Attitude problem!

[ydktdborg]

My chameleon has a serious attitude problem. If i go near him he will hiss and attack me a bit. Is this normal for a lot of chameleons.
He's a 9 month old yemen veiled chameleon! Is there any reason for this and is there anyway that i can calm him down so that he will sit on me?!?

 

[Jam]

I have a male veiled who acts the exact same way. He bites you just for the heck of it literally, he'll bite you and look at you with a "so THERE" look on his face. We've pretty much just ignored the behavior; we tried various things like getting him out of his cage with a stick (he chose to attack the stick instead). So, we just sort of accept it as him and hope that he'll grow out of it at some point.
though, since he's been sick, he hasn't been agressive, so we'll see if he continues that once he gets better or if he will go back to his old ways.

 

[ydktdborg]

lol thats funny. it sound exactly the same. Whenever i come in the room he gives me a look as if to tell me to get out of his room. He thinks that he owns the place and that im just a visitor!

I hope mine grows out of it and i hope yours gets better!

 

[lazyhousewife]

I have a female named Heidi who sometimes does the same but I have had her since she was a baby. We have moved her into her own private room sun room, she does from time to time hiss but I sing her song she calms down comes to me and off we go to play on the bed, or in her favorite silk tree so she may watch her cartoons with my 9 yr old.

Try a song or soft voice all my chams and beardies come when I know call me crazy use humming or each of them have there own lullaby..... lol yes i know but most i have had since babies. So to them I am there mom. Becca

 

[Tarzansma]

I sing her song she calms down comes to me and off we go to play on the bed, or in her favorite silk tree so she may watch her cartoons with my 9 yr old.

That is so funny! I do the same thing for my veiled cham! He's all hissy and grumpy, then I start singing/humming, and he'll walk all the way towards me. It still takes a stick to get him out, but that's really funny to find that other people use the singing technique - =)

TarzansMa

 

[ydktdborg]

Im not gona laugh at that method if it works. trust me im gona try it and see if it helps. Im willing to try anything and this makes sense anyway!
I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Heika]

I thought chameleons were almost deaf for some reason? I took great solace in that when my cham was a little guy. I live with my parents because my father has a rare form of dementia, and he needs around the clock supervision. He is a really noisy person, and for a long time, he would look into the cage and shout (my fault, I told him they couldn't hear very well) "HEY BUDDY!!" repeatedly. Spencer never even paid him any attention unless my father started tapping on the cage, too. Anyone know how much a chameleon hears?

Heika

 

[Drake]

I've also read that Chams can hear only a very very little. They communicate with each other by vibrating the branches they are on, as well as their color. I'm not sure though, I would also like to know if they can or can't...

 

[Jason]

Chameleons do have limited hearing abilities. Singing will probably not register with them unless you are a serious barotone or you are holding them close to you. More info on chameleon hearing and communication can be found on the Chameleons! Online E-zine at http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/may2003/infrasound/infrasound.html

 

[ydktdborg]

Well i tried the humming and i have to say that it did calm him down a bit. he was hissing at me so i hummed and went closer and he closed his mouth and stopped hissing. I stroked him a bit and then tried to hold him but he went mad again. I think im gona try this from now on and see if i can calm him down overall.

Thanks for that!

 

[jesseesperto]

Yeah my Emily is quite moody. I try to handle her but she freaks out. Once she gets out and she is crawling around my arms she calms down. She will bite alike a little snap. It almost seems that her way of playing. I talk to her a lot and try hand feeding as much as possible.

 

[Brad]

As Jason and a few others already stated, I don't think chameleons hear very well. In my limited experiences, I have never seen a chameleon respond to vocal stimulus.

Also, I wanted to point out that chameleons are not social animals. When your chameleon 'freaks out' or bites you, it is because he is threatened and very stressed. Daily stress like this can really add up with chameleons; they are delicate creatures. I don't recommend frequent handling.

 

[ydktdborg]

I think that my chameleon will always have this attitude but i hope he grows out of it. Today i was adding a lot to his cage and he was at he back of it. While i was doing it he decided to come to the front of the cage and warn me off.
If he could talk i think that he would have sworn at me and told me where to go! He thinks he's the king of his cage and my room.
He's got a lot of character though! lol

 

[ydktdborg]

Well i finally done it, i picked him up and he hissed at first but i managed to pick him up and he was fine.
Ive taken lots of pictures and he's getting comfortable with me.
Heres two pictures of him on me and my bonsai tree!