Need help. Mean cham. Mom wants her gone...

[mychamtini112012]

I think some people have the wrong idea here. My goal is not for her to run to the cage and climb all over when she sees me. I got a chameleon and new that wouldn't happen. I just need ideas to get her to not get so stressed when I have to be in her cage. I'll try what you guys said though.

 

[EvilLost]

Okay...here's the thing. Some cham owners believe that you can train your cham to get used to being handled while others believe that whatever their personality is, it just is. I really don't know if either way is right or wrong and I have no intentions of disputing one or the other. All you can do is try. I tend to go with the latter. I have some that are just plain cranky while others are super friendly. They all have the same cage setup, same plants, low traffic areas, same everything. Sometimes the glove method works. Sometimes the plant or stick for them to crawl out on their own works. Sometimes the way you present your hand works. I'm sure this doesn't help at deciding how to deal with her.Sorry!LOL Just try them all and go from there.

A HUGE HUGE HUGE part of this is the fact that (in my experiences) 99.9999999% of people do not understand animal behavior/psychology and "common sense" is often wrong in this area


any animals personality is a derivation of its past history (much like us, but on a simpler basis). there can be thousands of subtle things that we are entirely unable to notice that make drastic differences in their views.

Same everything as you say to us...does not mean same everything to them. That is also only accounting for the present; the majority of a creature's persona is developed from its past.

 

[mychamtini112012]

A HUGE HUGE HUGE part of this is the fact that (in my experiences) 99.9999999% of people do not understand animal behavior/psychology and "common sense" is often wrong in this area


any animals personality is a derivation of its past history (much like us, but on a simpler basis). there can be thousands of subtle things that we are entirely unable to notice that make drastic differences in their views.

Same everything as you say to us...does not mean same everything to them. That is also only accounting for the present; the majority of a creature's persona is developed from its past.

So is it something I could of done or have I not given her enough time.? The owner before said she was nice.

 

[patrickfraser]

Maybe the previous owner wasn't telling the truth, if she's always been this way. It's easier to sell a nice animal than a mean one. Maybe it's the way she was raised. I know a lot of older people that carry around all that adolescent baggage their entire lives.

 

[Elizadolots]

Can we see pictures of the enclosures? Also, why do you need to open the cage to mist her?

I don't handle my chameleons. One of them does hiss at me if I have to take him out of the cage. However, when I go in to clean they just move away from me. Same when I open the cage to put feeders in. I don't open the cage to mist.

So, I'm trying to figure out why you are having such a different experience.

 

[mychamtini112012]

I'll have to take pictures tomorrow. She's asleep right now. I might be able to find pictures when I first put her in it though...I open the cage to mist her because if I don't it seems to mostly run down the sides and on the stand. I could always stop opening it if that would make it better for her.

I don't handle her either, and don't plan on handling her. She's flares up when I get close to her cage, and if she happens to be by the cup or the area I'm cleaning she will hill, gape, or lunge before moving away.

 

[K9Luvn]

I have found that my hand mister will not go through the cage well.. but I can put my pressure sprayer against the screen and it will spray though like rain drops. Could that be an option for you?

 

[mychamtini112012]

Here's her cage. Sorry it's horizontal. It wasn't fitting in the shot very well.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Pressure sprayer.? Where could I get one of those and what do they look like.?

 

[K9Luvn]

The sprayer I have is like this. http://www.amazon.com/Roundup-190260-2-Gallon-Premium-3-Nozzle/dp/B002YNSAKI

I warm the water up and give them a morning shower with this. I pump up the pressure and then press the tip against the screen and it sprays through.

 

[Mredhorse]

lol This is such a great thread-----Personally I thought you were going to get ride of her because of her aggressive behavior (your mom did not like).. Just remember, everytime you back away from her behavior, she is training you to stay away. This is the difference between learned behavior, which she is doing from your behavior, and natural instict which she is born with and we are not. It is great your working with the issue, many people just pass the critter on to someone else to deal with it. Good Job!

 

[mychamtini112012]

Oh okay. Does my enclosure look okay.?

And I'm going to be ordering some more feeders soon, including silkworms and horn worms, and see if she'll hand feed with those.

 

[Mredhorse]

Your set-up looks great. Just so you know (which you probably already do) veiled like to eat leaves. Even though it is not recommended, I use regular lettuce and cut it into small pieces and put out to dry for 20 minutes, then I place the cutting into water with vitamins and calcium (just enough to cover leaves, not super wet). The way plants are, they have tubes running throught the leaves and can rehydrate with all these goodies inside. Others might not like this but the three veileds I have eat 1/2 head of lettuce, over 1,000 cricket, 100 superworms, 50 waxworms. Each month, they are piggies.
Treats are the hornworms, silkworms and adult praying mantis. Just putting it out there.

 

[mychamtini112012]

I haven't figured out a way to get her to eat any fruit or vegetables of any kind. And I'm getting tons of different feeders just to vary her diet. The worms won't be a staple, they will just be in there to make it to where she's just not eating crickets.

 

[Elizadolots]

If it were me, I'd give her more places to hide up in the higher realms. Maybe you could hang a small pothos from the top? I think it's possible you're getting hissed at because she doesn't have a place she feels she can safely hide from you.

That sprayer is the same one I have. It's great. I do a general spray on the sides, then concentrate on the top. I try to get the ceiling dripping down onto the leaves.

Not all are leaf chompers, but many are, even ones that aren't veileds. Both of mine eat the pothos leaves and neither is a veiled. The thing to do is bundle up a couple of leaves and clip them to a vine or the side of the enclosure where it's easily accessible. Then go away!!!

You're putting in a lot of effort here. I'm happy to see that.

 

[mychamtini112012]

How can I hang a pothos plant from the top.? Like hook it to the screening.? I was looking for more plants...but winter time in Illinois makes it almost impossible to find a good plant for her. Are there any really common plants I'd be able to find outside of an actual nursery.?

Okay. I'll get one of those soon.

Tini eats leafs, so I'll start clipping them to vines and hope she eats them.

I'm just trying to make her life as happy as can be, and not so stressful. It upsets me to see her so stressed.

 

[Elizadolots]

Yes, you can just hook it to the screening on the top. I know you're in a bad place for plants at the moment. I don't know what to offer you on that.

Pothos plants are extremely common. I bought the ones I have in my cages at a little produce market in my neighborhood. You can find them at WalMart and Home Depot.

Just concentrate on making it so she can pretend you don't exist....that will make her happy. At least, mine seem to thrive when I try to be invisible.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Okay. I think our local store has some small pothos plants. I can hang a couple of those in there. I'll find a good plant list and see what else I can get for her. I'm gonna try and find a bigger plant/tree as well so she can climb out of her cage and onto that while I watch her. Hopefully that will make her happier as well.

 

[Elizadolots]

Here's a link to the Florida Chameleon's Safe Plant List.

It's a great resource.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Oh wow. Thank you.

Do you know if orchids are okay for them to be with.? I saw someone who had orchids in the pic with their cham, but didn't know if they actually kept the plant in the cage...