taming my chameleon

[meganm85]

Really? every single time you open the cage he runs onto your hand? Does not sound normal.

yep...why is that not normal? he is healthy as can be....when i first got him he was aggressive...then one day he climbed out onto me and has been doing it every time since...

 

[graydon]

yep...why is that not normal? he is healthy as can be....when i first got him he was aggressive...then one day he climbed out onto me and has been doing it every time since...

Is your cage big enough? It doesn't sound normal because these creatures think most everything that comes around them are a threat. Now acclimation to routine, where you feed your cham and provide water everyday; they start to realize that you're no longer a threat.

Even still, these are solitary reptiles that dont like being bothered.

 

[amtaber]

I cannot decipher jibberish. How was I being disrespectful by saying not to hold his cham and trying to tame it. Show me a "tame" cham and I will be suprised. Im sure there is an exception for some species being more docile than others but in general these reptiles dont like being handled. Id be shocked for anyone to say that their cham has openly crawled onto them when putting your hand in the cage on a daily basis.

I raised a male ambanja panther chameleon from 4 weeks old, and he was the most amazing animal I have ever owned. He lived for 2 years, I had a VERY stressful move across state, and I think that did him in. Anyways... his cage was right next to my desk, and I would handle him nearly almost every day around feeding time. I would take him out for 5-10min, put him back in the cage, and feed him. At about 4-6 months old he would come to the very bottom of the cage, to look at me. I would be doing homework, or be on the computer. Anytime I stood up he ran to the cage doors, if they were open, he would literally HANG out of the cage with his front arms reaching out to me, grasping away with his little hands. He was in a MASSIVE cage, 5ftx4ftx5ft.

My only point is, everything I read was to the contrary of his behavior. I didn't expect this of him. I think every animal is different, and I was incredibly fortunate to have experienced behavior like this. I doubt if I ever owned another chameleon again, that it would duplicate this kind of temperament. Just wanted to tell my tale.

 

[saltwaterguy02]

Every Chameleon I think has its own unique personality. Some are nasty mean like my Male Valid. I won’t bother touching him. But my female Panther is only 4 months old and she doesn’t mind me gently reaching in to take her out.

 

[meganm85]

Is your cage big enough? It doesn't sound normal because these creatures think most everything that comes around them are a threat. Now acclimation to routine, where you feed your cham and provide water everyday; they start to realize that you're no longer a threat.

Even still, these are solitary reptiles that dont like being bothered.

...is 2x2x5 foot big enough?...when i wake up and feed/spray he does it and when i come home from work and mist him he does it...i never forced him out...i can go up the cage at any point and he comes out....so dont over analyze it...the bottom line is he chooses to come out on me and not out of routine...in my opinion my cham is tame...

 

[graydon]

...is 2x2x5 foot big enough?...when i wake up and feed/spray he does it and when i come home from work and mist him he does it...i never forced him out...i can go up the cage at any point and he comes out....so dont over analyze it...the bottom line is he chooses to come out on me and not out of routine...in my opinion my cham is tame...

Im not over analyzing anything. Bottom line is if you take your cham out and hold him that often you are stressing him out. Have fun playing with your cham.

 

[meganm85]

Im not over analyzing anything. Bottom line is if you take your cham out and hold him that often you are stressing him out. Have fun playing with your cham.

wow thats funny cause i just read one of your post saying that ur cham comes out to you with out forcing handling... and if my cham comes out onto me by himself then i guess he's "stressing himself out..." playing? what do we do go bowling i let him walk on my arm, key word "let him"... and from time to time we play boxing on the Wii fit... how do you know that if i refuse his will to climb on me wouldn't stress him out??? i would like you to show me proof that him running down onto me stresses him out!!! and just for the record i never said i take him out, I said he climbs onto my arm every time I open his door... personally i think him getting out of his cage (which is plenty big) is more beneficial then detrimental especially when i once again do not take him out but let him come out on his own free will!!!

 

[jojothefirst]

Im not over analyzing anything. Bottom line is if you take your cham out and hold him that often you are stressing him out. Have fun playing with your cham.

