mad chameleon

[zeechiller]

Zee got mad at me. I did not take him out of his cage yesterday like I usually do to feed him. He has a bowl for crickets now in his cage. So when I went to get him out today to give him some silk worms he puffed up and hissed at me. No more squeak hiss for him either (sob), he is growing so fast. He is 7 months now. He is about 5 3/4" long now and as wide as my index finger (1/2"). He hasn't done his monthly shed yet, he is due soon. When he puffs up though he does get about 3/4" thick. I know some veiled don't like interaction, but apparently he likes some. He did forgive me after he saw the worms. Lesson learned for me.

 

[Miss Lily]

Hehe! Bless him! They all have such different characters! Amy hissed at me the other day too - I had put her on the sofa to take photos and she kept trying to reach out and grab me to climb back up my arm. She got frustrated as she couldn't reach, so she sat there, opened her mouth and hissed at me! Lol, it was so funny!

 

[cushcameleon]

So when I went to get him out today to give him some silk worms he puffed up and hissed at me. I know some veiled don't like interaction, but apparently he likes some.

What makes you think he enjoys handling/"interaction"? He is puffing up and hissing in order to defend himself and therefore perceives you to be a threat, which in turn causes stress. Chameleons that tolerate human interaction, will not perceive us as threats and therefore will not hiss or puff-up. In fact, a "friendly" chameleon will walk right onto your hand. From what it seems, your chameleon does not like human interaction and his aggressive behaviors may increase as he becomes older. Why are you taking him out of his cage for every feeding?

 

[zeechiller]

i take him out to hand feed him his silk worms (he only eats them off my hand), and when I took him out today he did not hiss or puff up. i had to take him out of his cage before we put his cricket bowl in because he was so small and would not have found his food.

 

[RSGriff]

Mine liked me until his 7 month shed. Then instantly he became an A-hole.

 

[zeechiller]

i also figured out that if he doesn't see me when I get him out right away or even the stick i use sometimes he gets defensive. he tried to atack the stick today. i used it because he was hiding and i could not reach him. now he is happily crawling on my arm and shirt. that's there are no caps while i am typing this, way too hard to do.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Mine liked me until his 7 month shed. Then instantly he became an A-hole.

MIne has always hated me! I have had him for about 8 months, do all his feeding and misting etc, yet he still hates me!!

 

[jake01]

My cham tolerates being handled if I bribe him onto his feeder cup with a cricket. Reaching for him never works, he used to freeze and let me put my hand under him, but now he's realized he can easily evade me.