Is it me?

[ayiaskepi]

My cham (4-5 mo. old) has only been with me for a week now. Every time my hand goes near him he goes crazy. He has bit me twice. Though it did not hurt.. it eventually will (yeah, I saw those pics yesterday)! My question is: is this normal?? I would think yes, but the breeder has actually offered to replace him! That is a really nice gesture, but if I can rectify this, I would prefer it. Obviously, you can just have a cham that bites! However, this guys was great the first 5 days! WHat do any of you suggest? I always approach him from the front and place my hand under his front legs, etc.

On another note, this guy is scared of the silkies!!! I mean he gets crazy when they get near him! I bought two pods! Is there a way to get him used to eating them? He has eaten one with no problem, but ever since then, he refuses.

Any help would be appreciated.

THANKS

 

[Pashka]

My cham (4-5 mo. old) has only been with me for a week now. Every time my hand goes near him he goes crazy. He has bit me twice. Though it did not hurt.. it eventually will (yeah, I saw those pics yesterday)! My question is: is this normal?? I would think yes, but the breeder has actually offered to replace him! That is a really nice gesture, but if I can rectify this, I would prefer it. Obviously, you can just have a cham that bites! However, this guys was great the first 5 days! WHat do any of you suggest? I always approach him from the front and place my hand under his front legs, etc.

On another note, this guy is scared of the silkies!!! I mean he gets crazy when they get near him! I bought two pods! Is there a way to get him used to eating them? He has eaten one with no problem, but ever since then, he refuses.

Any help would be appreciated.

THANKS

Yes, this is actually quite normal. However, I would suggest not handling them all, they are more of a look, not touch creature. I like to appreciate their beauty from a distance, and not with my hands.

 

[bucky]

This is normal, give him time to adjust to his settings, a few weeks should work. And the silkies might be too big for him.

 

[Geckoxp]

So far I personally have had 4 chams and so far they have all been rather tame when being handled. I purchased all the animals from the Kammers so far so maybe that does or does not have anything to do with it..i don't know.

Needless to say you would eventually have to handle the animal if they like it or not. Its the animals nature that you are the invader and they don't like it. There is no tried and true method in taming your cham as they are naturally like this. It may be something you can work on but don't count on it..Chams are not like cats or dogs.

My chams will not touch silkies at all no matter what. They will take to the hornworms every once in a while but other then that nothing else will work. My 2 chams now are basically cricket eaters and when it comes to anything that wriggles around forget it. For many they do not run into this issue but so far there is nothing I have done that has snapped them out of this at all. In another regard I am lucky in that they will eat crickets as many others will not touch them. Make sure that the size of the silkie is not huge either...he may start eating them if they are small and will work his way up. I noticed this with hornworms in when they get to big my chams will run away.

 

[ayiaskepi]

Thank you.

I am more than aware that chams are more of a "look but don't touch" animal. If I wanted something to pet I would just spend more time with my bulldog.

However, as mentioned in the last post , at some time I will have to handle him. I already have had to move him from one enclosure to another. I just want some advice on helping him to CHILL OUT!!

Thanks again. This forum is great!

 

[ayiaskepi]

You know I forgot to suggest...

Maybe the addition of the killer silkies aggravated him a bit today, leading to him being more apt to take a chunk off of me. Also, he shed today. This could have added to the attitude as well. At least that has been my experience with other herps, including another panther cham. WHat do you think?

 

[ThisNewCham]

I've had my cham for 2 weeks and have not been able to handle him yet

He's shedding so whenever i come in he hides, but before that he used to puff up and hiss and me, which is scary haha

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

I believe that the look and don't touch mantra came from when ALL
the chameleons in the country came from the wild.

Ok here's the chams mindset:
When he was first put into the cage he was in unknown territory.
He was timid
After the first week, He's established that "this space is mine.. not yours"
when you reach in he's going defensive to protect "his" territory from you.
This is normal.

where this crosses the line in my book is when he continues
to be "aggressive" after you take him out of the cage.
Generally, they chill out as they get older... but not always -especially if they're not handled.

