Got my second Chameleon last night he is a SpitFire...

[bugman]

I am in love with my new Chameleon he is a Red Ambilobe Panther and showing brilliant color at 7 months. I will post pictures later today. I picked him up from his breeder last night (Julie) and he is a SpitFire! hissing and bitting but I think it is only puberty and he will grow out of it. Have any of you expreienced these symptoms with your Chameleon? If so did they eventually grow out of it? and how did you approach this behavior??? I am going to try and work slowly with him by hand feeding him. He will be kept next to me at work all day everyday and travel on weekends home so we will know me I just hope he gets to like me

 

[laurie]

I understand being in love with chameleons, I have that addiction myself. Most of the time panthers will settle down a bit. In my opinion you are not helping his get to that point by keeping him next to your dest and moving him on weekends. A new chameleon needs time to adjust to a new home. He needs to be able to feel secure, able to hide and get away from all the "threading big people". You forcing him to be next to you may very well be threading to him. I would suggest you set up a cage with good cover and let him settle in.

 

[pssh]

Moving him so much will cause a lot of stress (especially if he is already somewhat nasty) and will not help him like you at all. In fact, he may grow to completely fear you and see you as a giant who only causes constant stress and a change of enviornment and constant territory loss. I would keep him in one spot, let him aclimate, and then just hang out in the room for a few minutes with him until he is used to you. Then start hand feeding and what not.

Stress kills.

 

[bugman]

Isolation...Fear...hatred...

I appreciate your comments. I disagree with the isolation theory I think him seeing me everyday creates cosistancy in his routine and feeding him by hand triggers his perception of me as a meal ticket. My other Cham is hand feed and last night he actually came down from his tree to be feed. My hopes are that in the coming weeks my new Cham will feed from my hands but for now I will continue to work slowly towards his acceptance of me. I agree on the whole movement trauma, I guess I could come down in the mornings and afternoons on the weekends over the next month but will need to try and bring him home with me on weekends eventually. I will set up a dripper until I get my mister.

Please let me know if you disagree. This approach seems logical to me but what do I know.

 

[Matt1851]

why do you need to take him to your work?

 

[pssh]

My nasty chameleon does not like my presence. He doesn't like me or anyone else. He won't tolerate small animals being in the room with him, and he instantly moves into hiding and puffs up when I enter. I respect that he wants his privacy. It stresses him out when I enter the room, even just to hand feed him. Some days he tries to attack my hand immediately, not even seeing the food for him in it. I wouldn't think about keeping him by my side all day long. He's been this way since he was a baby and no amount of handling or hand feeding will change his disposition. I refuse to stress him out for 8+ hours a day by staying with him. I want him to live a long healthy life, and that much stress from me lessens the likely hood of that happening.

I disagree that you should be by him all day long. I also think you should give him privacy to aclimate as stress free as possible.

 

[bugman]

So sorry for you.

My nasty chameleon does not like my presence. He doesn't like me or anyone else. He won't tolerate small animals being in the room with him, and he instantly moves into hiding and puffs up when I enter. I respect that he wants his privacy. It stresses him out when I enter the room, even just to hand feed him. Some days he tries to attack my hand immediately, not even seeing the food for him in it. I wouldn't think about keeping him by my side all day long. He's been this way since he was a baby and no amount of handling or hand feeding will change his disposition. I refuse to stress him out for 8+ hours a day by staying with him. I want him to live a long healthy life, and that much stress from me lessens the likely hood of that happening.

I disagree that you should be by him all day long. I also think you should give him privacy to aclimate as stress free as possible.

Wow that stinks! Big Red (formerly Caliente!) is not that nasty or shy he actually basks at the top of his cage and does not hide at all on the contrary he comes out when I am in my office, he actually ate out of my hand for the first time yesterday. I have a small home and keeping him there is not an option since I already have several animals there already. As for taking him home I hope that I can avoid this since everything will be automated in the coming weeks minus his feedings. As I mentioned above I plan on visiting him this weekend and not taking him home. I have a very peacful office with moderate light he is in a corner and I only interact with him when I feed him.

So what you are saying is that I should put him in Isolation and only interact with him for feedings and cleanings, right? Why stop there... Maybe I could also build an automated feeder and add introduce springtails to the cage to eat his crap. That way he will have zero stress right?? Sorry I still disagree with you I think persistance and love will win his heart but what do I know. Sorry that you have such a mean Cham.

