tips on how to tame a young panther chameleon

bluechameleon

bluechameleon

New Member
basicallly i need eveyones tips on how to tame a young panther chameleon .mine is nasty and im not having it no animal of mine hisses and bites! right so who has good tips? what has worked best for you?
im already hand feeding btw.he lives in my room with me and sees me everyday. i understand that there not good handling reptiles and i know hes frightened but i really do need tips because his aggression is upsetting me and him :( is the tip about letting him come out of his cage and on to a plant outside the cage good??? because then he may feel less stressed so i have heard?
thanks guys :) and i need those tips on taming ASAP :D
 
I would open the cage door and place a large tall potted plant infront and see if you can get him to climb onto that. Then maybe try getting him to crawl onto a branch from there. Sit down with the branch in your lap and let him get used to you. Handfeeding is also recommended so they associate your hands with good things and not the thought that you are going to eat them!
 
My panther used to be the same way give him time. Hand feeding is a great start so he can associate you with positive thing such as food, water and treats. The other thing I learned is that you need to move slowly and deliberately as not to startle him. Give him time as well. It took me 4 months to even get him out of his cage. But now all I have to do is open the cage door and he climbs out. I can also hold my hand in front of him and he'll climb on. Be patient and try to work with him every day. Remember these are tips so don't be discouraged if they don't work. They all have different personalities and really it's just a roll of the dice on what you get. I guess you could say I got lucky cuz Reptar is a chill as a cucumber the only time he'll fire up on me is when he all cranky during a shed. The only time I see him get nasty, hiss and fire up is when he goes to the vet.
 
Also I know some will disagree with the but with my cham all of the nastiness was a show really to try to scare me off. Every time I'd try to put my hand near him he would hiss and lunge like he was going to bite. So every other day or so I'd try to put my hand near him (slowly and deliberately) and he would put on his show but I didn't yank my hand away every time. I just kept my hand where it was to let him know I wasn't going to back down and he just kept his distance until eventually he got used to my presence.
 
If all else fails, bust out the golf glove! ;) Seriously, you don't want to stress him out too much.

If you can get him out, start with short sessions, maybe 5 minutes at a time with him crawling between your hands. Once he gets a little more "comfortable" with you, you can start increasing the time. Let him crawl up your arm to your shoulder and up your hair to the top of your head. Let him chill for a couple of minutes once he's reached the top.

I have two boys and one is all about coming out. Totally cool with it. As a matter of fact, he bum rushes me every time I open the door! :D It's actually starting to get annoying. (Did I just say that??)

The other boy doesn't hiss or puff up, but will try to get away. Some one like this, but I do "corral" him sometimes to get him out. Once he's out, he's cool. Interestingly enough, neither of them have yet to hand feed. :rolleyes:

Patience is key. Every owner has variances on how they "tame" their chams and mine seems to work for me, for now... :cool:
 
Haha that's funny you brought that up I was just going to say if all else fails see Maxttu's golf glove.
 
wow cheers guys im gonna get a anther house plant tomorrow to put outside his cage :) ive also named him grumpy ;) you guys have been loads of help cheers :D
 
Haha nice mixup. Use the gold clubs to "persuade" the Cham out of his cage (joking of course). Just have patience. I used to kind of corral my Cham out of the cage by maneuvering one hand behind him and the other in front making it an easy escape route for him. It took a few times before I could successfully do this without stressing him. These days as soon as I open the cage he's literally diving onto my hand every time I open the door. It took about 3 months though so be patient and don't back down when he gets fussy unless he starts to get overly stressed. Good luck!
 
There is an entry on my blog on handling that I hope will be helpful: muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com. I am on my nook or I would link you directly, sorry.
Those tips have helped my chameleons either become very comfortable with me or at least not lunge and bite at the sight of me. It has made vet visits a lot easier!
 
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