Advice welcomed Plz and thank you

[Giovanni Stephenson]

Giovanni StephensoHello guys as you see ^ my name and I have a 4-5 month old veiled chameleon and I recived him when he was 2 months old so he's been with me for 3 months my only issue is since the day I bought him from his other owner he only would let me pet hold him on day 1 after I put him back in the cage at his owners house he will not and I repeate will not come near me at all I go to feed him he will climb to the opposite side of cage and if I try to handle him he starts to hiss so when he starts that I back off and try not to stress him out anymore than he is so I have not been able to handle him since that day and it makes me upset cause he's beautiful healthy and is fed everyday oh another thing I haven't been spraying his cage much cause he hisses badly like he's being attack so if anyone has any advice I will do as told and this is my first chameleon but I've own lots of bearded dragons so Plz leave lots of advice for me to become a better chameleon owner.

 

[NvC Dex]

It takes an extreme amount of time from what I have been reading on the forums about taming a chameleon. I have 2... they both still dont like me. As for misting the cage... Do it just on the leaves of the plants... Thats what I do and neither of mine dont act aggressive. They wait till I am finished and away form the cage to go and get a drink.

 

[Carlton]

Giovanni StephensoHello guys as you see ^ my name and I have a 4-5 month old veiled chameleon and I recived him when he was 2 months old so he's been with me for 3 months my only issue is since the day I bought him from his other owner he only would let me pet hold him on day 1 after I put him back in the cage at his owners house he will not and I repeate will not come near me at all I go to feed him he will climb to the opposite side of cage and if I try to handle him he starts to hiss so when he starts that I back off and try not to stress him out anymore than he is so I have not been able to handle him since that day and it makes me upset cause he's beautiful healthy and is fed everyday oh another thing I haven't been spraying his cage much cause he hisses badly like he's being attack so if anyone has any advice I will do as told and this is my first chameleon but I've own lots of bearded dragons so Plz leave lots of advice for me to become a better chameleon owner.

Well, first off, be sure you are not expecting him to behave like your beardies did. Chams are very different. They are also individuals and not all of them tolerate much interaction with people. Why don't you show a picture or describe his cage setup? One explanation could be that he doesn't feel secure in his cage now, so he's always defensive right at the start. How much foliage is in his cage? Most chams don't like to be sprayed directly, but if you spray the foliage near him with hot (well, not boiling) water he can go drink the droplets off the plants instead. He should be able to hide from view when he wants to, not be watched all the time.

Oh, BTW, your questions were hard to read as it was one very long sentence. Punctuation is our friend!

 

[Giovanni Stephenson]

Thanks now ik I'm not alone. I have a vertical cage so I open the bottom part to grab his dish but when the door part opens he like to be no where in site. Starting today when I'm home and not at work I will be leaving his cage door open when I'm present so he can get use to my hands going in and out I hope that will help.

 

[Giovanni Stephenson]

I am seeing that now the difference between my beardies and my chameleon all my childhood growing up dreaming of unique pets mainly reptiles a chameleon was number 1. So not being able to hold him really suck but hopefully one day he will end up not getting enough of me. I also have a outdoor reptile cage for a lawn or wherever and I would love for him to get some natural sunlight and exprience the outside world for my enjoyment and his. I am a new user so sorry about the punctuations lol and I will keep a update on him almost daily and pictures are sure to come!!!!!!!

 

[Alexander1]

Congrats on your chameleon,
My chameleon is the same way, he's very reluctant to come near me, he hisses and displays his "excited" colors, head butting me and such. I've learned to understand chameleons are more of a display pet and not a pet you can handle much. Misting with warm water helps, but my Cham also does not like to be sprayed directly, misting is very important so spray down his enclosure either way. Let him hide under the foliage and drink the drips that develop on the leaves. Chams are awesome but friendly they are not I've learned. Lol. Good luck, you joined the right forum btw

 

[NvC Dex]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/psychobunny/746-taming-chameleon.html

I hope this will help you.

 

[VincentChameleon]

Here's another great article I thought I'd pass along! Much Ado About Chameleons: Thoughts On Handling: How to Tame a Chameleon

I've had Vince for about a month now...she's approximately 2-1/2 months old (from my best guess!) Initially, she would turn black and puff up when I'd open her enclosure door to mist, give her food, reposition a plant, really anything! What I found worked best for me was initially using one of her enclosure plants as a mediator...she has a jade plant which is easy for her to grab onto and hide out in. Rather than moving my hand near her, I use the jade plant. She willingly climbs onto it and, from what I can observe, seems very much at ease when out of her enclosure. Just allowing her to observe me from a safe location, I feel, helped her learn that I was not a threat but, in fact, the bearer of food!

After doing this for about three weeks with very minimal actual handling time (while also hand feeding), I began to offer her my hand once she was on the jade plant but in a very nonthreatening way...just placing it near her and, sure enough, she began to move her way toward my hand. Now, don't get me wrong, there are certain days when she still turns black and I can very much tell she wants nothing to do with me. But just with any animal, learning to read their body language and respecting what they're communicating to you is key! If anything, I would encourage you to continue to be patient...Rome wasn't built in a day! While it can take months and months to build up trust, remember it only takes one action to completely demolish it!

I wish you the best of luck!