Doomed to unfriendly chameleon?

[Gpez]

Okay let me start by saying I am brand new to the forums and to chameleons in general, and I am full of questions. Recently after listening to my friend constantly talking about his chameleon and seeing how friendly it was I decided to purchase one of my own. My friends was from Kammerflage Kreations so naturally thats where my search took me. About two weeks ago my five month old red destiny holdback arrived, I named him Tyrannosaurus Flex (T-Flex). Here is where my questions begin.

On the first day of having T-Flex he let my girlfriend and I hold him no problem. On the second day forward if I make an attempted to put my hand near him he will flare up and even bite me if I give him the opportunity. To deal with this I took some time off of holding him and started only feeding him his crickets directly from the container I use to shake them, while I am holding it (I'll attach a pic). He does not hesitate at all to go for these crickets but if its just my hand its a different story. My friends cham eats right out of his hand and go to the cage door waiting to be let out, is this because his was not a holdback and he therefore started working with it at a younger age? Do I have a naturally unfriendly cham?

I am keeping T-Flex in a 18"x18"x36" reptibreeze with a live plant and using a 13w 5.0 UVB and a 100W heat bulb. His basking spot is in the low 90's. Are these lights okay and will I eventually need a larger cage?

T-Flex has been hungry sense the day i got him and I am feeding him 10-15 small crickets on any given day. I am gutloading these crickets with fresh bananas, apples, almonds, and Fluker's complete cricket diet, as well as dusting them with the calcium supplied by Kammers. Is everything alright with this?

Lastly I just added a Monsoon RS400 mister and it set on a cycle of 1min mists every hour. Just today I witnessed him drinking after a mist. Is this an appropriate cycle?

 

[CrazyChamLady13]

Chameleons aren't the type to socialize. It took me a month in a half to get my veiled to willing be held. It takes time for chams to get comfortable with their new surroundings. Then there's some chams that don't like being held.

 

[kplatvoet]

My chameleon will only eat from my hand when he feels like it - it takes some time - they tend to be cranky as teenagers also and he might be taking some time to adjust- there are some good tips in blogs and other threads about it-I pretty much use a cup for crickets and give him his treats by hand as he seems to like silkworms and such and those he will eat from my hand)

You should read sandrachameleon blog on gutloading - I take the bearded dragon list to the store when I go and use anything on the "staple" list - there are better commercial gutloads than Fluker's

Caresheets will give you a good idea of the proper temps for his age- if your too hot or cold you can go with a regular daylight bulb (I find my house temps vary so I keep some 40-60's and 100's)

Depending on where you live you probably want to mist longer less often- it's good to let the cage dry out between mistings and some chameleons need more than a min before they really want to drink- I'm assuming your not running it at night every hour ? My monsoon had timer issues early so I used a timer with it -and finally a aquazamp -Keep your receipt and box is all the advice I can give you on that one. I also have a dripper -

 

[Jakeelias93]

yeah I've had about four chameleons in the twenty years I've been alive and it's safe to assume that chameleons take a little bit to warm up. I've had a fishers chameleon that was as friendly as could be, even though people have told me they aren't social. just be patient. it will take a good month for the hissing and flaring to go away. I just recently got a new panther and hes just starting to mellow out after over a month of hand feeding. it doesn't happen over night and you have to associate getting out of the cage with a positive experience, food/sunlight/freerange. and don't give him the satisfaction of scaring you. if he hisses just slowly inch closer to him and don't move, then eventually you will be able to pick him up carefully. you can't reward his bad behavior or he will keep doing it.
hope this helps.

 

[Carlton]

One person's experience with their individual cham won't necessarily predict how another cham even of the same clutch, species, bloodline is going to behave. They are emotional critters and intelligent enough to be individuals.

 

[Jelloman]

Keep up the cup feeding that is a really good sign and will build trust. Directly feeding with your hand can be done with silk worms or something that you don't have to manage so much in moving your hand around which can tend to make your chameleon wary, try silk worms for this. I have a veiled cham that will eat a couple of worms and move away, he is a real grouch but I am just happy when he does not hide when I go to see him. My panther is more easy going and likes to get out and free range. Sometimes it can be a burden with a cham that wants to be out a lot. Keep working on the feeding and free ranging if he will venture out of his cage.

 

[sandrachameleon]

chameleons are not "friendly" - Some tolerate handling more than others, but they are all individuals. You should never expect to easily handle a chameleon. The joy of chameleon keeping is not physical interaction. I mean no offense by this statement :If you want an animal you can interact with, get a dog or a bearded dragon.

that said, it can take time - a LONG time - for a chameleon to become accustomed to their keeper. Slow movements and routine (feed at same time of day, enter room to look at chameleon at same time of day, etc) help.

the way you are feeding is a good choice. it will help the chameleon associate you with good things (food) rather than stress, and feeding with a bowl is safer than hand feeding.

however, I suggest the way you are gutoading needs improvement.