Just got a baby veiled and her biting has become increasingly worse, what do I do?!

[alexyboo909]

Hi all, I'm new to reptiles in general and I just recently got a new baby veiled her names Po. Po didn't use to have this issue.. getting her out of the cage at the store was never a problem but once I got her into her new home she started biting when I went to pick her up now everytime I even reach anywhere near her she strikes at me. Once I get her out of the cage however she turns bright green and calms down almost immediately. I was just wondering if there was anyway I could make her more comfortable with me? I really don't want her to grow up doing this. biting me when she's bigger might actually hurt. Oh and I've introduced her to teeny super worms, they wriggle all over the place but she's totally uninterested. anything I can do to spark her interest? ... because catching worms is alot easier then catching little crickets.

 

[danibug23]

Welcome to the wonderful world of owning chameleons and them trying to kill you its in their nature I mean you can try hand feeding to her she might get used to but almost everyone's chameleons want to kill them your not the only one I have two that hate when I just walk near the cage they are cage territorial they love their home. How old is she?? With the worms give it time if were you got her from never gave them to her she might be unsure what it is and its new to her but welcome to the forums if you have any other questions just let us know we will be glad to help you

 

[ncrippen]

Biting baby

Yes, I agree with dani. Yes, some of my veiled would kill me if they could. Some of mine are sweet as pie and love to be taken out of their home. In my experence, she may never be cool with you in her house. You can just hold your hand next to her and let her try to bite you. Let her try to hurt you and don't react at all. Make her think you will not back down to her. She will stop. Take her out...relax with her. Do that everytime you open her house. And yes, try to hand feed her that may also help.

Good luck

 

[Kitro]

Hi all, I'm new to reptiles in general and I just recently got a new baby veiled her names Po. Po didn't use to have this issue.. getting her out of the cage at the store was never a problem but once I got her into her new home she started biting when I went to pick her up now everytime I even reach anywhere near her she strikes at me. Once I get her out of the cage however she turns bright green and calms down almost immediately. I was just wondering if there was anyway I could make her more comfortable with me? I really don't want her to grow up doing this. biting me when she's bigger might actually hurt. Oh and I've introduced her to teeny super worms, they wriggle all over the place but she's totally uninterested. anything I can do to spark her interest? ... because catching worms is alot easier then catching little crickets.

Try using a stick ou perch to get her from the cage, it's something they are used to. Then once on the branch easily and slowly place your hand out and left her walk on. Your hand is a foreign thing to her for now. The worms maybe too small or big, try different sizes. She'll eat em when she gets hungry enough. If not try silks, crickets or dubia's all are a great staple and one she will probaly like a lot.

 

[Pilotman800]

Welcome! You've come to the right place. There are a lot of helpful users and information here.

As for your baby, sorry she is doing that. What you can do to try and make her more tolerant of you is:

Hand feeding
Cup feeding (Putting the food in a cup and letting her eat it)
Free ranging (Letting her roam outside her cage)
And most importantly, interaction.

However, keep in mind that even when doing everything I recommended, it is possible she will never become tolerant of you. In general, chameleons do not like to be touched or handled.

Since you have a female, you have to worry about egg laying. I am going to attach JannBs blog about that for you. You need to have a laying bin setup. Chameleons can and will form eggs without even being mated. If you do not setup a laying bim, she will become eggbound and die.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[alexyboo909]

Thanks guys! yeah I figured I'd just keep at it so she'd maybe get used to me. I'm not sure how old she is but her body is just about 3 inches long if that helps indicate age at all. I'll definitely handle the sand stuff for her soon though. I'll start taking her out more then twice a day so she can roam and hopefully get used to me.

 

[lanlord510]

Another HUGE great thing to do is do not have your finger spread open when sticking your hand in the cage. Keep your hand Flat and fingers close together like an open palm asking for money. My Male Veiled only gets angry and snappy if you fist in or have your hand open like you are going to grab him around the body. let them come to you with an open plam. Mine comes to me every time when I do slow open palm into his home.

