Handling a Cham

[Kclarke02]

I've been reading so many posts about owners who's Cham wants out all the time and does not mind being held. I've had Chloe almost 2 months and have been somewhat discouraged, although she hand feeds everyday. I just came across this blog with some great ideas that I think will help in her building trust and becoming more comfortable exploring outside of her territory. http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/04/to-handle-or-not-to-handle.html
I'm sharing for those in the same boat, and hoping this helps!

 

[trickedoutbiker]

Mine used to want to come out of his cage all the time when he was younger. Like, literally, ALL THE TIME. Any time I opened the door to feed him or hand spray him, he wanted to come out and look around. He would usually just climb out onto the door, look around a couple minutes, then go back into his cage on his own. I think he liked checking out the surroundings from OUTSIDE the cage instead of from INSIDE the cage all the time. It got to the point where he was associating me with his food after some time, and he wanted to come out onto ME instead of onto the door. So I used that as an opportunity to get him used to being handled, and I let him crawl out onto me a few times a week. I did this for a couple months or so, then slowly reduced the amount of time I was handling him until it was only once a week or once every other week. I did this because he would want to come out all the time, as he became very very tame.

So to this day, I still only handle him once a week or once every couple weeks, and it's usually to go outside to get some sun. I try to take him outside once a week but sometimes the weather is not permitting on days I am free, so he goes outside at LEAST once every two weeks for 1-2 hours at a time. I also take him out of his cage when I clean the floor or trim up his plants, which I do as needed. I don't want to handle him TOO much because then he might want to start coming out of his cage all the time again. That becomes an issue when you are trying to feed him and he wants to come out of his cage and explore instead. He comes out on his own when I do handle him still, but I never have to actually pick him up and take him out on my own. Any time I ever place my finger in front of him, he steps on it almost immediately because he knows that he is either going outside or going into a fake tree in my living room that he likes to climb around on when I am messing with stuff inside his cage. Both are positive experiences for him, so he still loves to come out of the cage even though he doesn't try to get out of the cage all the time when it's open like he used to. I also reward him every time I take him out of his cage with a tasty butter worm because he doesn't get those too often, but he loves them. I give it to him before I place him back in his cage to let him know he was a good boy, as he will willingly eat a worm out of my hand while sitting on my arm or shoulder.

Just be patient with your chameleon. All are different and respond differently with their own little personalities. That's part of the fun of raising them. You get to learn about them and build a relationship with them. Just don't give up, keep trying, and follow some of the tips in that blog you shared.

Good luck!

 

[Carlton]

Don't get discouraged. Its not personal. Her tolerance for your presence in her territory will change as she matures. Many chams go through a more tempermental phase before they are full grown (how old is she?).

 

[Kclarke02]

Don't get discouraged. Its not personal. Her tolerance for your presence in her territory will change as she matures. Many chams go through a more tempermental phase before they are full grown (how old is she?).

That's what I was wondering too, she's a teen. Tomorrow she should be about 6 months. I've started leaving her cage door open after I get home just in case she gets adventurous.