angry cham

[King4Zerg]

Hi, I have a Male veiled cham I know they get territorial and stuff but I want to know how to tame him when I put my hand in the viv he will either stay and hiss and snap sometimes he will come up and attack It sucks I want him out when I clean REALLY clean by spraying the leafs with soapy water and dry them with a paper towel and stuff I just want him to be tame and like me. He won't trust me with the Treat trick, he trusts his feeding cup more than anything, please help.

-May God Bless You Always-

 

[Syreptyon]

There's not much you can do. Male veileds are perhaps the most notoriously aggressive of them all. They are reptiles and have more "primitive" brains than ours, and will inevitably view you as a predator/threat. Chameleons just aren't the right animal if you want something calm and easy to handle.

All you can do is give him time and space. Some people have luck with hand feeding, or you can try leaving his cage door open to see if he comes out on his own. Oftentimes, once they get out of their environment they will be much less aggressive. You really don't need to scrub his plants down very often, though. It's rarely necessary outside of cleaning plants off before adding them to an enclosure and will ultimately just disrupt your chameleon and make the trust issues even worse

 

[King4Zerg]

Thanks, yes the few times he is out of his cage he's completely chill. I don't usually clean his cage like that but there was white stuff that was not shedding's so I wanted to get it out just incase.
Thanks Again!

 

[GDiggs]

White stuff ? Like water spots ?

 

[JacksJill]

Sometimes putting a plant or small tree near their cage that they can free range on will lure them out. Move it to a sunny window while you do what you need to so it is a reward.

 

[King4Zerg]

I was thinking of putting a plant inside the cage I might put one out to maybe just have one out. Thanks

 

[Arpretty]

Sometimes putting a plant or small tree near their cage that they can free range on will lure them out. Move it to a sunny window while you do what you need to so it is a reward.

I absolutely second this. I wholeheartedly believe my male veiled would have never been pleasant with me if I didn’t give him the opportunity to start leaving his cage on his own. It totally changed his world! Now he doesn’t show me any aggression whatsoever. It was a long and slow process that required a lot of patience on my end, and giving him the ability to make his own choices.

 

[King4Zerg]

If I have the door open he will hide in the corner of his cage, sometimes he stays but he never explores the outside of his cage.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

If I have the door open he will hide in the corner of his cage, sometimes he stays but he never explores the outside of his cage.

Yours is still too new and unsure of his surroundings. This behavior is mostly attributed to juvenile and adult chams.You will know when he is ready when he starts climbing all over his viv without rest. Their hormones are driving them to look for a mate and protect his territory.

 

[Arpretty]

If I have the door open he will hide in the corner of his cage, sometimes he stays but he never explores the outside of his cage.

Totally normal. Agree with the above post as well. It takes time and patience - the real deal.

 

[Arpretty]

One thing I discovered is mine wouldn’t leave his cage, even when I put a plant in front of it, until I made the plant higher than his cage by putting it up on a piece of furniture. There is comfort in heights for chameleons