Grumpy boy!

[lildi]

I'm aware that Yemen's can be quite grumpy but mine has made it his lifes mission to servere my hand from my arm as soon as possible..... OK so maybe that's a slight exageration but only a slight one, is there anything I can do to help calm him down a little? I leave his repti door open when I'm home so that he can come out when he want's to, (getting him back in again is a stratigic operation ) or do I just resign myself to the fact that he's going to be a grumpy bum for the rest of his days, you see I've been spoilt really, my panther is just the sweetest little boy you could ever wish to meet, then the Yemen came along and burst that bubble straight away.

Not sure if I can post video's here but this is my stroppy little gorgeous boy, Dillon.
http://youtu.be/SM1hsFBXhKQ

This is his normal behaviour when I go in to feed him, spray the cage or spot clean, I only need to open the door and he's off hissing, if I go near him he lunges towards me.

 

[odogy]

thats one angry dude lol.how old is he

 

[TIMMYBOY]

Angry ali

Get use to it buddy my 10 month old is same way
Shoot i put on my welding glove wen i need to move him

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

I believe he thinks your fingers are worms

 

[lisagr07]

Wow!!!! He is not a happy camper.... But it may be the camera itself that he is not happy with... Several on here are not fans of the "big bad camera"...

 

[Big Gulp]

I feel your pain (no pun attended, unless you're bitten). My 5 month old male is the same way.

I'll put my hand out to see if he'll crawl onto me. He'll slowly start walking towards my hand, and I'm thinking "awesome, he's feeling more comfortable around me". Nope. He's coming over to attack my fingers!! He's a terror!!!

 

[Oliviabryant]

Wow he is reallllllllly upset!

I would suggest not putting your camera in his face though. No matter how nice a veiled is- they do not like foreign objects next to their face. You are also reaching into his house with the camera, veiled's are territorial and doing this stresses them out greatly. You'll need to show him that you are not going to harm him. I would start by not putting any hands, sticks, etc. inside his house. I would leave the door open and wait for him to venture out. You can put a fake plant or whatever you want in front of his house for him to climb in to. Generally veiled's will have a completely different temper once they are outside of their home. Also try not to reach for him right away when he leaves his house, give him time to inspect his surroundings and to realize that nothing is a threat to him.

 

[lildi]

He's coming up on 8 months old now, he's like this inside and outside his cage, with or without a camera, he's just a grumpy old man lol, I leave his door open and he now comes out when he wants to but I still have to use the stick method to get him back in as he won’t let me near him, I only have to open the door to his repti and he's on the defence before my hand even goes in, I've had him for around 7 weeks now and during that time he's doubled in size and so has his attitude, I dread to think what he's going to be like fully grown, I suppose the flip side of this is that he must be comfortable in his repti if he's willing to defend it so vehemently, I do have another cham, a panther but don't let them out together however they are aware of each other’s presence in the room.

 

[Psychobunny]

I agree with oliviabryant, veiled chams will defend their territory and the
camera being so close is considered a threat.
My guy will gape at me if I put my hand in his cage unless he see's me coming.

I usually let him out when I need to clean because he just does not like me
being in there. He has never hissed and lunged at me, like yours is doing, but
I can tell he doesn't like it.
If I have food, and he can see it, no problems.

You need to just let him have his private space and respect it as you would
a persons privacy.

 

[lildi]

I rarely video him it was done to capture how he normally behaves, he does that when I go into his cage to put food in or to mist his cage whether the camera is there or not, I only have two pieces of footage of him so his privacy is respected for the most parts, I only go into his cage when I have to mist, feed or clean other than that it's his domain, he has started to come out a lot more now of his own accord but he's still stroppy when I have to get him back in and he's left alone when he is out other than to keep an eye on him, I think that's just the way he's going to be.

 

[Psychobunny]

Once out of their cages, they never want to go back!
I have to fight with all my guyz to get them off the free range and back to their
cages.
I have to chase Sméagol (my largest veiled) all over the room to get him on
my hand and transport him home.
I have to use both hands, but I am slow and gentle.
As soon as I think I finally have him, he will wrap his tail around a vine and
anchor himself.

But still, he never hisses at me, he may gape, but I found it's just a bluff.

 

[lildi]

I've just upgraded his light fitting to a T5 and he's not too happy about it, he want's out and is climbing on his door trying to get out but the panther is out so he has to stay put for a while, I'm in the process of making another free range so thay they both have one and can coth come out at the same time, but until then he's going to have to learn to share his out time with Ollie, por old boy.

 

[Oliviabryant]

Yeah generally when my veiled even tries to gape- it's only at people he has never seen before. It's always as bluff as well, I can still reach my hand in whole he is mad and he stops and gets on my hand. So i know it has a lot to do with trust and dominance. You have to show him that he can trust you, once that has been accomplished, show him you are the boss. Animals sense fear very easily, if you cower when he gapes at you, he will continue to do it. When you open the door to his house you have to walk away and sit down, pretend like you are watching tv, playing on a computer etc. Of course still peak over at him and make sure you know where he is, but wait until he has climbed out onto the ground and walked around for 10-20 minutes. Once he has done this, slowly crawl ( yes CRAWL) over to him and put your hand out and wait for him to come to you. If you have to do this everyday for an hour and wait for him to come to you, it's worth it. It's very important to keep your body as level to theirs as possible. Standing up to walk over to him will easily upset him, chameleons use the technique of gaining higher ground to show dominance. You want to simulate submissiveness by always having your body at the same level or lower. Always move very slowly towards him and give him time to inspect his surroundings and feel safe knowing you are not a threat.


Hopefully one day you can do this -