light handling?

[transdel]

I have a male veiled chameleon who's about 5 months old and is beginning to be very aggressive. I'm not interested in handling him for fun because i don't want to cause any unecessary stress, but i will need to take him to the vet occasionally, clean his cage, and other things. anybody have any advise for handling an aggressive adolescent chameleon? Good ways to get them to warm up to you? any help would be appreciated

 

[carol5208]

try hand feeding him to let him know you are there to give him something he likes and he can get used to your hand at the same time. Also try letting him crawl out of the cage on his own terms. Put a large plant outside the cage door and see if he will crawl on it and then try seeing if you can get him to crawl on your hand. Approach him slowly from under the chin, never from behind or over their back. Alot of chams are more mellow when they are out of their cages. Some are more territorial when they are inside their cage. Some will take to you and some never will! It is kinda luck of the draw.

 

[transdel]

ya i've been feeding him crickets and small pieces of collard greens out of my hands for months, but he never fails to flare up, gape, and hiss at me everyday haha. but thanks for the advise i'll have to give it a try

 

[Jamelon]

Ive got my cham to cup feed with me holding the cup. She knows its feeding time when im holding the cup so she runs to the front of the cage. i usually just hold the cup and she goes to town, but ive actually started holding the cup farther away and i put my hand there, and she climbs onto my hand with her tail curled around a vine. First it was just her front two feet, then it was all of them and today she wasnt hanging on with her tail as tight so i just lifted her up after she was done feeding. She didnt really like that much she half puffed up, but then i let her go back into the cage. Taking it slow lol hopefully she will get used to me and just climb onto my hand when its there. But enticing them with food is the best way to go

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Mine hates anything not normally part of his cage. He absolutely detests me, even though I never handle him and I gave him way better conditions than his previous owner. Doesn't matter how many times I offer him food. Ungrateful reptile. Anyway, I just grap him quickly, but gently so he doesn't struggle to get away. The stuggling can be more stressful than actually handling in my opinion. Then I do whatever I need to and put him back asap. When you have him out try not to move him around to much or hold him away from you too much - makes them feel vulnerable and exposed. He'll live if you minimize the times you have to handle him. I only get him out to weigh him or deworm him when he had parasites.