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

[dudeman728]

ive had pretty minimal progress but still love cooper nonetheless!! hes only eaten a waxworm from my hands once but i guess thats better than zero! ahha. i dont think he minds when hes out but he just doesnt like the act of me getting him. im still going to try some techniques but im just going to assume hes a chameleon that just doesnt come around to it. thanks for all the help!

 

[Miss Lily]

Keep persevering with the food bribary. It does work, but it also takes a while! I have had Amy since the end of May (when she was about 3 months old) and she only decided a few weeks ago that she would actually scratch on her door and WANT to come out! Like you, I didn't think I'd ever get to this stage with her, but it has happened and it's the best feeling in the world when they walk onto you because they want to! I could have cried, I was sooo happy, lol! Keep trying and good luck!

 

[warpdrive]

hey Dudeman,

here is what I have done for Splat...

right from day one, I started to sit on the floor still as can be about 15 feet away from the cage.
each week I moved closer buy 2 or 3 feet.
within a few weeks I sat right ontop of the cage and all this made him realise it was safe to stay out of hiding.

I started to hand feed right away. in a scooper that I use to get my crickets out of thier tank or with my fingers.
I stayed low, well bellow his head, outstreached my had slowly toward him and keeped the food between my eyes and his head.
at least one cricket per feeding was hand fed to have him get used to me as the food guy.
again, stay low, and move ultra slow.
in time they will get used to thier feeding scoopers/cups...right now Splat will see me walking from 20 feet away with his dusting cup and get ready for food.

start with this and in time he/she will trust you more.
feel free to PM me in a month or two for more tips.
you'll see that in time you'll gain the trust of your cham, it just takes alot of time and learning how to move slowly or sit still and not scratch your nose.

Harry

 

[Miss Lily]

hey Dudeman,

here is what I have done for Splat...

right from day one, I started to sit on the floor still as can be about 15 feet away from the cage.
each week I moved closer buy 2 or 3 feet.
within a few weeks I sat right ontop of the cage and all this made him realise it was safe to stay out of hiding.

I started to hand feed right away. in a scooper that I use to get my crickets out of thier tank or with my fingers.
I stayed low, well bellow his head, outstreached my had slowly toward him and keeped the food between my eyes and his head.
at least one cricket per feeding was hand fed to have him get used to me as the food guy.
again, stay low, and move ultra slow.
in time they will get used to thier feeding scoopers/cups...right now Splat will see me walking from 20 feet away with his dusting cup and get ready for food.

start with this and in time he/she will trust you more.
feel free to PM me in a month or two for more tips.
you'll see that in time you'll gain the trust of your cham, it just takes alot of time and learning how to move slowly or sit still and not scratch your nose.

Harry

hahaha! Harry, that is too funny, lol! I have visions of you actually sat on top of Splat's cage and the poor l'il chap looking up and thinking 'WTF?!' LOL! Sorry guys, but that did amuse me! I think Gary1621 tried the sitting by the cage technique and had success with that too.

 

[jake01]

My veiled is perfectly "cup trained" and is quite the character. He tends to mount the feeder cup so it really helps come time to take him outside. My other guys i got as adults, so it's tough but my fischer's will eat from a cup as long as i'm far away. The ankaramy is still acclimating to his new home so he avoids the cup but will usually instantly go for silks stuck to a screen or vine near him.

 

[Pumpkinface]

I've been using phoenix and king mealworms to gain the trust of my 5 month old, Cleopatra. she used to bite... more than she does now. oh and strawberry slices we call her QWEEopatra though because of all her hissing "qwee qweeeeee bite!"

 

[warpdrive]

hahaha! Harry, that is too funny, lol! I have visions of you actually sat on top of Splat's cage and the poor l'il chap looking up and thinking 'WTF?!' LOL! Sorry guys, but that did amuse me! I think Gary1621 tried the sitting by the cage technique and had success with that too.

shhh, don't tell anyone, but I used my super duper shrink ray I stole from the Army back in the 90's.

sitting on top of the cage by the basking light was way to hot for me, so I worked my way into the cage by week 4.
I then put on 6 shirts and cralled on his vines while trying to do the shaky walk that they do at times.
then every 30 mins or so I would pull off a shirt and fooled Splat into thinking that I'm a chameleon changing my colors.

sorry, I get silly when I can't sleep at night.

Harry

 

[Miss Lily]

shhh, don't tell anyone, but I used my super duper shrink ray I stole from the Army back in the 90's.

sitting on top of the cage by the basking light was way to hot for me, so I worked my way into the cage by week 4.
I then put on 6 shirts and cralled on his vines while trying to do the shaky walk that they do at times.
then every 30 mins or so I would pull off a shirt and fooled Splat into thinking that I'm a chameleon changing my colors.

sorry, I get silly when I can't sleep at night.

Harry

Hahaha! It would be so cool to really be able to do that! Hope you didn't fall off the branch whilst attempting your leaf walk, lol!