 

[lindseymeder16]

How long have you had her for? If not to long then you should let her get use to her cage without bothering her. Also, handleing her twice or more than twice a day will most likely stress her out. Just let her be for a while

 

[alexyboo909]

I got her last week so yeah I'll just let her hang out in there for a few days before going in for her again. but yeah she'll usually walk onto a rag or a branch if I put it near her.

 

[gerrod85]

I have the same issue. My cham does not like to be handled. I'm working on it though. I've found that feeding by hand seems to help, when when you can get them to take the food from you.

 

[mbprime]

Wiz has the same problem, he was wonderful at the store and the second we put him in his mini condo without any other chams he just got territorial and didnt want us in his cage. I was looking at pics when I first got him and remember I wasnt a fan, he's about 3 times as large now but has gotten less feisty. When Im in the room with him I will keep his screen door open so every time I open his cage he wont freak out, I just leave it open and he chills. I've also been feeding him wax worms by hand, which I know are snacks, he loves them and I trick him onto my hand a bit.

Lately, he has been exploring though and has come out of his cage when I leave it open, but once he is out, he walks right onto my hand. Today was a good day too, I offered him some cantelope, he at first feared it and then ran over and ate a piece. Afterwards he walked onto my hand, so hopefully he is getting better.

And like others said, hopefully soon too will Po be better. She is just freaking out a lil, she has been in that cage her whole life and now is in a totally alien world. Just keep taking her out and let her know who is boss. I'd rather one bit me thats the size of yours and not some of the gigantic ones that some have on here.

 

[PaulTB]

Thats how my new chameleon started acting, in my personal opinion when you reach for her do you reach for her fast? Because if you do they most likely think your a predator i would slowly move your hand towards her she might not puff up and get angry ive had pretty good success with doing this myself try that it might work but its not 100% positive cause like i said mine was doing that at first then i tried to slowly move my hand over to him and put my finger under his belly right down the middle of his boddy so his front legs would grab my finger then the back legs would to and it worked XD

 

[alexyboo909]

I've definitely got a method to getting her now. I took the advice on here and just reach in with a flat pom and of course I go in slow haha. She's just rude.
I have tried to hand feed her but she is always too focused on trying to kill me rather then the worm wriggling all over the place. she eventually walks onto my hand but some times it takes a bit. I've been leaving her door open too when I'm in the room with her. she gets a little close but seems fairly uninterested in coming out for the most part.

 

[mbprime]

Its only been a week, I've had Wiz for two months. I would just give it a bit more time and practice. He is finally not trying to kill me the last week or two.

And I am sure that once she has had a worm, she will come out for it. I would honestly try some wax worms, I know that people dont recommend them cause they are pretty much candy for chameleons. But in a small amount they are great for trying to get them out. Mine has about 2-4 a week where I use it to get him to come onto my hand and eat.

 

[ChameleonNerd]

i don't know if it has been said, but when my girl was little, i would put a superworm in a clear dish, and lure her to the edge of her cage, then slowly put my hand in front of her so that she can use it as a bridge to get closer to the worm. works every time for me.

 

[alexyboo909]

I'll keep trying with the worms but idk she knows my hand and when it comes anywhere near her she acts like the devil. yesterday I took her out and she usually calms down but this time she didn't. she wouldn't even go near my open palm... then she did and she just sat there biting my fingers for 10 minutes. so I didn't move I just let her do it maybe to show the devil hand wasn't gonna budge. I do all the right things, I move slowly , I use a flat open palm and dont grab at her. Po's just a brat.

 

[sandrachameleon]

she clearly doesnt want to be handled.

 

[Leon911]

Sometimes when my chameleon is in an exploring mood he will crawl along the bottom of the cage. I'll open it up and he will crawl onto my arm, but if I ever try to pick him up out of the cage he will get super pissed, blow up and hiss at me. He's pretty big so I don't want to anger him. So I only handle him when he wants.

 

[alexyboo909]

obviously I see she doesn't want to be handled. But people said repetition was the best way for her to get used to it and so far it's working.

 

[lindawaz]

Chams are like barn cats- sometimes you can touch one but most of the time you will not hold and cuddle one