Even some of my "tame" adults still give me a fluff and threat posture
to ket me know that I'm reaching into their space.... but that's it.
outside of the cage... they're great.
I would establish that you're not a threat nor frightened of him.
get some gardening gloves (cheap).
approach your guy slowly inside his cage.
approach him from below his eyelevel (important - danger comes from above)

stop moving your hand for 30 seconds or so about 10 inches away from him.
from
if they bite you... no problem.
let them figure out that it's useless... when they stop to rethink their methods
place one hand in front of him below his chin
with the other hand you can "motivate" him to walk onto your first hand
then gently remove him from his cage.

the idea is to have him walk onto you and not you grabbing him.
once out of his territory he should adjust his attitude unless you have someone
that IS scared of you and thinks you're a threat.

then it's a matter of working with him until he leans that you're OK
that may take a few weeks of handling.

the upside is that after all of this you'll have a chameleon that won't react to you watching him
and you'll have a great deal of pleasure watching him and relating to him
as he goes about following his interests outside of the cage.
I let mine out all the time and it's great to watch them roam around the house.

I'm of the opinion that it's best to teach your pet not to be afraid
It'll be lower stress for the animal if they don't freak out defensively
every time you walk by the cage.

hope that this helps

 

[Scott85]

I'd give him a while to adjust to his new surroundings and care taker (giant scary monster). You said that he has only been with you for a week. In that week he has had to get used to you, the silkworms, two new enclosures, and now hes shedding. Give the lil guy some time and see. Although it is possible hes just one of the guys with attitude, just makes things a lil more interesting. Best of luck with him.

Kids in madagascar pick up wild parsons on sticks to make a few bucks from tourists who want pictures. Maybe you could try that if he has to be moved, just coax the stick under him instead of your hand. Just a thought, all my chams have been very chilled out.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

i agree with jewled .. give him some time and take baby steps he'll adjust.. veileds are a hell of a lot more agressive then panthers for whatever thats worth.. although the first veiled i ever owned jade(Rip) was a sweetheart.. unfortunatley a colony of ants found a way into her cage while i was at work.. when i got home it was to late...i hate ants...

 

[ayiaskepi]

Wow,

I woke up today to all this great info!!

I think what "jeweled" said really hit the nail on the head. I have tried the glove thing and the stick thing. He reacts the same to both. So would I, honestly! I am going to take my time and wait and see. The breeder is really willing to work with me beyond what I ever would have imagined, so I am not worried about it. The cham actually let me touch his front legs with my bare hand today (before flipping out), so this is a plus. "Jeweled": what book are you referring to? There is a book "jewels of nature" or something similar which I have been trying to get, but it seems to be out of print and the used copies I find seem to be in bad shape. Is this the book you worte?? If so, is it still available?

Anyway, I will give updates soon (along with pics ~ he is an awesome looking cham).

Thank you all for the info.

 

[ayiaskepi]

update and pics!!

O.k.

I was able to get him on my hand...

After he ran away from me and jumped out of his cage!!!!! He fell onto the ground! He seems fine. He just took off away from me!!! Once I got him, he was fine. I think it will take time. He did good for today. I am going to let him be until tomorrow.

Just in the case that he did hurt himself from the fall (I do not think he did) what would I look for??

 

[Mintglow]

sorry to hear that he fell! look for jerky movements, swollen areas, or any joint that he may seem to be favouring. i'm sure he's okay- chameleons tend to puff themselves up when they fall so they don't get too hurt. mine took a bad fall once and was a little sore for about a week, but fine after. they're pretty resilient that way.

all the advice everyone has given you is great. they definitely go through a VERY aggressive stage shortly after they stake out their cage as their territory, but after that they will usually simmer down enough to tolerate being handled if they need to be (i.e. to move to another enclosure.) just be patient and soon your little guy should learn that you mean him no harm.