hand feeding

[gholmes]

alright, i struggle with this one cause my arm starts to get tired.

How exactly do yall hand feed? I want to be able to not stress my cham out when i need to take her out but i am not sure what is the best way to go about this.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Rottsko]

Wait until your Cham is closer to the front half of the cage and not behind a bunch of vines and leaves. It's a lot easier if your cham has a clear line of sight to you and where your hand will be.

It also helps if the feeder in your hand has a lot of action. The more it moves and wiggles the more attracted your Cham will be. Lastly, just be persistent and don't give up. I wouldn't try it a hundred times a day but just don't up. Your Cham will open up to you eventually. Good luck!

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Greetings fellow trainer! I like to get my chams on my hand or arm, then I just place my hand into the cricket bucket. Sometimes (only with worms, because crickets spit a nasty slime) I hold a worm in between my pointer and thumb. I give the cham about 10-25 seconds to take a shot... If he/she does not, then I put the worm away. Its best to try this with waxworms anyways because of how tasty they are...? I guess they are like candy for some chams, so they regularly jump at any chance to munch on them. Keep on trying, it takes some time.

 

[gholmes]

thanks! i was just afraid of stressing her too much. when i went to get her out for the vet today it was like she knew cause she was towards the front of the cage but would sort of lean back towards the back so i couldnt get my hand under her.

 

[ChameleonCans]

We've had a lot of success with holding the cricket by its back legs. It seems our veileds, oustalets, jacksons and fischers have been the most eager. Once they start, they start expecting some every time you enter the room. It's very rewarding. Still trying to get all the carpets to that level.

 

[natureboy86]

I just put a worm in my hand, and place it under somewhere in front/under my cham no matter where he is in the cage.. I noticed he definitely prefers my hand to be under him, so he feels like he's ambushing the worm

So what I do is give him one wherever he is, then the next one, I'll lure him to the front of the cage slowly. I'll put my hand near him, then right before he launches, I pull my hand back towards the front of the cage just out of his reach... He climbs his way towards me, then I pull back a little further haha. Finally my hand and the worm are a tad out of his reach outside of the cage, and I'll offer my other hand as a barrier for him to reach the worm. He steps on, and boom.. Works every time

 

[Olimpia]

It's definitely easier to not take the chameleon out of their cage to start hand feeding. The idea is that you want hand feeding to be a tool you use to get them used to you, I worry that with the temperament of most chameleons taking them out and then feeding them is just going to create more nervousness. At least at first, and with shier animals.

A good tip is to hand feed the first feeders of the day, so you take advantage that your chameleon is hungry. Hunger is a great motivator, so if you little guy is eager for breakfast he's more likely to approach and eat from your hand. And use your best judgement to tell when you've tried long enough and to just try again tomorrow if you don't make any progress.

With chameleons, it's defintiely a game of patience!