Any help with handling a 9 month male panther cham, i dont want to be playing with him if hes going to be hesitant or just stressed, i mainly just want to be able to handle him when taking him out of the cage to clean, usually he just turns on his side and hides behind branches and leaves and if i get too close bites and hisses, so basically is there anywhere to somewhat get them to trust you more etc.?
Tips on handling?
- Thread starter Sirny
- Start date
jessica
Avid Member
How long have you had him?
Have you tried to hand feed?
Sometimes it just takes a little time and patience to get them to trust you though some just prefer not to be bothered lol
I use a stick to get my guys out, it seems to bother them less then my hand. Once they are out they calm down.
Have you tried to hand feed?
Sometimes it just takes a little time and patience to get them to trust you though some just prefer not to be bothered lol
I use a stick to get my guys out, it seems to bother them less then my hand. Once they are out they calm down.
jessica
Avid Member
Have you seen this video on Screameleons?
http://www.screameleons.com/How_To_Handle_Chameleons.htm
I use this method but insted of my hand I use a stick, works pretty good.
Really I only handle them to weigh them and deep clean cages though.
http://www.screameleons.com/How_To_Handle_Chameleons.htm
I use this method but insted of my hand I use a stick, works pretty good.
Really I only handle them to weigh them and deep clean cages though.
SpinyFranky
New Member
Go for the chin!
especially when they jut it out at you when they are pissy.
index finger under the chin and rub it a bit, like your petting him just a tad. It will calm him down - or so it has with my previous.... 6? chameleons... heheh.
When the chin is back down you can slowly start putting your hand by his front feet, and let him walk onto you.
Never grab or pinch him and try to rip him off his perch. Firstly that will scare the crap out of him ( he thinks the hand is an animal that wants to eat him
) and you could possibly rip out his toe nails, or dislocate his tiny feet.
Just for safe practice, always let him walk onto you.
S.F
especially when they jut it out at you when they are pissy.
index finger under the chin and rub it a bit, like your petting him just a tad. It will calm him down - or so it has with my previous.... 6? chameleons... heheh.
When the chin is back down you can slowly start putting your hand by his front feet, and let him walk onto you.
Never grab or pinch him and try to rip him off his perch. Firstly that will scare the crap out of him ( he thinks the hand is an animal that wants to eat him
) and you could possibly rip out his toe nails, or dislocate his tiny feet.Just for safe practice, always let him walk onto you.
S.F
summoner12
Avid Member
My method is to put a hand in front and behind and shew them out onto my hand in front of them without them noticing.... Sometimes food helps. My female veiled knows my trick too well and will try to bite my hand.................... BUT with food to distract she'll run right out onto my hand in order to get close enough to eat the food. It works every time with her.
With my melleri they are a bit tricky... not because they don't want to be picked up... but the size of them and their reach.... With them I lift a front foot, once they are holding my finger i do the same to the other front foot.... then i lift up.... they always start to lift their rear feet to grab at another 'branch'.... or they just stretch out as I lift my hand. In the case of just stretching themselves I use my other hand to lift off a foot from where they are grasping and usually the other foot follows.
With my melleri they are a bit tricky... not because they don't want to be picked up... but the size of them and their reach.... With them I lift a front foot, once they are holding my finger i do the same to the other front foot.... then i lift up.... they always start to lift their rear feet to grab at another 'branch'.... or they just stretch out as I lift my hand. In the case of just stretching themselves I use my other hand to lift off a foot from where they are grasping and usually the other foot follows.
pssh
Avid Member
If I go near my chameleons chin he bites hard enough to break skin. They don't exactly like to be petted or rubbed... I use a stick, but yesterday I finally got my guy out with a superworm! With my female I just slide a finger under her from the front and she either runs away (sometimes on to my hand accidentally?) or she grabs at my fingers and climbs on.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Move very slowly. that's the best tip I have.
And if your chameleon is extremely aggressive, wear gloves.
If I am slow and gentle all but one will come out just by my slowly moving my hands under them.
All But this one female. She cant be coaxed or bribed with food. She will try to kill me at any opportunity - she doesnt seem to think my being much bigger is any issue. She plots my demise as her favourite pass-time.