 

[pssh]

That's not what I'm saying at all. I just happen to have a chameleon that does not tolerate me. I also have a beautiful male panther who climbs all over me and will come visit me from his free range if I'm in the room sometimes. I'm saying he should have as little stress as possible while aclimating. If he semmingly prefers your company then go for it, but if he doesn't then let him be. He's an animal that still has wild instincts, and we put him in a cage that isn't even close to the size of a tree that he wod use in the wild. Some chameleons stress out from just being in a small cage, so why make it worse and be there with him constantly, always making him feel he needs to be on guard?

If you don't want to hear my advice, don't ask for it. You wanted to know if I had a nasty Cham, I do. You asked if he grew out of it, he didn't, and I explained how he is now. You asked how I aproached his behaviour, I told you. And now I'm telling you what I would do in your case. Don't be a butt 'cause you don't like my advice/story about my chameleon and yours.

By the way, chameleons don't recognize love. Persistance isn't always good either sir/ma'am.

 

[Matt1851]

By the way, chameleons don't recognize love. Persistance isn't always good either sir/ma'am.

I strongly agree. A chameleon is not like a puppy or a cat. No matter how much you love it, care for it, the way it acts is how it will always act. It runs in chameleons blood to be aggressive. They are solitary animals and usually live on their own. What makes you think that this chameleon likes to see this big giant every day, have it move him around and put him in a car and drivge around some days. I say if you dont have the space or time to keep a chameleon (at home) than you should not have one at all. That or leave him at your work, feed him, clean him, and thats that. Theres no need to add stress to its life. Maybe overtime he will get better but you wont know that for sure, so listen to pssh's advice, I have before and its worked out for me. And if you want to ask people for advice and not take it, well i guess the forums isnt the right place for you. And i have no idea how long you have been keeping chams, but im just going to say even if its been 1 year or 10 years you will never be able to tame or train a chameleon or know how a chameleon thinks. The chameleon has to take you in itself, not because you feed it or hold it, but because it feels safe around you, and if your cham is aggressive towards you it does not feel safe, taking it out and holding it ect wont help

 

[carol5208]

I just want to say something here and no I am not a senior member. I have only had my cham for 5 months. I live in Florida and when I first got him I decided to put him on my screened patio which was in April and it was still pretty cool out. After talking to the breeder a few weeks later and we were hitting May it was getting hot and she said it was too much heat for him outside. I had to move him in my house with this huge cage so the only place for it was right next to my computer. So for like a month he was isolated and I gave him his space but still handled him alot for him to get used to me. I thinking having him next to me(I am not at the computer 24/7) I work out of the house, has tremendously helped him to become tame. Just my opinion. I open the door and he comes right out on the door. I can go in his cage and adjust things and he does not even flinch. Never puffs up or anything. Sometimes he will even peek out around the corner where I am sitting and reach out for me. Now the door is open and he could go to the other side but he chooses to be by me. I think he likes me!!! I really do. Mabye I just got lucky but he is super friendly and seems to enjoy the company now and then. I see NO signs of stress. Just my situation and it seems to be working having my cham close by me.

 

[Matt1851]

I think he likes me!!! I really do. Mabye I just got lucky but he is super friendly and seems to enjoy the company now and then. I see NO signs of stress. Just my situation and it seems to be working having my cham close by me.

One of my panthers has been super friendly from the day i got him, hand feeding, coming out on his own ect, while my veiled just a little bit older when i got her absolutly hates me. Like i said, its about the chameleon accepting you. Not because you sit beside it. All my cages are in veiw of me in my basement when i sit on the computer or watch tv. Now its not a high traffic area because i am the only one down here and usually sitting in one place. after having her for about 2 months now, she still hates me. So what i have chosen to do is just let ehr accept me. If she wants to be aggresive well thats how its going to have to be. Thats how they are, and i wouldnt wanna change them so i can hold them ect. My girlfriend also has a veild and he is the complete opposite and will sit at the door untill you take him out. once again from when he was a baby he was just friendly. So its all about the cham. So dont mean to repeat myself but i just dont think people want to get it in their heads. You cannot tame a chameleon, the cameleon has to accept you! and the times where people think they have tamed/trained their cham is usually the result of the cham accepting you

