Opinions on "taming" your chams

[ColeCham333]

I know there is no such way to expect a chameleon to ever be "tame" but I have seen many opinions on how to do this, and I was wondering what you guys thoughts are. There is a YouTuber by the name of "cavetown" who has a VERY friendly chameleon. He loves crawling around all over the guy, and he says he tamed him by handling him every single day since he purchased the Cham as a baby. Then I see other people all say that you shouldn't hold them a lot, respect their boundaries, and leave them alone. Which way is better? I just want to be able to have the guy play around comfortably on his free range, and be able to take him outside without getting angry. He's only 5 months old and a panther cham, so I know this will come with time. I already have him hand feeding everyday, but when I take him out to check up on him, he does get mad and puff up. So what are your thoughts on this? Should chameleon owners go the route of constantly holding them every single day, or should we respect their boundaries and let things happen on their terms? Constantly holding them seems to have success, but I'll leave the answers to you guys in the reply section.

 

[nightanole]

respect their boundaries

Dont pick up the cham if its in "its" tree. Thats its room and as a parent you shouldnt go in unless its necessary. That goes for putting the hand in as well, even if its for cleaning or feeding.

You can handle daily, if they come out on their own.

You may find the cham will learn from trial and error, that the "hand" means free rides to other plants in the house and sunny places.

"The hand" can also be the only place they can get certain bugs (or fruit treats if a veiled).

Mine free ranges but has "his spot". If hes in his spot he doesnt get bothered. If hes roaming around, its easy to pick him up and put him back into his spot at the end of the day. I can even have other people handle him if he is out and about. But if hes in his spot, its his alone time.

 

[ColeCham333]

Dont pick up the cham if its in "its" tree. Thats its room and as a parent you shouldnt go in unless its necessary. That goes for putting the hand in as well, even if its for cleaning or feeding.

You can handle daily, if they come out on their own.

You may find the cham will learn from trial and error, that the "hand" means free rides to other plants in the house and sunny places.

"The hand" can also be the only place they can get certain bugs (or fruit treats if a veiled).

Mine free ranges but has "his spot". If hes in his spot he doesnt get bothered. If hes roaming around, its easy to pick him up and put him back into his spot at the end of the day. I can even have other people handle him if he is out and about. But if hes in his spot, its his alone time.

So I can still handle daily, even if he gets puffed up and angry when he is in my hand? I don't want too many negative experiences for him

 

[Crashbandit05]

As mentioned above, my chameleon has a spot where I know he won't move or doesn't want to come out unless provoked, which at that point he usually heads towards the back of the enclosure. It seems to be after a certain time in the day too.

After my chameleon got used to my presence (about 2 months), I started offering food in the palm of my hand. Took several attempts and a few numb arms, but he eventually came around. Now, I can pretty much hand feed any feeder and he will take it with ease. Patience and slow movements helped tremendously in my opinion.
*Edit* If he does 'fire up' or show body language that he doesn't want to be messed with, then I respect his space.

 

[broderp]

I believe Chams like all animals are very instinctive in their behavior. If you have a Cham from day one/ hatching and you handle it often, then it knows nothing else. These animals may appear to love being handled. Most breeders or sellers due to the number of animals in their care do not have the time to handle every single animal extensively. These animals learn to be secluded and not be around humans. This is their normal instinct. So these Chams when they get to their final home, need to be "trained" or "tamed" and these are the ones that need to their space and are more likely to not want interaction. I feel there are exceptions to this but it makes sense to me. This is all my opinion of course, so bear that in mind.

 

[nightanole]

So I can still handle daily, even if he gets puffed up and angry when he is in my hand? I don't want too many negative experiences for him

Most chams have a "tail gauge". if the tail is unfurled and being used for balance, you are good. As the stress increases it will start to curl up. By the time the poofing starts the tail will be fully coiled.

 

[Remkon]

Most chams have a "tail gauge". if the tail is unfurled and being used for balance, you are good. As the stress increases it will start to curl up. By the time the poofing starts the tail will be fully coiled.

I'm not sure how reliable this 'tail gauge' is ...
I think their tail is just a 5th limb, in relaxed state it's curled because keeping stuff compact has less chance of getting damaged or getting grabbed by a predator, it also helps retain heat.
When they are puffing they are either being aggressive or defensive and trying to look as big as possible has the best chance of scarring of their opponent off. So there is a possibility that curling their could also help in doing that, it could also mean they just don't need to use their tail at that precise moment.

Still in a curled tail could mean both relaxed or angry and I think their tail is not a good indicator of their stress level
, coloration, overall posture and behavior are more reliable.

 

[xrowdac]

use d crickets..as a tool ..

 

[broderp]

Most chams have a "tail gauge". if the tail is unfurled and being used for balance, you are good. As the stress increases it will start to curl up. By the time the poofing starts the tail will be fully coiled.

Tail gauge? If this were true then a cham is stressed out every night when they go to sleep..

Here's my Cham super stressed out..

And here's my other Cham (rip ) puffed out , but her tail is not fully curled up, so I guess she wasn't super pissed or fully "poofed"

 

[nightanole]

Tail gauge? If this were true then a cham is stressed out every night when they go to sleep..

Here's my Cham super stressed out..

And here's my other Cham (rip ) puffed out , but her tail is not fully curled up, so I guess she wasn't super pissed or fully "poofed"

All chams sleep with their tail curled up. I assumed that was a known.

Chams do not walk around with the tail curled up unless they are stressed and trying to get away, even if its very slow.

As for your poofer, Odds are she is not stressed. A stressed cornered cham will have a tail curled up and one arm raised, and surprisingly, will not lunge.
Odds are your poofer just didnt like the camera or what ever you put in the cage (hand?) or is just doing the normal cham thing and defending the tree.


My tail gauge might not be 100% accurate, but its a good indicator on when to put the cham back in the cage, or at least stop handling it.

 

[walzy444]

Ive owned many animals, dogs, cats, bunnys, lizards, birds, horse, etc.. if you do not handle them and "socialize" them from the start they will be defensive and always try to run away or attack you. you need to relate handling them with a good sensation. Everyone said "never hold bunnies, dont touch their ears, etc" my bunny is the most social, well trained animal. Never bites or anything. Comes when called, etc. My chameleons I have been only hand feeding. I show them the food in a cup then open the cage and put my hand at the door. if they dont get on my hand, they dont get the food. They use to try to avoid my hand and go around to get the food, but I would just move it away. Now when i put my hand out they just come to my hand because they either get fed or get to free range in plants. As long as you dont scare them, try to grab their body, wake your hand above them and break their trust, it wont have to be a fight to get them out or put them where you want. I also will not return them to their cage unless they are a calm/happy green. they will try to reach out to run back in but i just hold them and wait.. once they relax then i let them go back and then usually put strawberries in their bowl. Like seee I'm not gonna kill you lol

 

[broderp]

All chams sleep with their tail curled up. I assumed that was a known.

I was jesting you, sorry you took me seriously.