Can I force him out

[Clayton]

So I've had my panther chameleon for about a month maybe a month and a couple weeks, he is around 4 1/2 months old now, he's healthy and doing great but everytime I put my hand in his cage he runs and sometimes tries to bite, I haven't held him since I've got him and really want to gain his trust but he won't let me hand feed him or anything, can I just force him out of his cage and for him to climb on me? I know they are not thr type to be handled but I see so many people being able to and I would like to be able to also, even if it's just once a month of something, anyone have ideas on how to gain his trust?

 

[Ben65434]

So I've had my panther chameleon for about a month maybe a month and a couple weeks, he is around 4 1/2 months old now, he's healthy and doing great but everytime I put my hand in his cage he runs and sometimes tries to bite, I haven't held him since I've got him and really want to gain his trust but he won't let me hand feed him or anything, can I just force him out of his cage and for him to climb on me? I know they are not thr type to be handled but I see so many people being able to and I would like to be able to also, even if it's just once a month of something, anyone have ideas on how to gain his trust?

Put a tree or branch next to his enclosure on the outside and leave the door open. See if he comes out on his own, then wait a while and approach him again once he's in his branch outside of his enclosure.

 

[Lathis]

Ditto. Leave a path for him to come out on his own, then try to hand feed him something tasty. Some chameleons can be "cage aggressive" but then are calmer when outside of their territory. It's baby steps, patience, and consistency. Best of luck to you both.

Here's a good blog post by a member that might help:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/psychobunny/746-taming-chameleon.html