Her aggression is such that using a long dowel, so that I am far far away, is the best method Ive got. It takes forever to try to get her to grab the dowel and nothing else (usually her tail remains firmly on something else). I've also made many of the vines and branches in her enclosure easily removable, so I can take out whatever she is already on if needs be. Im am sometimes forced to do her minor cage cleaning at night (the others I spot clean each day) when she is asleep, using a red LED light to guide me. If she wakes up I retreat with haste.
If there is an emergency, Im going to throw a face cloth over her and gently pry her feet off the branches (not something I would recommend doing in anything but an extreme house on fire emergency).
And if your chameleon is extremely aggressive, wear gloves.
If I am slow and gentle all but one will come out just by my slowly moving my hands under them.
All But this one female. She cant be coaxed or bribed with food. She will try to kill me at any opportunity - she doesnt seem to think my being much bigger is any issue. She plots my demise as her favourite pass-time.
Her aggression is such that using a long dowel, so that I am far far away, is the best method Ive got. It takes forever to try to get her to grab the dowel and nothing else (usually her tail remains firmly on something else). I've also made many of the vines and branches in her enclosure easily removable, so I can take out whatever she is already on if needs be. Im am sometimes forced to do her minor cage cleaning at night (the others I spot clean each day) when she is asleep, using a red LED light to guide me. If she wakes up I retreat with haste.
If there is an emergency, Im going to throw a face cloth over her and gently pry her feet off the branches (not something I would recommend doing in anything but an extreme house on fire emergency).
Thompson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I agree if I go near my veileds chin he'll bite. I use a stick when getting him out the cage.
AReptile
New Member
Are you referring to the one in your ava? Because mine is a baby too that i got the other day and the only time I handled him was when the guy took him out of the tank and put him in my hand. I don't know if he bites but he did definitely open his mouth and changed colors when the guy grabbed him from the tank
Thompson
Chameleon Enthusiast
ya that's my baby panther. I have a baby veiled too.
SpinyFranky
New Member
To the op - is depends on what kind of chameleon were dealing with. Mine have been mostly panthers, a verrucosus and a few veileds.
With my panthers, Luciano puts up a big fight, and the chin tactic doesn't always work. Isabella just sort of doesn't give a darn. My verrucosus franky didn't either but the chin tactic worked wonders on him when he occasionally decided he did and puffed up.
Veileds are a different story. As pssh quaintly put it they can and will bite hard. But they are also generally regarded as a more aggressive species. I would recommend if its a veiled double tactics. Offer him his favorite treat and at the same time gently coax your hand or finger under the head. The idea is to make him think you are another branch ( and an appealing one at that ) so that he will walk onto it.
Quick movement or wiggling fingers will just make him think you are food or a predator - both of which makes biting you justifiable in his head.
Its also best to start with a young animal and work your way to mastery. Starting with an older one can make it almost impossible - especially with veileds.
All animals are tricky to work with, and some tactics work well on some and some don't. The rule of thumb is some tactics work on some animals, but no tactics work on all animals.
Get to know your chameleon a bit better, just as you would a pet dog. Except this is through observation. He/She has his/her own preferences and mind set, unique from any other chameleon. Once you learn how your individual animal functions - you can then master ways to interact with it without creating dysfunction. At that point, you can consider the animal tame.
I know this especially from my parrots, out of 7 I successfully tamed 6. The one I failed was an older Yellow Naped Amazon who had come from an abused home. But at the same time I worked with a moluccan cockatoo that also came from an abused home, and we became great friends. He trusts me, and me alone. He will bite other people and charge at them, but in my hands acts like a baby again.
It is all in how you deal with the animal.
Best of luck.
S.F
With my panthers, Luciano puts up a big fight, and the chin tactic doesn't always work. Isabella just sort of doesn't give a darn. My verrucosus franky didn't either but the chin tactic worked wonders on him when he occasionally decided he did and puffed up.
Veileds are a different story. As pssh quaintly put it they can and will bite hard. But they are also generally regarded as a more aggressive species. I would recommend if its a veiled double tactics. Offer him his favorite treat and at the same time gently coax your hand or finger under the head. The idea is to make him think you are another branch ( and an appealing one at that ) so that he will walk onto it.
