Question for all of you...

[camothechameleon]

Hi everyone,

I have had my veiled Chameleon for about 6 weeks now. He was fairly mild at first. We recently switched him (about 3 weeks ago) from a small enclosure to a 2x2x4 one and he has become much more aggressive. He tries to bite everytime we try to handle him. Once we get him out of the cage, he usually calms down. My wife and I have been trying to handle him on a daily basis, especially the last 2 weeks. Yesterday, I finally got him to eat a wax worm out of my hand, while I was holding him with the other. We also are starting a Dubia roach colony, so in 2 months or so, we want to move him onto those as his staple. I have a few questions:
- Will he begin to calm down over time? Are there any tricks to taming them?
- Are there any tricks to training them to cupfeed? I tried puting the crickets in a pint container, that was clear, and they were all there at the end of the day. He must be good at catching them in the cage, because at the end of the day, there are usually only 2-3 roaming, when I put about 15 in in the morning.

He is definately growing in leaps and bounds. He must be about 3 times the size when we got him. Thanks everyone.

 

[Ep3Drew]

i have had many veiled females and they were all completely docile and willing to be handled males are naturally more aggressive.. daily handling may be a bit too much and might be causing stress
as for cup feeding try putting a few in the cup and make sure your cham sees them inside then put it down.. the more they move the more likely they are to be eaten although if your cham is used to hunting it may take some time

 

[foxymiche]

i got my baby veiled yesterday and he is 15 weeks old. he is very tame/friendly and is happy to walk onto my finger and be held, ive never heard of them biting! I would put it down to stress, although you say in your post you try to hold him with the other... do you mean you have 2 chameleons in the same space? if so, this will stress him out and maybe if he has associated coming out with meeting a rival cham he will be a bit upset about it.

 

[BocaJan]

I use a ball type glass from my liquor glass collection. Prevents the crickets from climbing out. Your critters have to get used to it though or they try to shoot them through the glass and of course this doesn't work.

My male became territorial when he got into a bigger cage.

 

[Lancecham]

Male veileds can become territorial as they mature. You can try daily handling, but that doesn't always work. Very frequently, they will open their mouths at you when you put your hand in the cage. Once you pick them up and let them sit on your hand, they will be ok.

 

[camothechameleon]

I only have one chameleon. By the other, I meant my other hand. He usually doesn't seem too stressed. Most of the time that I hold him he is still green. Yesterday was the first time in a while that he turned dark green when we pulled him out. He seems to like my wife better than me. I think it's because I am the one that mists him, which he doesn't seem to like. I guess we will just have to keep handfeeding him. Maybe we can win his affection with food!!

 

[jannb]

Move very slow when you are around him. Move your hand VERY slow when putting it toward him.....wear green clothes...they sometimes like green and have LOTS of patience and keep hand feeding. Try leaving the door open (with you watching from a distance) and set a tree in front of the door and see if he'll climb out. Jann

 

[camothechameleon]

Thank you for all the tips. I will try them over the nextr few days. I should also mention that he was shedding yesterday. Could this also contribute to his even more aggressive behavior? thanks

 

[arkist]

The only difference you should see during a shed is a change in appetite.

I don't think daily handling of a cham that isn't interested in you is a good idea. At least not until you can get him to a more docile state.

Like Jannb said, its going to take a ton of patience. As for wearing green, I have noticed that they are more accepting of your presence if your wearing green, but I havn't taken the time to actually test if they "like" it or if it is just a coincidence of some other factor, and I don't own enough chams to run enough tests to confirm it as generalization. But it is worth a shot.

Build a positive association with her, and the best way to do that is with food.

 

[dodolah]

i don't handle my chameleon at all.
Never touch them unless for cage cleaning and so on.
But, he learned to associate me as food and sunlight.

When I open the cage, i just hold a potted plant in front of the cage. He will climb to it by himself.
and all i need to do is put him and the plant outside.

he's extremely meany when he reached juvenile stage and has mellow down a bit when he reach a year old.

my panther has been docile all the way. now he's starting to get bigger, he start displaying in front of me just like my veiled before.
imho, there seems to be a period when chameleon is 'angrier' and 'more rebellious' than usual.
(in our world we would call them 'teenagers')

 

[SoCaliSon]

Chameleons are not animals that take well to stress... And the Stress VERY easily. Learn to enjoy keeping him and caring for him, while giving him his space. I would go as far as to say that daily handling to try to "tame" him is just going to make matters worse. I have had Veileds that will eventually warm up and not mind being handled occasionally, but I got them to that point by giving them their space and hand feeding treats daily. They will get used to your presence and start to view you more as a provider rather that a giant that comes in and plucks you out of your domain daily against their will.

 

[camothechameleon]

I think all of that makes sense. I will try those suggestions. He is probably in that teenager phase. I think he must be about 3-4 months. The store told me he was 3 months when I got him, but I think it was more like 2. Now I just need to get my Mist King system, and all will be good. Then I won't be the one that soaks his habitat down 3 times a day. LOL

 

[Professor Booty]

It sms that each cham is different. Some settle down, some will bite to break skin.

My veiled is much happier being handled after this summer. Every few days he got to go outside in the nice warm sun on his 5' tall hibiscus tree. For whatever reason - probably the positive association with being taken out -> playing outside - he's mellowed out a bit.

On the subject of color, my veiled is scared to death of the color red. He'll run if walk into the room with a red shirt or bath towel.

 

[kenya]

i got my baby veiled yesterday and he is 15 weeks old. he is very tame/friendly and is happy to walk onto my finger and be held, ive never heard of them biting! I would put it down to stress, although you say in your post you try to hold him with the other... do you mean you have 2 chameleons in the same space? if so, this will stress him out and maybe if he has associated coming out with meeting a rival cham he will be a bit upset about it.

Biting: https://www.chameleonforums.com/she-bit-crap-out-12332/