How To Handle A Chameleon

[RachelRiot]

I handle my veiled once a month when we clean the cage and give her a good look over to make sure she is healthy. Other than that I never hold her. She is not a big fan and hisses and tries to bite but I just stay calm and do what I have to do and put her back.

 

[lizardboy119796]

anyone know how bad a chameleon bite hurts?

 

[Rixon]

thats amazing, cant wait til i can try that when grimlock wakes up. what to do when chameleons that hide upside down or any way he can to avoid me. any advice??????

 

[BocaJan]

anyone know how bad a chameleon bite hurts?

There was pictures of a thumb that got bitten last spring. Took 5 stitches to close it up. I think she pulled her hand back when hissed at and the teeth acted like a serrated knife and cut through the flesh like butter! If you have a cham that hisses and gapes you might want to wear gloves.

 

[Bessiexj9]

This is very beneficial and helpful to us newbies! Thank you for posting this...I wouldn't have known otherwise.

 

[dave101]

Awesome videos, thanksa lot

 

[JackAttack]

hahahah to wheresstimpy...........my cham comes out on his own as well, no coaching or grabbing necessary.......and he's a veiled!

 

[joeandsoph]

Hmm do all veiled's have this kind of nature. I was under the impression they were friendly. Our bearded dragon is really friendly and our pet shop told us chameleons were more friendly. Turns out he's told us a lot of false information though to be fair. :-(

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Ok, while that is generally GOOD information, it is not always wrong to grab from behind. Sometimes, it's your only choice.

For example, my FLWC veiled is impossible to handle most of the time unless I am restraining him. The application of ANY pressure on chameleons makes them very very afraid and angry.

When dealing with a chameleon that will bite you if you do not restrain them, you just have to choose: Bloody, nasty wound(s) on my hand, or a stressed and pissed off chameleon.

That chameleon in the bottom video, while "unfriendly" is not extremely aggressive, as chameleons go!

I will not handle a really mean chameleon unless it's a medical problem. It is easy to extricate (for transferring them, usually with the aid of a stick)even the nastiest ones without grabbing - but if you need to look at them, or preform some medical procedure, you have to grab them.

My FLWC had a ton of unshed skin around his feet, squeezing his toes and messing up his feet in general. I had to hold him while I yanked the skin off his foot - multiple layers, all over his feet(including the bottoms), had to come off. I had to apply mineral oil, and then mess with him later to get it off. He hates me for it, and it will take time for him to hate me less. But it had to be done.

I have found that with super-nasty veileds, sometimes, they react poorly IN their cage, but not so badly once out of it. A grab from behind - gently - nutralizes their jaws. Once out of the cage, you can handle them normally, without fear of beign bitten.

 

[Tateg]

what is locale of panther in the first video??

 

[rmayo]

Handling

I have found that with my veileds personalities vary greatly. As the babies age to around 2 months they begin to send messages to each other and to their care taker as to how they want to interact. At this time I have 3 sub adult vieled females and 2 males. The females each have their own way of communicating. One will climb down on to my arm and cruise around. Another will completely avoid any handling. And the third will simply stare waiting to see what food I have to offer for the day. The two males are also independant. As with most male animals territory and space must be established at any consequence. One of my males will tolerate light handling. The other is a bit agrresive at first then once he realizes I am not a threat he will calm. The trick to trade is realizing what your chameleons personality is like and treat it accordingly.

 

[chrisw]

handling

One word of warning. Getting them out of the cage may be only part of the problem. I was handling my juvie nosy be' over the weekend and I was trying to walk him across the room to get him outside. Since he is rarely handled, being out of his cage can be disorienting. I assume that he could see the walls as I walked by, but his depth perception was not that great - he actually lunged off my hand towards the wall(trying to climb) and fell off my hand - luckily I caught him in mid air before he hit the floor. This happened twice between his cage and my back door which is only about ten feet. Once outside and away from the walls -he stopped lunging. Just be careful once you get them out. They don't necessarily want to sit still on the back of your hand and pose for photos.

 

[Rachgreens]

my female vieled used to be extremely aggresive constantly inside and out of her cage, but recently once she is out of her cage i have been laying worms out for her, and she seemed to calm down right away

now she isn't aggresive at all once she is out of her cage, but its still a war to get her out.lol

 

[Kaila and Papa]

So, Ive wanted a chameleon for 12 years. I have done the upmost as of research, so i took him home on Thursday of last week. He's a baby Vieled. He was about as big as a thimbul when i took him home. now hes nearly doubled in size! But i tried to hold him a few days ago and he got scared, honestly we both were scared. so i spent ALL morning sitting with him. I read a book and sat infront of his cage while he hung out about a foot away at eye level. i would talk to him. and i honestly was getting the impression he was ready for me to hold him. what are some signs of trust? i mean reaching your hand in a cage and tearing an animal out is not how i intend to be with him. i want us to trust eachother. how do i no?

 

[Rachgreens]

So, Ive wanted a chameleon for 12 years. I have done the upmost as of research, so i took him home on Thursday of last week. He's a baby Vieled. He was about as big as a thimbul when i took him home. now hes nearly doubled in size! But i tried to hold him a few days ago and he got scared, honestly we both were scared. so i spent ALL morning sitting with him. I read a book and sat infront of his cage while he hung out about a foot away at eye level. i would talk to him. and i honestly was getting the impression he was ready for me to hold him. what are some signs of trust? i mean reaching your hand in a cage and tearing an animal out is not how i intend to be with him. i want us to trust eachother. how do i no?

honestly most chams will never be 100% comfortable being handled, or present around people
When you reach in does he get darker or hiss?
does he show the same umcomfortable signs once he is out of his cage?

Also since he is so small its not good to handle him to much. Chams get stressed really easily, especially at such a young age. Stress can lead to multiple health problems, and you should try to minimize it as much as possible.

You can try putting a worm out on your arm and see if he will crawl out to snatch it, but theres not much you can do to actually make him want to come out of his cage. Sorry about your difficulties just be patient and hopefully you will get used to eachother.

 

[SimonBolivar]

im so much more ok with my ways after seeing this.

 

[JuAPple]

These vids are a lot of help! obviousely the chameleon did not want to be handled that way (on the first vid) since it looked like it hissed at him when he went from behind..:]
question: how do chameleons feel like? when they bite does it hurt?

 

[Binksy]

That is so cool, New to all this so great for all info. thanks.:

 

[Jevin]

Wow and yet my chameleon has never shown any signs of dipleasure or aggression

 

[Billy Quan]

i think they posted these about a month ago in general. The last video with the hand distraction is my favorite since i have a veiled (aka satans chameleon) and he is very mouthy when it comes to getting him out of his cage

SO, is there any chance of a Veiled not being really unpleasant? I got one which was about two months old (3 months ago). I thought it was a female. . .
but was glad to notice spurs about a week ago. I handle him about twice a week, never for more than a couple of minutes. Usually he is not mouthy, and stays green unless a dog goes running by. When he really protests being picked up, i leave him alone, unless I need to clean his enclosure.
Should I be expecting more aggression as he matures?