So recently we bought a Chameleon and is about 2 months old now. When trying to hold him, he wants absolutly nothing to do with it...climbs all over the trees and cage to get away from the hands coming at him. It seems to freak him out so much. We try to come from underneath him rather than over the top trying to nudge him onto our hand, but this doesn't work. We don't want to pull him off branches to harm his feet also. We'd really to hold him but don't want to continue to stress him out. Any suggestions on what to try next? He is a Sambava Panther Chameleon if that makes any difference in handling. Thanks for any advice.
Holding my new Chameleon
- Thread starter Moe
- Start date
So recently we bought a Chameleon and is about 2 months old now. When trying to hold him, he wants absolutly nothing to do with it...climbs all over the trees and cage to get away from the hands coming at him. It seems to freak him out so much. We try to come from underneath him rather than over the top trying to nudge him onto our hand, but this doesn't work. We don't want to pull him off branches to harm his feet also. We'd really to hold him but don't want to continue to stress him out. Any suggestions on what to try next? He is a Sambava Panther Chameleon if that makes any difference in handling. Thanks for any advice.they arent really social creatures.
My male sambava eats out of my hand but gets really tempermental if I get too close to him.
He may never like it.............something you may have to deal with.
then again he may just need a year or two of building trust.
the more you make him associate you with rewards the better off youll be.
Try feeding him from a cup and then with your hands later.........then try to start getting close to him.
My male sambava eats out of my hand but gets really tempermental if I get too close to him.
He may never like it.............something you may have to deal with.
then again he may just need a year or two of building trust.
the more you make him associate you with rewards the better off youll be.
Try feeding him from a cup and then with your hands later.........then try to start getting close to him.
skeleptica
New Member
Can they bite you? as odd of a question as this might seem to be, I have seen my chameleon eat lots of crickets and worms, but not once have I seen teeth... if not then what is it that they use in defence?
chamaeleo79
New Member
Of course a cham can bite, some tend to bite you right away, most of them just try to scare you by pretending they would. That's a typical defensive schema.
A juvenile cham won't be able to bite strong enough to hurt you. An adult can!!!
E.g. male Veiled Chams tend to be a little aggressive. If they get a hold of you...
And yes, Chams do have teeth. They are pretty small, but they are there!!
A juvenile cham won't be able to bite strong enough to hurt you. An adult can!!!
E.g. male Veiled Chams tend to be a little aggressive. If they get a hold of you...
And yes, Chams do have teeth. They are pretty small, but they are there!!
Mucky_Waters
New Member
LOL
That's a question I get asked all the time when ever I take my veiled chameleon out and show him off to company. With all that noise and aggressive posturing, its a pretty logical question. Problem is I could never say for certainty that he would because he had never bit me, and even if he did bite I had no idea how serious a bite it might be. I finally had to stick my finger in his mouth one time to find out. Actually I had to stick my finger in his mouth several times before I could get him to bite down because he kept just pulling his head away. He finally did bite me though, but I sure don't hold it against him. If someone was sticking their fingers in my mouth I would have done the same thing.
Did it hurt?
Frankly I was a little surprised at how strong a bite he had, certainly enough to make women scream and little children cry.
Did he draw blood?
I'm happy to say I still have all my digits and no, no blood, not even a mark. Which is more than I can say for letting him crawl on my arm. Those sharp, needle like claws and his tight grip tend to leave a lot of scratch marks on the skin. I'm glad he acts so aggressive, nobody ever asks to hold him.
Check out the video
That's a question I get asked all the time when ever I take my veiled chameleon out and show him off to company. With all that noise and aggressive posturing, its a pretty logical question. Problem is I could never say for certainty that he would because he had never bit me, and even if he did bite I had no idea how serious a bite it might be. I finally had to stick my finger in his mouth one time to find out. Actually I had to stick my finger in his mouth several times before I could get him to bite down because he kept just pulling his head away. He finally did bite me though, but I sure don't hold it against him. If someone was sticking their fingers in my mouth I would have done the same thing.
Did it hurt?
Frankly I was a little surprised at how strong a bite he had, certainly enough to make women scream and little children cry.
Did he draw blood?
I'm happy to say I still have all my digits and no, no blood, not even a mark. Which is more than I can say for letting him crawl on my arm. Those sharp, needle like claws and his tight grip tend to leave a lot of scratch marks on the skin. I'm glad he acts so aggressive, nobody ever asks to hold him.
Check out the video
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Vampire.queen
New Member
You know, it happens. You haven´t bought a cat but a reptile which doesn´t like any company at all. Some chameleons never get used to people around them. But the one of yours is really small one and I think that it´s a question of time- don´t make any fast movements, and give him time
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy,
Keepers used to post photos of their bloody fingers but I haven't seen any on this site. I think there is a range of emotion expressed with bite intensity. When they want to do damage, larger chameleons have no trouble biting a finger to the bone. Other bites seem to be saying "keep away, I'm afraid..." If there is a likelihood of being bitten, keep focused on the possibility so that if it happens, you won't be overly surprised and accidentally fling your chameleon across the room
.
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Will Hayward
New Member
I believe it also has to do with how much force their jaw can exert without breaking the fragile hollowed bones. Depends the age/development, as well as species.
Since the Namib sand chameleons aren't arboreal and don't have to be so lightweight, I bet their bones are harder giving them enough strength to inflict a nasty bite... to say, a cobra?
Since the Namib sand chameleons aren't arboreal and don't have to be so lightweight, I bet their bones are harder giving them enough strength to inflict a nasty bite... to say, a cobra?