How can u say u ARE stressing him out without seeing the cham. You are clearly not listening 2 what people are saying. If it chooses 2 come out without any effort how can it be stressed? If it was stressed it obviously wouldnt keep doing it!
Just because it maybe the case for you and maybe the case in genaral, doesnt meen its the case for every single animal.

 

[graydon]

Im done arguing with you two. Naturally cham's don't like to be in cages so yes my cham has on occasion crawled out of the cage onto my arm, but not on a daily basis.

It's really simple, the less you handle the cham the better off it is.

 

[summoner12]

I don't handle m guys much.... I think they only think of me as their food source... Sure... i'd like to think they like me. But I don't force handle them unless I need to check them out or need to move them (if they wandered off or are upsetting another cham).

I do have chams that handle much more than others. My big melleri Henry looks at me like 'oooh nooo what now' when i pick him up. you can see it in his eyes.. normally he just looks at me and doesn't flinch, but when i am too close he squints his eyes and will spot up. This is true melleri 'i am not comfy' coloration.

Now on the other end of the spectrum I have a panther who could care less about me picking him up. never ever has shown he is unhappy with me other than once I woke him up in the middle of the night. It is only natural he wanted to take my finger off. I also have a veiled who is this friendly. I took him to a SBCK meeting and people there can vouch for how friendly errrr, docile he is.

What I am saying is that it all depends on the cham. If your cham runs away or gapes or lunges, leave them alone. If you see strange color change, it is an expression of mood.

Honestly, chams seem easier to take care of than other lizards, to me, because they can express mood through color. I have a gecko..... and maybe im just not in 'tune' with how they express mood.... but I look at her and no matter what, she seems the same all the time. Maybe I need to spend time on a gecko forum to learn more about leopard geckos.. but she is completely mute to me.

 

[Nixehface]

Just a question regarding this....
When you all say that hand feeding him is the best way to get them to tolerate you a little more, how exactly do you do that? because my cham is also 3 months and he is still too scared to even come near my hand when I try feeding him :S
Is this something that you need to try when they are a little older maybe?

 

[slowfoot]

Just a question regarding this....
When you all say that hand feeding him is the best way to get them to tolerate you a little more, how exactly do you do that? because my cham is also 3 months and he is still too scared to even come near my hand when I try feeding him :S
Is this something that you need to try when they are a little older maybe?

I would start with food that your cham really likes. Sometimes when I first start handfeeding a cham, it helps to rest the food on a branch or leaf, so it looks like the insect is just in the cage - you're still holding it, but it looks more 'natural' to the cham. Then you can move on to offering the item on your hand, alone. And I think you have to be patient: just offer the food item a couple of times a day (especially at times when your cham normally likes to eat) and see what happens.

When I had a lot of chams - veileds, quads, Jacksons, and panthers - I never handled them regularly except to move them, but all of them would handfeed.

 

[Miss Lily]

I also have two of that rare breed of 'friendly' chameleon. Both my veileds regularly want to be let out - they rush to the front of the cage when they see me. My female is more difficult to get back into her cage. She can be very stubborn - she only does what she wants when she wants to, lol! When I come home from work I go straight up to their cages and Amy will literally run to the front of her cage, charging through her plants to come out. I know that she is happy in her cage as there are some days when she just sits and basks and is just happy like that, then there are other days when she will run to the front every time I walk past her. Tommy doesn't ask to come out as often as Amy does, and he is also happy in his cage. I have never forced my chameleons to come out - never pulled them from a branch or physically picked them up. They both come to me of their own free will. My first female veiled was like that too.

 

[satch4684]

I never understood this, chams are easily stressed-but put one in a cage in someones house, where its exposed to many unnatural things, and bam-it lives 3 times longer than it ever would in the wild. Yet when the subject of handling comes up--Dont do it the stress will KILL him!!! Still, I do get they are display animals and the very aggressive/panicky ones should be held only when necessary. Not arguing the fact, just don't get how that logic works.

At one point I'll probably have to for one reason or another, but I've yet to handle mine. If I put my hand out he just stares at it, like he's looking for something.