The Dark Side of Hand Feeding

Andrew1283

Chameleon Enthusiast
OK the subject is just a joke because I love hand feeding and the bond/trust that forms. Plus I have placed crickets in there for her to hunt and she has absolutely retained all her hunting instincts, despite my hand feeding.

But… be prepared for them to run at you when you have your hands in the cage. I have raised mine to hand feed since she was a baby. Whenever that screen opens she runs…not walks to the front branch and waits. Where my hands go…she goes. She is fed every other day and I try to clean on feeding days. I end up taking her out when I’m cleaning because she’s such a hungry monster. She actually chomped my finger thinking it was food while I was cleaning a leaf and it scared me half to death. I have never been hit by her tongue though so I gave her a little drop of water. The experience was very strange and I probably won’t repeat it. Her tongue shot out and suction cupped my finger tip like Velcro and duct tape combined.

Emmy is not afraid of me, the dogs that pass by, the kids, nor anything really. She sees my hands as the bringers of food and if there is no food in them, the hands become the food :)
 

Attachments

  • 8B65AC31-E047-4E1C-AA55-A06705386FE3.jpeg
    8B65AC31-E047-4E1C-AA55-A06705386FE3.jpeg
    233 KB · Views: 135
  • BB6E6ED0-4E02-48A1-9007-70A3165E78B3.jpeg
    BB6E6ED0-4E02-48A1-9007-70A3165E78B3.jpeg
    161 KB · Views: 132
  • BF1BFEC0-A786-4FC8-BBEB-4AE0E32570AE.jpeg
    BF1BFEC0-A786-4FC8-BBEB-4AE0E32570AE.jpeg
    147.6 KB · Views: 130
OK the subject is just a joke because I love hand feeding and the bond/trust that forms. Plus I have placed crickets in there for her to hunt and she has absolutely retained all her hunting instincts, despite my hand feeding.

But… be prepared for them to run at you when you have your hands in the cage. I have raised mine to hand feed since she was a baby. Whenever that screen opens she runs…not walks to the front branch and waits. Where my hands go…she goes. She is fed every other day and I try to clean on feeding days. I end up taking her out when I’m cleaning because she’s such a hungry monster. She actually chomped my finger thinking it was food while I was cleaning a leaf and it scared me half to death. I have never been hit by her tongue though so I gave her a little drop of water. The experience was very strange and I probably won’t repeat it. Her tongue shot out and suction cupped my finger tip like Velcro and duct tape combined.

Emmy is not afraid of me, the dogs that pass by, the kids, nor anything really. She sees my hands as the bringers of food and if there is no food in them, the hands become the food :)
I just saw this and have to agree! Dino goes for my little finger because it looks like a silk. And the suction cup action is amazing, very forceful.

He also likes the fingernails if dark, maybe looks like a dubia?

And last but not least, once I was cleaning up near his basking branches and he was tracking me as usual. I glanced up, just in time to see his tongue poised to take out my EYE.

That one sent shivers down my spine.

Hey, we trained 'em, what do we expect?
 
I just saw this and have to agree! Dino goes for my little finger because it looks like a silk. And the suction cup action is amazing, very forceful.

He also likes the fingernails if dark, maybe looks like a dubia?

And last but not least, once I was cleaning up near his basking branches and he was tracking me as usual. I glanced up, just in time to see his tongue poised to take out my EYE.

That one sent shivers down my spine.

Hey, we trained 'em, what do we expect?
Can you imagine if he removed and ate a contact lens?!?! Maybe we should wear glasses during cleanings.
 
Back
Top Bottom