide the much needed sunlight and it being just out of my grasp. And the fear is that not getting him used to being held occassionaly will negatively effect his healthcare.

I'm working on the patient approach with a self imposed cham band for a week. No looking, no pics, no bothering, just some cham alone time. Hopefully he will overcome his fear and hop on one day. Sure hope my vet has same day appointments, cause the day I catch him is the day I'm going.

But quite honestly following the "tempt 'em with a bug" approach is just making for a full cham. :)
 
Why do you think "something needs to be done?" A chameleon is a chameleon. Some chameleons will not change their reaction no matter how much you try to get it to. Some chameleons bite. It's what they do. It's in their instincts to fight back when a giant "predator" is going for them. IMO, it's something that is normal and not something that needs to be "trained" out of them.

pssh, im not trying to argue but i never meant for it to be taken as being trying to force a cham, its not like we are trying to man-handle them.

and my post was only meant for a suggestion, not something he or anyone have todo.

it is just a last resort and even if that doesnt work, then i agree no further action should be done, a cham is a cham


i just feel try all options that really arent that "bad" should be done before quitting


i can tell you love animals and very passionate towards the proper care, logic, and understanding that takes to truly care for an animal.

the OP wanted advice or any last resort suggestions...that wouldnt in anyway be to much for the cham

i gave something that is sort of unorthodox or goes agaisnt common knowledge but the stress from what i said wont really lead to ailments resulting to an ilness


but you are right that every cham is different. but every owner deserves to try to have a the chance to be able to get a cham without to much hassle, even if its only seconds long to remove the cham to clean or go to the vet.


thats just me, i dont think what i said was wrong, maybe in your view it is wrong whether personally or logically but to me its just a last resort to try to calm down a cham when being held.
 
for a healthy chameleon..simple stress from handling isnt going to throw this chameleon into a world of problems.

im not sure who posted this a while back but i thought this was some good info.

For the first 2 weeks or so I did not attempt to handle my chameleon at all. After that, I used a small stick and tried to get him to climb onto the end of that. I didnt push the issue too much if he freaked out but tried it on a daily basis. So once I got him on the stick, I would sit down and lay the stick on my lap with the cham on the stick and try to get him used to you so he learns you are not going to hurt him or eat him!. Maybe would do this for 5 minutes or so and that would be it for the day. Another thing to try is opening the cage door and put a large tall potted plant in front of the door. See if you can get you chameleon to venture out on to the plant and try approaching him while out of the cage instead of inside. One lasty thing that really got my chameleon to mellow out, was to open the door and see if he will climb on the top of the door. My chameleon used to love to sit up there and then I would slowly approach him by bringing my hand underneath his chin and lifting up on his front legs to get him to climb onto my hand.
 
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