has been chasing us to bite us for 6 months

[takisxx]

hello. this behavior is going me crazy,i dont know what to do...chameleon hunting us 6 months now...i dont know why but 1.5 year he was very calm.this behavior starts last 6 months. i dint change anything inside his enclosure.cant even put him crickets inside he runs on me to bite me. its male veiled chameleon... info here ======>> https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...-eating-only-morio-nothing-else.184683/page-2 (post #34)

and this is the video from his behavior .


my english is poor sorry for this

 

[salty dog]

Panther chameleons have much better tempermant

 

[TheCuriousChameleon]

Have you tried giving him treats using a glove or something...I've never been bit by a cham, so idk if it's painful...or just scary...


Interested to see what the advice will be 0.0

 

[takisxx]

Have you tried giving him treats using a glove or something...I've never been bit by a cham, so idk if it's painful...or just scary...


Interested to see what the advice will be 0.0

he bit me 2 weeks ago. it hurt a lot. as i pulled my hand when he bit me i threw him down, he was stuck on my finger.
No i didnt try to give him treat hea acting like monster... lol...

 

[bbyoda]

Wow that's pretty fascinating. My Veiled associates me with food now so he'll follow me assuming that and gets confused when I don't have food for him. Is that what's going on here? His body posture isn't defensive.

 

[takisxx]

Well i dont realy know if thats happend here,but i guess not...hes so offensive at whole familly,on me on my kids on my wife and on my dog 2 if he saw him stand near the enclosure,hes running at the mess with open mouth....

 

[takisxx]

And an other one video...

 

[bbyoda]

He's beautiful. The only thing you can do is change your behavior. Chameleons generally don't like to be handled and they don't need to be handled. If I were in your shoes I'd do three things. 1) add more plants and foliage so his home feels safer and he's more secure 2) stop opening the door for a few months, only open to put in some feeders then go away 3) after a few months only introduce my hand with a tasty treat on it so he focuses on the treat not the hand.

 

[bbyoda]

Curious what you two think about this behavior @MissSkittles and @Beman - seems like learned behavior, not the typical chameleon postures.

 

[takisxx]

Ill try this advice,thanks

 

[bbyoda]

I also tagged a couple members here to see what they think as well. Good luck!! No matter what happens you have a gorgeous chameleon. Gotta love their feistiness even if it's scary

 

[takisxx]

One more thing about the plants @bbyoda .all the plants are dying inside there thats why i have only this for now...

 

[bbyoda]

One more thing about the plants @bbyoda .all the plants are dying inside there thats why i have only this for now...

Looks like you just have UVB and heat - plants need their own light to thrive so a plant light will help. And you need to make sure they are watered as their species desires, sometimes auto misters don't reach the plants roots.

 

[takisxx]

Looks like you just have UVB and heat - plants need their own light to thrive so a plant light will help. And you need to make sure they are watered as their species desires, sometimes auto misters don't reach the plants roots.

I ordered this one from bangood but its purple... Can i use it for hes enclosure? Its growing plant light but purple thats why i ask cuz of color.

 

[bbyoda]

I ordered this one from bangood but its purple... Can i use it for hes enclosure? Its growing plant light but purple thats why i ask cuz of color.

The advice I see here on the forums is it's better to have white lights since chameleon's eyes are sensitive. I think that type might not send the light deep enough either. A LED spotlight plant bulb should do the trick.

 

[MissSkittles]

This is really interesting. It looks like he’s defending his enclosure. He’s trying to scare you away and so far it’s working. I would think that you need to teach him that it isn’t going to work and that you aren’t going to harm him. I have made sure to hand feed every now and then so that my chameleons know I can be trusted. I also sometimes just open their enclosures and slowly place a hand on a branch and stay still like that for a few minutes. If I fear they may bite me, I make a fist so that they will have a harder time grabbing hold. It also helps to avoid making eye contact.
I don’t see it in your video, but does he ever start to stick his tongue out like he’s wanting to strike out at your hand? One of my girls is quite mean and takes every chance she gets to bite me, but first she will follow my hand and start sticking her tongue out like she wants to eat a finger.
I would definitely add more plants for him. That would help him feel safer. You may need to invest in a plant grow light.
Maybe @kinyonga has experience and insight into this behavior and how to deal with it best. I can only guess.

 

[Tkrd69]

From the videos it looks like you are violating his territory and males are very territorial. Also don't see very many places to hide, fight or flight might be kicking in.

 

[Tkrd69]

Also, to note his bite will hurt. You need one of these

 

[takisxx]

This is really interesting. It looks like he’s defending his enclosure. He’s trying to scare you away and so far it’s working. I would think that you need to teach him that it isn’t going to work and that you aren’t going to harm him. I have made sure to hand feed every now and then so that my chameleons know I can be trusted. I also sometimes just open their enclosures and slowly place a hand on a branch and stay still like that for a few minutes. If I fear they may bite me, I make a fist so that they will have a harder time grabbing hold. It also helps to avoid making eye contact.
I don’t see it in your video, but does he ever start to stick his tongue out like he’s wanting to strike out at your hand? One of my girls is quite mean and takes every chance she gets to bite me, but first she will follow my hand and start sticking her tongue out like she wants to eat a finger.
I would definitely add more plants for him. That would help him feel safer. You may need to invest in a plant grow light.
Maybe @kinyonga has experience and insight into this behavior and how to deal with it best. I can only guess.

i own the cham 2 years id never seen this behavior again it start last 6 months,he was friendly and he let me handle him.No, hes not stick hes tonque out hes just running like this and hes trying to bite me.i will add more plants and i try to find white light for the plants.thanks for the advice!

 

[Sonny13]

1) add more plants and foliage so his home feels safer and he's more secure

This was my first thought as well, seeing the enclosure. I think if you put in some dense foliage, where he can hide and can safely observe his surrounding, will temper his aggression. Reading about family and dog, means this fella feels like all day long to be in a danger zone. And when you enter his domain, is the trigger for him the fight is gonna happen.

Also a no go for the purple light, this isn’t a natural color will stress him and could irritate his eyes.