Veiled Chameleons temperments?

[nosybecham]

Hi, I am brand new here and on the newer side of being a chameleon owner. I owned a Pygmy prior but recently acquired a baby Veiled Chameleon, which I have found is a female. I thought getting a baby that we could build a relationship of "trust" together as I would raise her, but each day she still wants nothing to do with me and runs and hisses as I approach. Will she always be this way or is there hope that she might change with me? Thanks for any advice. Edited to add that I do constant research to make sure that her living environment is what it should be and she is comfortable. She eats fantastic and appears very healthy, thank goodness.

~Carrie

 

[pssh]

Chameleons are not animals that really like their owner. They should not be handled often and should be left alone as much as possible.

If you work with her on hand feeding you may eventually be able to get her to climb on your hand, but handling causes stress. Stress kills. Remember that.

 

[nosybecham]

Thank you, Kara for your reply. What would you recommend feeding besides gut loaded crickets, and especially for hand feeding possibilites? She is only 2 inches, excluding her tail.

 

[pssh]

Small silkworms, roach nymphs of appropriate size, small stuck bugs, sow bugs (Rollie pollies) small superworms, small butterworms, small wax worms, Phoenix worms, small non toxic moths and butterflies, and veggies and fruits that are high in calcium and low on phos if she will eat them. Collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, you know, pretty much anything you Should feed your feeders.

 

[nosybecham]

I will give some of those a try.....thanks again.. one last question for now... are veileds more temperamental than other Chameleon species, such as Panthers?

 

[pssh]

It depends on the chameleon. My male veiled has an attitude, but he is nicer and more tolerant of me than my last one. My female panther chameleon wants nothing to do with me, and will occasionally try to run and hide from me. Yet there are people on here who have amazingly tolerant veileds and some pretty moody panthers.

 

[dodolah]

Veiled's temperament depends very much on the individual chameleon.
Generally, not always, veileds are more classified to the 'grumpy' side. I have panthers that are grumpier than my veiled and one that is very tolerant.

Sometimes, chameleons get milder when they grew older. Others stay quiet and shy.
I rarely hand feed mine (we are talking about once in a blue moon here). And, he becomes nicer each days.

If your veiled is overly aggressive, there might be something about you or the environment that cause him/ her to be uncomfortable.

 

[jannb]

My two veileds are little teddy bears.

 

[justjumpit621]

My female veiled "Molly" loves to hang out on my hand, but she's an exception. She was mistreated as a baby so I guess she's glad to have someone who actually loves her.

 

[Miss Lily]

My first female veiled (Lily) was just such a sweetie - not a bad bone in her l'il green body! Amy, however, puffs her chin out and 'Pfft's' at you if you so much as look at her, lol! I can get her out of her cage using bribery of the edible kind and she's ok once out. Tommy is a male version of my first cham - he is the friendliest, sweetest most loveable cham ever! He comes to the front of the cage and makes his stick bang on the side when he wants to come out! He always has a permanent smile on his face too!

 

[BocaJan]

I have 2 males that make it impossible to open the door to feed them. They are always trying to climb out on my hand. They will run up my arm and hang out on my shoulder or my head. If it wasn't for the dog they would be totally free range, but as great as my dog is, he can't be trusted. He is a terrier and waaaay to inquisitive.

 

[nosybecham]

If your veiled is overly aggressive, there might be something about you or the environment that cause him/ her to be uncomfortable.

If it wasn't for the dog they would be totally free range, but as great as my dog is, he can't be trusted. He is a terrier and waaaay to inquisitive.

She is not overly aggressive by any means, just not friendly at all. It very much stresses her when I am around for any reason. Perfect question I had thought of........ I do have a dog.. He is a small dog and very docile always, doesn't even bark or come up to her. But still he is there...would it be his presence also that she is afraid of? Would a dog make a difference?

Jann........I would love to have one that is like a teddy bear. Definately something to cherish! I would even be excited to have her want to come out on my hand.

 

[Chuck G]

I have owned thousands of chameleons and have been bitten more by veiled chameleons than any other species. It's not because I am tasty.

 

[Pumpkinface]

yemens are all jerks, every last one of them. but they all are at different levels. My first guy orbit is a stubborn picky eating jerk. his son is a jerk to other chams, but loves us 80% of the time. his daughter is so sweet and friendly, but move too fast while she's on your shoulder she hisses. plus she grabs on to the feeding cup so i cant take it away. orbit jr's mate i guess is the exception to the all are jerks rule, because she is so evil that jerk is too weak a word. but still, i like all of them very very much (especially king orbit).

 

[AReptile]

My baby veil looks at me whenever i get within it's sight range and just watches me while i do w/e. However today i needed to get him off of something in the cage and he was pissed! opened his mouth and everything. Matter of fact that's the only time it seems to open its mouth when it wants to take my fingers off..

 

[pssh]

A dog may stress her out if she can see it, so best to try and keep him out of that room.

Not all veileds are jerks, so don't think that all of them are. The species is just more known for its aggression compared to other species.

 

[nosybecham]

I really appreciate all the great comments and advice on this thread! I had just thought of that today so will she how she does if "Koji" is out of the room. I did think the veileds were more of an aggressive species, although I know there are exceptions...was looking to confirm.

 

[Pumpkinface]

you're too kind and forgiving, pssh

 

[SpinyFranky]

Well, at two inches minus the tail were talking a very very young chameleon.

Basically he thinks you are the devil and are trying to eat him. Literally, eat him.

Give him some space and just keep taking good care of him, he will grow and then you can try to tame him a bit.

No chameleon will ever be like your dog. Never, ever.

Some will trust you and have no problem coming out of the cage with you or eating from your hand. But that is usually as good as it gets.

Chameleons are more like living pieces of art than pets, or so many people say. However in my personal opinion, you are dealing with an animal that deals with stress every day. Whoever says a wild chameleon would ever have a stress free day is fooling you. Because of this I think some people over react when they promote the idea of stress actively reducing your chameleons life span.

On a side note, Im not promoting forcing the animal out of its cage to go on a double date with you either. If it wants to come out, it will. If not do not force it unless the animal doesn't look well or the cage needs cleaning.

S.F

 

[Chameleon Loco]

My 8 month cham was a mean one at first hissing and trying to bite me the second my hand came into his cage. Now 6 months later he allows me to pet him and sometimes even comes to my hand. My secret I feed him waxworms as treats from my hand and he learned that I mean no harm to him. Of course never handle your cham frequiently as your would handle a leopard gecko I handle my cham once every two weeks max.