Mean veiled :(

JackAttack

New Member
well, it finally happened. we have the meanest cham ive ever seen................we've owned three chams in our lives ; two male veileds and a male panther.............and now we have another male veiled, Bruce. HE HATES US. like a lot. he is so young, and scared of EVERYTHING, not anything like what we've experienced with any of our other chams. they have all been very curious, all the veileds have had attitudes of course, but not like this, which makes me wonder if everything is ok..................

he is quite small, but a very beautiful cham. for his size and age, he has AMAZING coloring, tonnes of yellow and lots of spots, but i think we see those colors too often, and i am worried about him stressing himself, literally to death.

he doesnt drink, anything. not from the dripper, not from the leaves, and DEFINATELY not from a hand dropper. he quite literally tries to kill anything that comes into his cage, including my hands. it seems as though he is constantly on guard, and stressed. maybe it is just me, having been lucky with chams, but maybe its him. he is unusually angry about things, or maybe he is scared about things, its hard to tell, either way he is super stressed and hates everything about me :( i cant even put my hand in to change the water from his dripper without him shaking around standing on two feet and lunging at me. he has already bit me, and he's 3/4 months old at best..........

so the question is ( sorry for rambling) is this abnormal for such a young cham? he came from a pet store ( i couldnt stand walking out of that place without rescuing at least one from such crappy conditions) he was in a tank with literally about 25 other chams his age, just trampling all over eachother. he doesnt even relax once we manage to get him out of the cage (on rare occasions), it feels like at any point he could just look at the hand he is standing on and eat it for dinner.................just seems unusually stressed to me..........................any thoughts would be wonderful, thanks a bunch guys :)

here is a link to another post i have going about him, it has a pic for reference.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/new-veiled-advice-please-31491/
 
Wow thats crazy...I had a veiled years ago and when he started to mature he would get pissy but I think thats common. He never really opened his mouth unless you went directly for him (overhand). My panther is only 3 months old but he's not pissy at all...Yes he tries to run from my hand cuz he thinks I'm goign to eat him, but once he's out, hes relaxed and chill.
 
Within a certain range of behaviour, each chameleon has its own temperment...just like humans and other creatures on this earth. Some will tolerate handling/interaction and some never will.

I had one that would pursue me across the cage, down the branches, etc. and never let up his attack....but he was one of the best and most gentle breeders I ever had! I had another one who willingly came out on my hand...but never bred a female in the whole 8 years I had him!
 
so thats it then...........he could just be this mean forever? it just seems almost sad to see him, he's constantly on edge, even when the cage is closed, like he's always looking out for something :(
 
Try covering one side and most of the front of the cage, add more foliage, let him settle in, dont let him see you too much or at all if possible, espcecilly if you're moving. then over the course of weeks, very very very slowly uncover and let him see you sitting still at a distance, then the next day a little tiny bit closer still being very still, etc. he may eventually learn not to fear you quite as much, and may begin to associate you with food (do you use a feeding cup?)
 
man i hope my little guy never gets that mean. Sucks you have a fiesty one i hope he comes around
 
Try covering one side and most of the front of the cage, add more foliage, let him settle in, dont let him see you too much or at all if possible, espcecilly if you're moving. then over the course of weeks, very very very slowly uncover and let him see you sitting still at a distance, then the next day a little tiny bit closer still being very still, etc. he may eventually learn not to fear you quite as much, and may begin to associate you with food (do you use a feeding cup?)

yes we are using a feeding cup, its the only time he willingly comes anywhere near us, and even then, if he sees a finger near the cup, he either tries to bite it, or runs away and forgets about the crickets................i am going to try your approach though, over the next few weeks, because what we've been doing obviously isnt working. going to try and make him realize that hands are gentle and for feeding...........not for scaring him and making him stressed...........such a strange thing for us to have to go through! totally new territory here...........
 
I have a mean veiled. I also have a nice one. I think it is the luck of the draw. If he is mean, give him space. If he is friendly... don't push your luck. They are animals after all.
 
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