new veiled attitude?

[chastity]

so we brought home a veiled about 4 days ago and he's been eating well and seems to be pretty happy lately. my only problem is today when i reached into his cage to feed him crickets he puffed up, hissed, and then tried to bite and walked off. o.o i wasn't even close enough to be in range of a bite. i'm not sure what it was about? is this normal for a young chameleon? i'll include pictures of him.

 

[chefboyardee]

sounds like a territorial display, some chams are a bit more touchy about things than others.

Give him some more time to warm up to you and the general surroundings. In my experience they're a lot "friendlier" (in terms of coloration and attitude) when outside or on a free range. The panther I have is a total jerk inside his enclosure, but taking him out of "his spot" and he levels out really quick

 

[AwpsAhoy]

I agree with chef, give him some time to warm up to his surroundings. Take the handling slow and easy and try not to stress him about it. My veiled hisses and snaps at me on occasion when I reach for him, but as soon as he is out he is very relaxed . The bite wont hurt now, but from what I have heard its bad to pull your hand away as it encourages bad behavior? I usually leave my veiled's screen open for a minute to let him know its time to come out. Once he associates you with freedom he should be more willing to come out.

 

[Oliviabryant]

Veileds are very finicky with fast movements - as are most chameleons. The best way to go about it is leave the door open and sit in front of it. Being lower than your chameleon will show submission and he will not feel territorial. Waiting will give him time to feel out the situation and not get upset. Once he has decided to come closer to the door slowly move your hand up to it while sitting down and if he stops, etc. just stay still and let him continue to feel the situation out. If he decides to go back inside and hide then walk away and sit across the room while you do something like watch tv or play on a computer. Some times they feel more comfortable when you are not watching them. Once he has ventured outside pick him up by keeping your hand flat and always at the height of his feet. Slowly start to scoot your hand under him 1/3 of the way and let go the other 2/3rds of the way. Make this a daily routine and you shouldn't have issues when he's older.

 

[Shaunny]

i have noticed that mine is grumpy as when inside but when i had him out yesterday for cleaning and mods on the viv he was fine. he was out for about 4 hours in the sun loving it and eating butterflies. He even took a few worms from my hand which he never does, only tongs.

 

[CLP]

They are also known to not like certain colors. Mine all HATE pinks and reds. But blues, greens and yellows are fine . But they are a territorial species as well so it could be any of those things.

 

[Oliviabryant]

i have noticed that mine is grumpy as when inside but when i had him out yesterday for cleaning and mods on the viv he was fine. he was out for about 4 hours in the sun loving it and eating butterflies. He even took a few worms from my hand which he never does, only tongs.

That because they are territorial. Their enclosure is their territory and they don't want you in it. But once they are out they are friendly and sweet

 

[sfv89]

Veileds are very finicky with fast movements - as are most chameleons. The best way to go about it is leave the door open and sit in front of it. Being lower than your chameleon will show submission and he will not feel territorial. Waiting will give him time to feel out the situation and not get upset. Once he has decided to come closer to the door slowly move your hand up to it while sitting down and if he stops, etc. just stay still and let him continue to feel the situation out. If he decides to go back inside and hide then walk away and sit across the room while you do something like watch tv or play on a computer. Some times they feel more comfortable when you are not watching them. Once he has ventured outside pick him up by keeping your hand flat and always at the height of his feet. Slowly start to scoot your hand under him 1/3 of the way and let go the other 2/3rds of the way. Make this a daily routine and you shouldn't have issues when he's older.

This is actually some great advice! It sounds more like a technique haha i'll try it this way!

 

[Oliviabryant]

Doing this made my guys extremely friendly. People are blown back by how docile and sweet my veiled is. He has the temperament of a panther

 

[Psychobunny]

You must be handling your veiled nearly daily for him to get that friendly.
You bring up a good point that is often overlooked also;
A cham is much more likely to willingly climb on you if you show submission
and allow them to be higher up, so they are looking down to make eye contact with you.

That's why you want to have their cage elevated off the floor a few feet.

They also dont seem to like being stared at!!

 

[chastity]

thanks for the idea guys! i'm still leaving him alone to let him adjust. he eats more than i expected but still shys away when i open the door. sometimes he just turns himself so he's behind his branch and pretends i can't see him. haha. he's got a lot of personality for a little guy.

 

[Shaunny]

Well I have had mine for nearly 5 weeks and he is nearly 4 months old and he still does exactly that. I am leaving the viv open more and more each day and he seems to be coming round and a lot more interested in what's going on instead of hiding when I go close. It's just time

 

[Oliviabryant]

You must be handling your veiled nearly daily for him to get that friendly.
You bring up a good point that is often overlooked also;
A cham is much more likely to willingly climb on you if you show submission
and allow them to be higher up, so they are looking down to make eye contact with you.

That's why you want to have their cage elevated off the floor a few feet.

They also dont seem to like being stared at!!

Agreed!
Yes I do handle them daily, I open their doors and they will come to me all by themselves. If they don't ill just leave it open for them to roam out. They usually make their way over to me though.