whats the best way to earn the trust of a veiled chameleon?

[dudeman728]

i was just wondering what methods some people used to gain the trust of their chameleon? whenever cooper sees me he runs away into his hiding spots and i can barely see him anymore. i know that chameleons fun loving animals who love to be held and stuff, but i was just wondering what is the best way to gain his trust. also, what age/size is the best time to try these techniques? when will he respond best to them? he is currently 9 weeks old. thanks! thanks

 

[chameleonman57]

Try hand feeding or trying to get your cham to come out to you with food. I sometimes talk to my cham.

 

[Warrix642]

Start cup-feeding him and trick him on your hand a little more everyday.

 

[dudeman728]

is it best to start this asap at his age? i feel like he is so young that he wouldnt understand what i am doing. also how often should i do it?

 

[Warrix642]

The sooner you start cup-feeding the better IMO. He will get used to it quick!

 

[dudeman728]

awesome thanks for the advice! im sure normal crickets would do the trick right?

 

[dudeman728]

i tried to use the cup for the first time but he just ran away to the highest corner. i guess it takes some practice and i just gotta be patient

 

[Warrix642]

Put it in slow and real low so he can see the crickets from the top.

 

[BocaJan]

This is what I do with all my chams. When you get your baby, take a beer cup, put your crickets in it, dust and then put the cup into the cage. Let him see the cup with the crickets. jiggle it around a bit and just hold it in there. He won't come at first but just hold the cup there for a few minutes, even let the crickets climb out. Shake out the rest of the crickets and leave. Do this every day and soon you will see your cham get the idea that the cup is where the food is. All my chams will climb into the cup and shoot at their crickets. I only let them do that for about 1/2 of the crickets before I jiggle out the rest of the crickets. I like my cham to "hunt" but want them to know about the cup.

They will start to trust you a bit. When I move to worms I put the worm on my hand or hold it between my fingers.

My hubby takes Merlin out every evening to sit in a fake plant and feeds him Kale. It is so cute to watch! Merlin is only 4 months old. He likes to hang out on his door so whenever I mist him or feed him his crickets he makes a dash for my arm or my head. He loves to leave his cage and ride around on our shoulders or head.

Now, if only we can get the dog to ignore him he can be our first free range fella.

 

[dudeman728]

hes not taking the bait. i should just try tomorrow when hes more hungry. itll be feeding time

 

[BocaJan]

It doesn't happen with one feeding. You need to put some time and effort into it.

 

[Breeze]

It doesn't happen with one feeding. You need to put some time and effort into it.

it did with me

 

[Ryan123]

my male has ALWAYS been friendly and trusting towards ANYONE and i mean EVERYONE ever since he hatched from his little egg he has been held and fed by hand he is the most amazing pet ever like a loyal dog even though he bit the crap out of me today tring to get the horn worm lol accident tho my female took some time tho not very long a week maybe then she ate by hand i started handling her everyday and taking her outside and for walks and let others do the same she started enlihtening up ALOT if you PM me i think i have something on my e-mail on about how to gain trust

 

[dudeman728]

he sees clearly sees the food but just doesnt want to go after it. at least im making progress

 

[Miss Lily]

It's better to try first thing in the morning, once they are all warmed up and hungry! That's how I started getting Amy used to me. I always made sure that I hand fed a few locusts before I put the feeding cup of crix in for the day.

 

[dudeman728]

should i leave the cup with crickets in the cage so he can get used to seeing it? hes just very uncomfortable with me coming near him. probably cause hes so small compared to me. i show him the crickets but he just doesnt go after it. hes got that look of uncomfortableness

 

[Miss Lily]

I leave the feeding cup in Amy's cage all day and remove a few hours before her lights go out. When I first got her and brought her home, I offered her a couple of small crix in a cup which I attached under a vine so she could look down into it. The next morning she was sat in the same place on the vine waiting for her brekkie! They learn very quickly, especially where food is concerned! If you have only had you cham for a couple of days, it may take a while before it's comfortable to eat when there are people around. After a few days I tried to hand fed and once she took a locust from me I made sure that I did that every morning with a few locusts and put her crix in the cup as usual for her to eat when she wanted.

 

[dudeman728]

i want to thank you guys again for all the advice given. ive actually had cooper for about a month and a half now and handled him pretty often to try and get him used to me. ive hand fed him a couple of times by taking him out of his cage and he actually responded pretty well to it. he doesnt really do it anymore and thats why im trying a new method. he doesnt seem very stressed usually when i take him out because he gets green when hes on me but just doesnt seem very comfortable. i guess hes a tough one! just gotta keep working at it!

 

[dudeman728]

its official...hes way too afraid of me to trust anything i do

 

[Montium]

In that case, just let him get used to you being near his cage and go from there.