hey all Quick question.

[TheArcticLights]

I'm new to the forum and to chams. I got a veiled about a month ago the guy at the pet store said he was around 4 months already. I understand they get really stressed out to be held and out of their enclosure but i would like to get mine use to me picking him up in case i have to clean his cage or possibly transport him if i decide to leave the complex im at. Right now if i try to reach in slowly to even touch him he pulls a suicidal dive from the top of the enclosure to the bottom, which is a nice 3 foot drop just to get away. About two weeks ago i bought meal worms to try and hand feed him but he just doesn't want anything to do with me. I attempt atleast once a day to hand feed him and i end up just giving up and putting it in the raised dish i made for him and then he eats it right up. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Hoj]

it can take awhile for a cham to adjust to a new home. my baby panther was very scared for the first moth and had gradually gotten alot better in the last month and a bit. just keep at it with hand feeding he may end up seeing you as a possitve and less of a threat, keep in mind some chams never really take to people.
if you need to get him out for cleaning and whatnot try placing a plant outside the cage with a branch going in so he can come out on his own then you can move the plant.

 

[TheArcticLights]

it can take awhile for a cham to adjust to a new home. my baby panther was very scared for the first moth and had gradually gotten alot better in the last month and a bit. just keep at it with hand feeding he may end up seeing you as a possitve and less of a threat, keep in mind some chams never really take to people.
if you need to get him out for cleaning and whatnot try placing a plant outside the cage with a branch going in so he can come out on his own then you can move the plant.

ok i guess ill just have to be a little patient with him.

 

[TheArcticLights]

thanks for the help

 

[dodge]

my veiled used to be the same but hiss and run away, 2 months on it now comes to the front of the tank and if i let it out it will come sit on the bed with me, which ive been told is weird for chameleons lol, have you tryed hand feeding locusts and crickets too ?

 

[TheArcticLights]

my veiled used to be the same but hiss and run away, 2 months on it now comes to the front of the tank and if i let it out it will come sit on the bed with me, which ive been told is weird for chameleons lol, have you tryed hand feeding locusts and crickets too ?

i have tried that i got him to eat one cricket off my hand and ever since nothing to do with me or my girlfriend ha mainly doesnt like her

 

[k9monkey]

Keep at it. My veiled has been hissing and bitting at me for about 7 months now (since I got him). I have started getting him to take superworms from tongs I am holding, but to get him out of his enclosure I have to use oven mitts to keep him from bitting my hands.

They are tempermental buggers.

 

[DavidBuchan]

If he was 4 months old when you got him then he's not been handled much, so it will take a while, even if he is really friendly really. Give him time, make it the same time each day you get him out, don't put too much stress on the hand feeding, just get him to sit on you hand or arm until he calms down and put him back. If there's little change in 2 months then he'll probably never change.

 

[TheArcticLights]

If he was 4 months old when you got him then he's not been handled much, so it will take a while, even if he is really friendly really. Give him time, make it the same time each day you get him out, don't put too much stress on the hand feeding, just get him to sit on you hand or arm until he calms down and put him back. If there's little change in 2 months then he'll probably never change.

thats another thing i was wondering about was the stress factor..... how do you know when to stop and is it all right to just grab him with a oven mitt or is that to stressful

 

[DavidBuchan]

I actually meant don't focus on the hand feeding too much lol, but it's easy to tell when a Cham is annoyed with you. He will hiss and lunge a little bit....if you are careful not to hurt him and pick him up quickly that's the best you can do. He will slowly calm down and get used to a routine and to you. Use an oven mitt only if you're chicken because he's not likely to bite, it would probably only be a nip anyway, and it just makes it a little more awkward.

 

[TheArcticLights]

ok thanks for the advise, i hope he changes his mind about me. Hes getting big quick and i don't wanna deal with a monster cham that just wants to eat me