My new jacksons don't like me

psalm148

New Member
I have my first two new jacksons
( i am not sure about their age) 6-7 inches long.

I've got them 2 weeks ago and they are doing everything fine

except, female hates me going near to her.

I am having them in two separate screen cages and

both of them REALLY HATE me handling them so I am not doing it

however I just want to know whether it's normal to be like that.

Female turns to dark colour when I look at her

and she has this hiding place behind the leaves where

she hides every time she finds me.

if i don't move or stay far, she eats fine, going up and down climbing the cage.


Is this normal?

Will she change? Do you think I can ever try like hand feeding?

Male seems like he doesn't mind if I look at him or go near

but he just does not like me handling him.

so... what do you think?


Thank you for reading this :)
 
Can they see each other? That can make them both uneasy. If so, put a sheet or plastic between them or move them further apart if you can.

I got my Jackson's a few months ago, and it took him quite a while to really get settled in and comfortable with his new routine. Give them some time to get their new territories established and to get accustomed to you and their new homes.

He is fearless and friendly, but I always let him engage me entirely on his terms. That means he gets to free-range or crawl on me when he wants out, not when I want to play with him. He definitely has a "play/explore" mood and a "leave me the hell alone" mood. I try to respect that. I never grab him or forcibly pick him up. I let him crawl onto my hands on his schedule, which means holding very still while he sloooooooowly makes up his mind what to do.

You might try hand feeding them treats like superworms or something else tasty that they don't get every day. You want them to equate you with food and other nice things, and I think hand-feeding helps establish trust. I also sit very quietly but close-by while my cham explores - he has a circuit around the living room he likes to travel. I put a vine going from his open door to the floor and let him come out on his own. I have found that when he gets regular free-range time, he is much more outgoing and engaging.

Best of luck and just be patient. If you are chill and kind, they should begin to trust you more over time. Unless your chams are just jerks which does happen :) There are a lot of folks on the forums who have been through this exact same situation, so do some digging with the search feature and you will likely come across tons of good advice.

Also: Congrats! Jackson's are the coolest chameleons (let the wars begin :D).
 
my Jackson male hates me. i cup fed him one time. i thought he was finally trusting me well that my first and last time lol
 
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