Taming…?

[Rango_TheManEater]

I’ve been trying to tame my male veiled chameleon by gently guiding him onto my hand (offering him it as a “branch”), and offering him food after he climbs onto me.

However, after holding him for a few minutes to take some pictures, he started to buzz and close his eyes. I put him back as soon as I realized he was uncomfortable, because i don’t want him to associate me with a bad feeling.

Does anybody have tips for taming a chameleon? Rango and I get along fairly well, and he trusts me enough to eat from my tongs.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I think chameleons are similar to cats as one of those animals that can never be totally tamed. Plus I do not recommend holding a chameleon too often. Holding is just for rare occasions. To acclimate the chameleon to you I would continue to make your chameleon well acquainted to your presence.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[LizardLurkin]

Beman wrote up a trust guide here.
As nice as it would be, not many chameleons ever come to enjoy handling. Spooble, my chameleon, is a cowardly little guy, so my bonding with him is limited to handfeeding him his favorite bugs (and even then, he tends to hide or only takes it from me if it's harder to see me)
An activity I do see is people having an large indoor plant set up to transport their chameleon to, and some may make it known when they want to go to their out-of-the-enclosure tree.

 

[Steve A]

I’ve been trying to tame my male veiled chameleon by gently guiding him onto my hand (offering him it as a “branch”), and offering him food after he climbs onto me.

However, after holding him for a few minutes to take some pictures, he started to buzz and close his eyes. I put him back as soon as I realized he was uncomfortable, because i don’t want him to associate me with a bad feeling.

Does anybody have tips for taming a chameleon? Rango and I get along fairly well, and he trusts me enough to eat from my tongs.

@Beman's guide is amazing. I won't link it since someone else already did. I just wanted to mention it. I personally couldn't follow it because of my schedule and what not. So, I took what I could from it and while Spike is a bit more of a wild T-rex, I am extremely comfortable being around him, and more importantly, he is VERY comfortable with me.

Granted, I do not 'handle' him, hardly ever. It's not the same as you'll see others in here who are holding their chameleons. But Spike will absolutely come right up to me when I open his enclosure. He doesn't really like being handled by me specifically, but I can put my head, hands, arms in his enclosure, and he handles it real well. He will eat from my hand, and he will let me touch him. I share funny pictures/vids of him being defensive with me on here, but that's the worst he ever gets. He never gets so stressed to where he's closing his eyes or showing serious reactions.

He mostly just hangs out with me when I'm feeding him, taking pics, etc.

Sometimes he will kinda climb onto me and he will be fine. He'll grip my finger with his claws and just kinda chill. It's when I try taking him out of the enclosure that he seems to want no part of.

Long story short: I can tell her guide is great and definitely works if you can follow through with it.

 

[MissSkittles]

Another vote for @Beman blog. The main thing is to go at their pace and preference. I have 5 beauties - 3 panthers and 2 veileds. Each has their own personality and preference/tolerance for me. I do my best not to force them past their limits, unless I have to, which is usually to check if I see something suspicious on them. If your guy is buzzing and closing his eyes, he’s gone way past his comfort level. He’s basically shutting down and waiting to be eaten or otherwise killed. The male veileds that I’ve had have been quite shy. I won the trust of my current one with hornworms and silkworms, and I keep his trust by not trying to hold or even touch him…and having a regular supply of yummy worms for him. Every now and then he will allow me a few seconds of gently stroking his chin. If I start reaching out slowly and he starts to turn away, I stop and all stays ok with us.