Chameleonlover1219
New Member
I got my chameleon from a reptile shop and the owner said that handling just occasionally cuts off a big part of their lifespan is this true. (he said a few months)
Handling?
- Thread starter Chameleonlover1219
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lol no it is not true... But chameleons are typically like fish tanks they are a look and don't touch. I think he was trying to scare you because some people get them and think they are like a puppy or kitten. So they kill them by stressing them out with constant holding. You should never force your cham out to hold. If they come on their own then that is different.
You said..."handling just occasionally cuts off a big part of their lifespan"...
First off, how can anybody measure that? How do you know how much their life is shortened or lengthened by diet or temperatures or a lot of other things in their lives?
I'm not saying that handling some chameleons might not cause them a lot of stress and even lead to health issues, but it's a very individual thing...just like in people, some handle stress and uncomfortable situations better than others.
This doesn't mean I'm saying go for it ...handle them as much as you want either.
I try to judge how the chameleon reacts and let it make part of the choice....so if I have one that comes out on my hand readily, I let him. If I see it's stressing him out then I don't handle it any more than needed. You will even find that one species will react to you differently than another.
Then there are WC's that can't adapt to a captive environment at all and you have to be very careful with. Those ones sometimes have a very hard time with handling and can die sooner from it IMHO.
I think we have to learn to "read" the chameleon sometimes. Just my 2 cents worth.
First off, how can anybody measure that? How do you know how much their life is shortened or lengthened by diet or temperatures or a lot of other things in their lives?
I'm not saying that handling some chameleons might not cause them a lot of stress and even lead to health issues, but it's a very individual thing...just like in people, some handle stress and uncomfortable situations better than others.
This doesn't mean I'm saying go for it ...handle them as much as you want either.
I try to judge how the chameleon reacts and let it make part of the choice....so if I have one that comes out on my hand readily, I let him. If I see it's stressing him out then I don't handle it any more than needed. You will even find that one species will react to you differently than another.
Then there are WC's that can't adapt to a captive environment at all and you have to be very careful with. Those ones sometimes have a very hard time with handling and can die sooner from it IMHO.
I think we have to learn to "read" the chameleon sometimes. Just my 2 cents worth.
Shanar808
Avid Member
This is very interesting to me. And it would be difficult to truly measure the lifespan differences unless we had a controlled test between: an often handled, an occasionally handled, and a never handled chameleon in the exact same living conditions. I would also love to know because of how often I handle my chameleon. I know she gets a little distressed when I move her to and from her outdoor enclosure for natural UV. I wonder if that, very short, but very consistent stress going to shorten her life? With her getting more used to it her normal color returns even more quickly than before.
