Handeling crabby chamie...

[Chameleonbabe]

Hi I have a new 5 month old panther chameleon that I got about 3 weeks ago and hates to be handled and only getting worse, to where he is biting my hand that is holding him. I have tried only hand feeding him, but standing still for 15-20 minutes is not easy and I give up, I can reach in and grab him and get him out but the problem is when he is on my hand or when I set him down somewhere to explore he gets angry and aggressive. When he is in his cage and he sees me he freezes and just stares leaning over a branch to where I "can't" see him. Any suggestions? Am I doing everything right? Will this behavior eventually stop? This is my first baby chameleon so I am not sure how to handle him, my last chameleon came to me already tame and went everywhere with me (RIP ...)

 

[MsCham]

How do you handle him? If you pick him up from above, you are marking yourself as a predator, so of course he wants to get away from you/will be aggressive! Try checking out this link: http://screameleons.com/how-to-handle-your-chameleon-properly/

Hope that helps! All chameleons are different, so just because your last one tolerated being handled, doesn't mean all of them will!

 

[Chameleonbabe]

Thank you for your feedback! I do grab him from above, someone at the petstore gave me that advice to avoid being bitten, obviously from watching those videos I see how that would pose as a threat.

What do you think about when I do have him out on my hand to keep him from biting me then? I have tried taking him to another room to get him away from his cage thinking he might be territorial. But on the other hand, I do not know if this is the best method in fear that he might be even more afraid being out of his comfort zone.

 

[MsCham]

Its better to keep him near the cage. Its his safety net. He will be more on edge if its out of sight. Honestly, I'd say start over. Treat it like you just got him. Give him 2-3 weeks without trying to handle him at all. At least one week without even trying to hand feed him, just put food/water and back away. Spend time near the cage. Let him see that you arent always there to pick him up. Then start hand feeding. Be patient. Wait till he doesn't back away from you, but maybe comes toward you a little bit. Then you can try slowly to approach him. But if he starts to hiss, dont push it. If you need to get him out of his cage for cleaning, grab a stick, and treat it like your hand in the videos - from the front and lift up, then you can move him to a different place. Just take it slow! He needs to learn that you and your hand means good things, not bad! If you give treats, like hornworms, only feed those by hand. Even if its by setting on a branch near him and backing away, he will associate that the hand is what put it there!

Good luck!

 

[Chameleonbabe]

Thank you so much I will try that!!

 

[JlaPinska]

my guy is a butthead he is very cage aggressive he hates coming out but once he's out he calms down. i hand feed him every meal. he will eat while being handled too. just b careful if you try to hand feed. i just fed him and he accidently got the tip of my finger. ouch!! my guy is big though.

 

[Carlton]

my guy is a butthead he is very cage aggressive he hates coming out but once he's out he calms down. i hand feed him every meal. he will eat while being handled too. just b careful if you try to hand feed. i just fed him and he accidently got the tip of my finger. ouch!! my guy is big though.

You could always offer the insect in a shallow cup held in your hand instead. He'll still associate the treat with you, but won't be able to bite your finger.