Tips on handling my Veiled

[JustJordan]

I need tips on handling my male Veiled (3 or 4 months old) for the first few times. I'm nervous, and he is hissing at me, and has popped the back of my hand with his toungue a few times. I know not to just grab him from above... but I want him to become used to me holding him and moving him to clean his cage. Will he bite? And does it hurt? I was thinking to use a sock at first maybe??

 

[TiffanyMariexo]

No sock, you can't push it or sneak up on him .. You need to be comfortable .... Try using food as something to distract or lure him

 

[Klink]

When that guy gets full grown it can hurt a little. They can definitely draw blood, but most of the time it's a head slap or a mock bite.

 

[Vmag86]

Grab a little branch from the back yard and allow his to climb up on to it. Once he is out of the cage they are usually much more chill. You should than be able to pick him up off of the stick. Good Luck!!

P.S. Start working with him now, or else he will most likely grow worse when he's older.

 

[AwpsAhoy]

My veiled is around the same age, he is extremely shy so I feel your pain! The first thing I did was let him get used to me having the cage door open. He eventually would come out to bask again...Then i started offering him snacks by hand. If he associates snacks with handling he might not be so stressed. What ever you do, dont force him to get on you. I always backed up and let him settle before trying again!

 

[tode88]

Move slowly, and try mot to constrict him or grab him from above. You want to approach like you would a bird, meaning put your hand under him and lift gently. he should step on you at least to try and get away.

 

[pohchunyee]

Put ur fingers under its chin, gently coax it onto your fingers.

 

[LucasMP0]

I have a female veiled about 9 months old or so. She is pretty aggressive and doesnt like to be handled much but I have found a good technique for getting her out. I approach her slowly with a meal worm in my hand and hand feed her 2-3 worms so she feels comfortable then on the 3rd or 4th one I slide my hand under her belly as soon as she starts chewing down the worm so shes distracted while I get her. She'll try to get away after a second but you just gotta stay with it. Be consistent and show them a good time once you got them out. Mine was really aggressive around 6 months old and its frustrating.

 

[SaintJimmy]

This blog should help you out.

http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/04/to-handle-or-not-to-handle.html

The key is just to go slow and associate your hands with good things like food and natural sunlight.

Another tip is to take a bug and have the chameleon crawl onto your hand to get it and feed it like that a lot so it gets used to your hand.

 

[Lizzie48]

Mine is about the same age 3 months now . If you try to show her your there to feed her and provide and not harm her she should get better and lessen her aggression

 

[JustJordan]

No luck still!

I have been putting my bare hands in the cage every day to clean, (i have red roses and green leef tattoos on my hands could this be a factor?) and offer him crickets which sometimes he takes, if it's from a cardboard square... but he still hisses, jumps at me, and licks his toungue at my hand. i'm too scared to rub under his chin to lift his legs up. He loves his cage door open, and is fine if i just walk up and mess with his cage, but if i go near him he goes jurassic park on me... you really don't think handling him with soft winter gloves until he is use to me would work? my petsmart chick said thats what she did with hers....

 

[junglefries]

attitude

I have two sister veils from the same clutch @ around 1 month old. I named them Rebel & Sweet Pea, according to their personality. However, now @ the age of 1 yr old, their names should be switched. Now, my male Isaac has always been skittish. However, being introduced to my females for some good old fun, he no longer minds when I invade his space. When he is moody, I put one hand in front of him & coax him on it using my other hand from the rear. He can hiss & act like he wants to bite, but it's all for show. Having 14 chams I've noticed they just like putting on a show. If you can get him a female, it may help for him to know he might 'enjoy' leaving his enclosure. I wouldn't worry too much about it, however I would maybe use caution when he gets full grown [up to 24in.] You'll know by then if he'll most likely bite by then though. Male Veils are among the most territorial, I'm told, so just use good judgement. Also, I've noticed taking the cage outside & then trying to take them out of the cage can illicit a better response.

 

[JustJordan]

I finally just worked slow with him today and he totally climbed on my hand with a little coaxing... he was ready to go back in his cage and nervous, but he was real good while i was handling him. A little hissing, but he was just trying to show he was still boss lol. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[JustJordan]

I would like to get a female Chameleon... or a Panther... just the propor set up costs $300 alone, and I don't have that laying around right now

 

[Dragon Born]

you can make your own screen cage or buy the mesh cages w/ pcp piping that you can just breakdown they are only like 20-30$. After that just need lights and plant really.

 

[JustJordan]

i think i was just scared of him

i just came to realize that veileds are just moody. no matter what he will hiss and open his mouth, but once i gently put my hands under him he will slowly climb on my hand. every now and then he will still hiss a little, i guess to show me who's boss lol. but i handle him almost every day, and after i put him back in his cage i give him a yummy mealworm treat (which he refuses to eat out of anything except a special glass dish). but he doesn't seem excited to see me, or reach out for me to take him out. i always have to coax him out. but at least i'm getting to handle my pablo, even though he is an *** i love him

 

[natureboy86]

get his favorite treat, like a meal worm or whatever it be, and get him accustomed to eating it from your hand. Once that happens, lure him out of the cage slooowly with the worm to the point where the worms a little to far from his launching distance, and offer your other hand for him to climb on in order to reach his treat. I do this to Koop, and it works EVER SINGLE TIME.. lol he gets pissed every time when he realizes he fell for it again, but by then it's too late haha

 

[jackschamnewbie]

I got bit by a veiled once,
bit my finger clean off...

be careful

 

[jackschamnewbie]

I got bit by a veiled once,
bit my finger clean off...

be careful

chances are you have been stressing your cham the entire time that you "clean" things every single time of every single day. And any other time that your hand goes in there for what ever reason i.e.:move or water plants, feed, move or replace a thermometer. There is a ton of reasons to get in the cage for short periods of time every day. If your cham is running for spots they dont normally chill or trying to escape, then you might be trying to get them to like you too much.

Like that kid that no one wanted to be friends with in school because he tried to hard to be cool.

Not to be a jerk and call you that kid or anything like that but really, your cham does not/cannot choose to like you or not to like you. The sound or more vibrations from the way that you walk, the cars going by, your dropping or moving of things, the sound of you coming into the room, the scent of your skin when you enter the room, the sight of you moving and causing shadows in the room, the speed at which you approach the enclosure and the sound of you opening the cage and sight of you reaching in...

This series of stimuli can be specified to a "memory" of fear or a memory of a soon to end hunger. You want to be the latter if you want a "cool" cham. A chameleon that likes to chill on you because you mean food.

How old is your cham?

Maybe u jus got a broken one and need a new one tho bro.

Either way I suggest against gloves and socks or other "softer" "nicer" looking things to scare them with.

Just watch, very closely at the reasons your chams behavior changes.

 

[JustJordan]

i seariously don't think a chameleon of 5 months will take my finger off 'bro'.and he has never bitten me once. and if pablo showed any signs of stress i wouldn't try to handle him. he's doing fine, eating, climbs his cage with confidence and has never hidden or ran from me. so i don't know what a broken chameleon is, but mine sure isn't...