How should I handle? (Baby veiled)

[My Chamelon]

I've read a lot of posts and websites bout handling your chameleon. I've had her for two weeks, and I only handled her twice. I've tried feeding her from my hand, but she only looks at it for a while and then begins to back up slowly once she completely loses interest. I've tried holding sticks to her, so she doesn't have to go onto my hand or arm. She's also alone most of the day. Now anytime I go near her cage she begins to back up, I want to get her used to being handled while she's a baby. How should I deal with it? Any help is good!

 

[My Chamelon]

I should add: She was completely fine with me when I first got her, she's growing away from me now

 

[jcarlsen]

I should add: She was completely fine with me when I first got her, she's growing away from me now

Hey there, I'm kinda going through the same thing with my 4 mo. panther. Just got him Tuesday last week, and he was puffed out when I opened the bag he was in, but I haven't been able to handle him yet.

So far, my strategy has been to leave the cage door open whenever I'm around, and in the morning, I offer the first treat of the day with tongs, but so far the little rascal hasn't taken it yet. He mostly just rotates sideways on his branch, and the only other time I've seen him his and gape was when I walked in and he was on the bottom of his cage. He only seems to gape when he feels cornered, which makes sense, but otherwise he'll just back away or rotate.

I've only had him for a week, so I'm just keeping with a routine and backing off when he looks too stressed. This weekend, I plan to get a safe plant, wash it, and put it in front of his open enclosure for him to climb out on his own.

I have a theory, which could be COMPLETELY wrong, but I've read a lot about chameleons under 4 months being fairly normal, then sometimes they get more skittish/aggressive. This could, and again I'm no expert, be like chameleon puberty or something. Who knows...

Here's a helpful article I've been reading on handling, hope it helps you too: (link no longer valid)

 

[My Chamelon]

Thanks for the reply! The blog is useful, I'll keep it in mind. Your theory by the way isn't bad! It probably is like that, since all their growing is in the first year or few months, that would seem logical. Thanks for your help!