Do chameleons ever get attached to their owners?

[charrrmeleonn]

Will my chameleon ever recognize me as like a good non threat when I handle it more often? Whenever I try and put crickets near it or try to handle it it just hisses at me and puffs up. Do chameleons ever Adjust to their owners? Let me know how your guys chameleons are with you, I’d love to hear.

 

[SerpeRoma]

In my experience I've noticed that the younger you get it, the friendly it gets.. personality also plays a huge part though!
Scientifically they don't have emotions, just survival instinct. They might see you as a source of food after feeding them regularly for a long time, but again, I think that is all about personality

 

[MissSkittles]

I’d like to believe that my chameleons have some trust in me not being a threat. My veileds always hiss and lunge at me if I get too close too fast. The girl I’ve had the longest (2.5 yrs) and my male veiled will allow me to gently stroke their chins as long as I move slow enough. My other girl that (had for 2 yrs) is vicious and tries to bite no matter how slow I move or even if I have yummies on my hand. My male panther has actually injured himself (mildly) to get out of his enclosure to me. I don’t understand why he’s so friendly. He just sits and stares at me, sitting calmly on my hand/arm. My little panther girl - we’re still working on building trust but it’s positive so far. Each cham has their own personality. I recall that chameleons lack the part of the brain responsible for emotional attachment, so none will really ever like us…they just learn to trust and tolerate us.

 

[Pickle-cham]

Heres my panther chameleon tamed,
Ahe certainly bonded with me im the sole food source though so could be that she wont do this for anyone else

 

[OldChamKeeper]

No

 

[jannb]

They definitely bond with their owners if you interact with them on a regular basis. Here’s videos a couple of my boys.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/videos-of-my-sweet-boys.180989/

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Will my chameleon ever recognize me as like a good non threat when I handle it more often? Whenever I try and put crickets near it or try to handle it it just hisses at me and puffs up. Do chameleons ever Adjust to their owners? Let me know how your guys chameleons are with you, I’d love to hear.

Unclear. Some chameleons can/do adjust to their keepers to a point, but that's not the same as getting "attached". Caveat #1: They're all individuals and all different.

My male panther runs hot & cold. Sometimes he'll get defensive, and sometimes he'll run right up my arm. Sometimes he'll step onto my hand, stop, look up at me, and hiss as if to say, "I'm coming out. Don't mess with me!"

There are around 140 threads in the archives with "taming" in their titles, and I have no doubts there are more.

I recall that chameleons lack the part of the brain responsible for emotional attachment, so none will really ever like us…they just learn to trust and tolerate us.

+1.

I started writing more about taming/training animals, but it quickly grew into a missive.

 

[dinomom]

Will my chameleon ever recognize me as like a good non threat when I handle it more often? Whenever I try and put crickets near it or try to handle it it just hisses at me and puffs up. Do chameleons ever Adjust to their owners? Let me know how your guys chameleons are with you, I’d love to hear.

Each cham has a driver; for most that is food, but for my veiled it is outside time. Sometimes when I bring him food he just waves his hands at me like "pick me up!!". I feel awful when it is bad weather outside..

When it's time to come back inside he is more reluctant, but I usually wait until the sun is getting lower and I believe he associates his cage with security so he relents.

 

[kinyonga]

I've seen a chameleon go bananas when one person tried to pick her up and yet race to climb onto another person.

I had one male that as a hatchling was quite friendly and would come out on my hand but as an adult would literally chase after me to bite me if my hand went into his cage/territory. Attaining adulthood made a big difference in his personality!

Some would run hot and cold.

They're all individuals and all develop their own personalities IMHO.

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Mine definitely has gotten used to me and used to run away from me now runs up to me (prob for food motives lol)

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Each cham has a driver; for most that is food, but for my veiled it is outside time. Sometimes when I bring him food he just waves his hands at me like "pick me up!!". I feel awful when it is bad weather outside..

When it's time to come back inside he is more reluctant, but I usually wait until the sun is getting lower and I believe he associates his cage with security so he relents.

That's almost exactly how mine is with spending time on Missus' plant table. It's an easy matter of letting him climb aboard my hand and putting him near the plants. It's going to be another trying to get him back in. I can get him and his feet on a stick, but he can hold onto a plant or a hanger with his tail even stronger than his grip, which IMO is considerable for his size.