How to make Kiwi come to me?

kwmc · Jan 15, 2012

Kiwi is about 3.5 months old now and I have had him since Dec 17, 2011. He loves silkworm & cricket. He has never been handled since I have him. I tried to lure him to my hand with silkworm these 2 days without success.

He would stare at the silkworm, opened his mouth and I even saw him like swallowing saliva like a human. However, he would never fire his tongue and grab the worm from my hand. How can I earn his trust in me? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Below are Kiwi's pics which I took this morning.

hotdirt823 · Jan 15, 2012

iam in the same boat none of chams will willing come to me never mind be handled with out going nuts and biting i just keep trying loli keep trying to hand feed and i let them out of the cages in there free range but stil no luck i hope you have better results

jmwhitel · Jan 15, 2012

I have the same issue with Nemro, my juvenile veiled. After reading many posts on this forum, this is what people seem to say....

1) Some chams will warm up to you over time with regular hand feeding etc(sounds like your doing the proper things here)
2) Some chams will never come to you and will always be afraid
3) Some chams can even be aggressive and stay that way throughout their life

Years ago I had a Jacksons cham that I purchased at a year old. He was friendly since day 1! Always came to me and hand fed. So its been a hard pill to swallow at times that my new baby doesnt "like" me. I love her the same nonetheless. I have also read that certain species are more "friendly" than others. And Veileds are supposed to be a shy cham, compared to Panthers and Jacksons.

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ferretinmyshoes · Jan 15, 2012

If he's getting close to shooting it off your hand just be patient. You may have to stand there for 10-15 minutes at a time as still as you can but he will probably do it sooner or later if he's that close already. You moving is probably making him uneasy so try to be still and just wait. And jmwhitel is correct with his options. Sometimes chams just never decide to trust us. My veiled actually lunges at me when he sees me, my panther seems to enjoy human contact and will scratch at his cage to come out when I enter the room, and my Jackson falls in between. He will eat of my hand and will allow me to pick him up, but prefers not be messed with overall.