Quick movement or wiggling fingers will just make him think you are food or a predator - both of which makes biting you justifiable in his head.
Its also best to start with a young animal and work your way to mastery. Starting with an older one can make it almost impossible - especially with veileds.
All animals are tricky to work with, and some tactics work well on some and some don't. The rule of thumb is some tactics work on some animals, but no tactics work on all animals.
Get to know your chameleon a bit better, just as you would a pet dog. Except this is through observation. He/She has his/her own preferences and mind set, unique from any other chameleon. Once you learn how your individual animal functions - you can then master ways to interact with it without creating dysfunction. At that point, you can consider the animal tame.
I know this especially from my parrots, out of 7 I successfully tamed 6. The one I failed was an older Yellow Naped Amazon who had come from an abused home. But at the same time I worked with a moluccan cockatoo that also came from an abused home, and we became great friends. He trusts me, and me alone. He will bite other people and charge at them, but in my hands acts like a baby again.
It is all in how you deal with the animal.
Best of luck.
S.F
summoner12
Avid Member
I find it all depends on the veiled.... I have a gentle veiled that only wants to bite if you rush your hands into his cage.... But I can get my hands under him most of the time to pick him up without any gaping or hissing. once out of the cage he is a big baby, he just wanders around my hand or stick or whatever.
I am only saying this because I don't agree with the notion that veileds are more aggressive, in general. I think panthers can be just as 'bad' as veileds.
I do agree with your tips though! I used to say the exact same thing about the hand being a branch...
SpinyFranky
New Member
I find it all depends on the veiled.... I have a gentle veiled that only wants to bite if you rush your hands into his cage.... But I can get my hands under him most of the time to pick him up without any gaping or hissing. once out of the cage he is a big baby, he just wanders around my hand or stick or whatever.
I am only saying this because I don't agree with the notion that veileds are more aggressive, in general. I think panthers can be just as 'bad' as veileds.
I do agree with your tips though! I used to say the exact same thing about the hand being a branch...
I agree with your statement, The species does not really matter, each animal is different. Some can be really easy to tame and some nearly impossible. Some are sweethearts from the get go and others nasty.
Luciano is a prime example of a "bad" panther
and Isabella has just been a sweetheart since day one.I just meant to say, that veileds are generally regarded as more aggressive, but as we both agree - every animal has its own individual personality.
summoner12
Avid Member
I agree with your statement, The species does not really matter, each animal is different. Some can be really easy to tame and some nearly impossible. Some are sweethearts from the get go and others nasty.
Luciano is a prime example of a "bad" panther
I just meant to say, that veileds are generally regarded as more aggressive, but as we both agree - every animal has its own individual personality.
We both do agree. I just don't like to spread that veileds are worst... But yes, they are all diff.
SpinyFranky
New Member
In no way did I mean that. Personally I do not believe any animal to be "bad" or "the worst". It is sad that many people actually use these words to describe some pets.
People say that having a tiger makes for a "bad" pet because the tiger would be aggressive, or need a large territory. People say that alligators make bad pets because they can kill you. People say that birds are dirty and thus are bad pets.
All this is so untrue, and sadly people eat it up like candy.
Yes, tigers are aggressive and need a large territory, yes alligators can hurt you, and yes... some birds are dirty. But this does not make them bad!
Each animal has its own needs and requirement to have a healthy life. It is up to the keeper to decide if he can meet those needs and provide those requirements, if he cannot he should not be considering that animal as a pet.
Veiled chameleons get the rap for being the more aggressive chameleon, but in no way does that make them the worst chameleon. I do not think that word could ever apply to any of these beautiful creatures. People are just very naive at times and think that an aggressive chameleon will make a bad pet and so purchase a panther, or a jacksons or some other species. In the end they usually end up getting bit just as bad as if a veiled had done it.
That moluccan I was talking about, I got for pennies on the dollar. Because everyone regarded him as a "bad animal" and thus not a good pet. If anyone did anything he did not respond well to he would bite them very hard.
But with proper training it is now to the point that if I pet him somewhere he doesn't like or do something in general that upsets him - he will take my finger in his mouth. He does not apply pressure, or chomp down or anything. Its just his way of saying "I don't like that"