 

[carol5208]

ok, fair assessment. Then we will say that he gladly "accepts" me.! I am just happy he is not one of those mean ones you cannot even look at or they freak out everytime you have to go in their cage or something. And you are right, it is all about the personalities and I would never force something on my cham. If he was mean and would not tolerate handling then so be it. Right now he is getting his alone time on the patio where he has a hibscus tree and cruises around on the screen and climbs my nautical ropes. He loves it out there! As soon as it cools down I am putting his whole cage back on the patio and we are also buiilding an outdoor cage for sun. I would much prefer him on my patio but did want to risk him overheating. My patio turns into an oven in the summer!

 

[pssh]

Oh yeah, I forgot to meantion that my nice Cham used to hate me. I had him on the same schedule and in the same room as my mean Cham. He was isolated for several months, on his own, I was only there to feed/water/clean two or three times a day. He eventually grew to like my presence. Eventuay he chose to come out (I did not handle him more often than when he didn't like me or do anything different.) he decided for himself all by himself. Now he likes to be out and about and only free ranges.

I like my method, and it's worked for one of my babies (not that I expected anything from him.) you don't have to bug a chameleon all the time to get it to like you.

 

[bugman]

Oh yeah, I forgot to meantion that my nice Cham used to hate me. I had him on the same schedule and in the same room as my mean Cham. He was isolated for several months, on his own, I was only there to feed/water/clean two or three times a day. He eventually grew to like my presence. Eventuay he chose to come out (I did not handle him more often than when he didn't like me or do anything different.) he decided for himself all by himself. Now he likes to be out and about and only free ranges.

I like my method, and it's worked for one of my babies (not that I expected anything from him.) you don't have to bug a chameleon all the time to get it to like you.

Thanks everyone for your advice I am already taking it and applying most of what you have all said he will not be traveling with me he will stay put at my office. I will put a panel between he and I to lesson his stress. I do appreciate your advice just don't appreciate a small portion of it. You don't know my working environment so it is not far to draw assumptions. I am a graphics artist so my space is modern clean and calm the lighting is dim. I am seated almost below his cage with it sitting up 36 inches from the floor hs is about 6 feet away from me and I only interact with him to feed and water his space. He is 10 months old and lives in a 2x2x4 cage I have had him now for 5 days. I am sure with any pet there is an adjustment period and he is older than my last Chameleon which I have been with since he was 3 months old and is now 5 months old today so he has grown use to my presence but in all cases and with all my 32 pets I treat them with respect and always give them their space. I am not a child and have been around animals for over 40+ years so I also have my own opinions and hope you are willing to listen and engage and not take threat to them that is not my intention. Thanks again for all your advice it is apprciated and noted.

 

[pssh]

I certainly do understand where you are coming from. My intention was only to show that there are more than one way to do certain things and they can all work. I just didn't want your chameleon to suffer if it couldn't handle the method you wanted to go about housing and interacting with him. If you wanted to see if he would accept your presence all day, I would introduce yourself slowly. Maybe for 5 minutes when you are not moving and slowly increase the time and begin to move slowly to see how he reacts.

 

[KingJulien]

For myself, I'm kind of working from the assumption that chameleons have the ability to remember people and positive and negative experiences, and not the ability to experience affection. Though maybe I'm wrong. I think when chameleons tolerate people well, it's because they have positive associations with your presence. When you show up, pleasant things happen, like food and water or a trip to a free range spot. If you show up and just stare or otherwise annoy your chameleon, then I think they will tolerate you less. That's just my perspective from what I've read and experienced so far.

 

[bugman]

Love this!

For myself, I'm kind of working from the assumption that chameleons have the ability to remember people and positive and negative experiences, and not the ability to experience affection. Though maybe I'm wrong. I think when chameleons tolerate people well, it's because they have positive associations with your presence. When you show up, pleasant things happen, like food and water or a trip to a free range spot. If you show up and just stare or otherwise annoy your chameleon, then I think they will tolerate you less. That's just my perspective from what I've read and experienced so far.

Thanks this is powerful insight

 

[carol5208]

Well said King Julian! I guess that's why they call you the King. lol!!!