Excited Chameleon?

[kthhwtt]

So i came home and i was sittin in front of presleys cage for a while, eventualy i look up at him, and hes stretched out over to the door of his cage, lookin like hes trying to get out, so i open up the door and he crawled right out onto my hand (which he usually doesnt do...) any ideas why?

 

[supermrchameleon]

Mine does the same thing all the time. Nearly every time I go near his cage unless hes basking. Then he only does it sometimes. I have no idea why though. Then I try to put him back and he sticks to my hands... Stubborn fella.

 

[kthhwtt]

aw he loves you
yeha its just weird to me, because some times he just doesnt want to come out, and now he was scratching at the door like a dog. and apparently they dont like to be handled...right? so it makes me wonder lol

 

[ChamFreak]

wishes mine would let me hold him.. stubborn panther

 

[Purlescence]

That is so cute! Did you do anything special to tame him?

 

[graydon]

Cham's prefer not to be locked up in a cage. They will get out if they can.

Purlescense - you can't tame a chameleon

 

[satch4684]

idk, my chameleon never wants out of his cage. He doesn't seem scared or aggressive at all, simply no reaction at the sight of my hand, but he wont climb on it or anything else if there's a clear path out. many times i leave the door wide open for a while when i'm getting some feeders ready and he just sits there.

i'm sure he'd try to escape if the door was open long enough, just like any other animal.

 

[eppcheck]

Consider yourself lucky. My Veiled cham will pretty much jump off a bridge to get away from me. My young panther doesn't come towards me but I can usually guide him with one hand I can trick him onto my other with out him being to stressed out. Yours just comes at you?! cross your fingers he stays that confortable with you. Its always good that they trust you like that if it stays that way the bond between you will continue to grow. Then you can put him on leash and walk him to the park

 

[kthhwtt]

Consider yourself lucky. My Veiled cham will pretty much jump off a bridge to get away from me. My young panther doesn't come towards me but I can usually guide him with one hand I can trick him onto my other with out him being to stressed out. Yours just comes at you?! cross your fingers he stays that confortable with you. Its always good that they trust you like that if it stays that way the bond between you will continue to grow. Then you can put him on leash and walk him to the park

hahah walk him in the park, i dunno about that one . but yeah weird enough is my mom always say that he really looks like he likes me and he trusts me (i dont know how she sees that..but hey moms a weird )

 

[Matt1851]

hahah walk him in the park, i dunno about that one . but yeah weird enough is my mom always say that he really looks like he likes me and he trusts me (i dont know how she sees that..but hey moms a weird )

He likes me too maybe he wanted you to take him over to my house haha

 

[kthhwtt]

He likes me too maybe he wanted you to take him over to my house haha

haha you know id love to, but presley and charlie would end up killin eachother

 

[QuioteCham]

aw he loves you
yeha its just weird to me, because some times he just doesnt want to come out, and now he was scratching at the door like a dog. and apparently they dont like to be handled...right? so it makes me wonder lol

I'm not so sure about the whole "don't like to be handled thing". Yea, they get stressed out easily and we all know that over handling a timid animal can be bad news- but I think chams (at least most species) can get to the trusting point of wanting to be handled. Whether they associate us with food, body warmth or something else, who knows.... But all of my chams (epecially my oldest male panther) do the same "dog scratching" at the door of their cage, then want to stay on my hand after I take them out. I've heard alot of people says this now and think maybe specific animals really do just like the attention I would!

 

[summoner12]

I don't think chams get to the point of 'wanting to be handled' I think some just tolerate it more than others. Most of my guys will tolerate... some just don't seem to give a damn and others wann eat me..... so... it's a mix for sure. I do think some chams become more used to you......

My melleri Lenny is very very easy going when it comes to me handling her. I am really not sure why. But I can put my finders under her front feet, she'll hold, and i can lift my hand up and away from her perch and she will pull herself onto my hand and go with the flow. When I need to check her out she doesn't stress heavily either, just some light spotting. When she has had enough she gets a bit more 'let me out of her' and that is expressed by reaching for objects near by. It takes a bit of time before she does this.

My male panther seems to be the type that says 'oh i want you to hold me' byt reaching for me when i open the cage.... but what he really wants is to get out and check out the female on the other side of the room.

 

[morpheon]

but what he really wants is to get out and check out the female on the other side of the room.

...Boys!

This question of like-dislike being handled is one question that i have not found a true and satisfying answer yet. A little like you Summoner, i have had two chameleons so far that i used to be able to handle very easily, without them showing any sign of stress (like visible color changes, opening their mouth, fleeing, or getting bigger). However, their absence of stress-related behavior does not indicate me that they appreciate (or like) being handled.

In fact, chameleons can sometimes remain still even if they are stressed, scared or hurt. This leads me to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to validate either hypothesis ( a) they like being handled, and b) they don't).

My girlfriend and i even tried to see if they prefered being on me or her, and with several tries they both prefered being on me. But what does that mean? To me, absolutely nothing. The cloths i had, my odor and many other variables can explain it, without any link to them just loving me...Their preference may be explained by the fact that i take care of them more than my girlfriend, that i may be less stressed than her, who knows? I certainly don't!

At the end, if i were working in the chameleon biology or whatsoever, it would be one of the first question i would like to solve. I'd try to monitor every minor changes in their behavior and physiology (heat, coloration, respiration, and much more) to try to see if there is any quantitative value to get a proper and valid conclusion. But sadly i don't work in this domain and i do not own the proper instrument and knowledge to do so!

 

[kthhwtt]

hmm thats alot to think about guys. but im sure he knows that when that door opens, hes gunna be picked up, so why else would scratch at the door? theres nothing out here (like a female chameleon) for him, just me.
when he was still new to my house, we tryed that thing to see who he would go to (but it was between my mom and my brother) and he just sat there, but then when i came over, he came right to me.
id really love to know what there thinking

 

[backwood fred]

my chams love to be held they trust me even to pick them up however with no fuss or trying to stay in the cage, as for the scratchig my female use to when i first got her but naw she just chills