Biting

[zturner7594]

Just curious if chameleon bites hurt? My veiled doesn't mind me handling him but seems to have a great deal of disdain for my wife's hands being in his enclosure. He puffs up and hisses and lunges at her with his mouth open trying to bite her I assume. I'm sure someone here has been bitten...just curious if it hurts or causes any type of injury to your hand or body parts. It doesn't appear that chams have too much bite force, but I want to reassure my wife that shes not in peril!!!

 

[Beman]

I have heard that they are not a comfortable thing to experience... It is something I try to avoid. Honestly my biggest fear with being bitten by my guy is my reaction. They will typically go for hands. So us as humans are going to want to shake our hand if they are latched on... The risk of hurting them is higher then the risk of them doing damage to us. But I have heard that it hurts. @JoXie411 has experienced a bite maybe she can give you more insight.

 

[JoXie411]

Yes the bite hurts very bad mind my girl was sick and weak at the time so I could only imagine how much more it would have hurt if she was stronger. I only got bite because I was syringe feeding to help build her strength up. I would advise if the cham is lunging and hissing at your wife now it wouldn’t be to smart for her to try and handle. It will stress both your wife and chameleon. My husband tried to help me once. It didn’t go well

 

[krikinit]

Maybe she could build some trust by sharing in feeding and cleaning. Slow and steady and bring his favorite treats!

 

[JoXie411]

Maybe she could build some trust by sharing in feeding and cleaning. Slow and steady and bring his favorite treats!

Agree with this. She needs to show the cham she’s a good “walking tree”.

 

[zturner7594]

I believe Stitch is like a horse in that he can sense fear. He seems to know that my wife is scared of him. We will be working on their trust over the next couple of months to see if they can be friends. Thanks

 

[KobaOregonherper]

I have heard that they are not a comfortable thing to experience... It is something I try to avoid. Honestly my biggest fear with being bitten by my guy is my reaction. They will typically go for hands. So us as humans are going to want to shake our hand if they are latched on... The risk of hurting them is higher then the risk of them doing damage to us. But I have heard that it hurts. @JoXie411 has experienced a bite maybe she can give you more insight.

My concern exactly. Koba hissed and lunged at my hand once on the day I got him, my reaction was so childish I was scared I hurt him. 5 1/2 months old and it hurt, like tons of tiny little paper cuts. I've done everything possible to avoid causing him stress enough to get that far since then. One and a half months down and now and hes never so munched as puffed at me. If I stick a finger or a branch in he climbs right up and sits on my head. Apparently I'm an okay tree now instead of an evil walking predator tree.

 

[Beman]

My concern exactly. Koba hissed and lunged at my hand once on the day I got him, my reaction was so childish I was scared I hurt him. 5 1/2 months old and it hurt, like tons of tiny little paper cuts. I've done everything possible to avoid causing him stress enough to get that far since then. One and a half months down and now and hes never so munched as puffed at me. If I stick a finger or a branch in he climbs right up and sits on my head. Apparently I'm an okay tree now instead of an evil walking predator tree.

Yeah Beman has only gone after me once in the 6 months I have had him.. It was recently and it was my mistake that caused it. But in that 10 seconds of my reaction to pull away I knew that if he latched on and I had done that then he could have been really injured. It was a reminder to me that even with as friendly as my boy is he has his limits to what he is ok with. I work within his limits only to limit any stress reaction that could initiate him to bite.

 

[KobaOregonherper]

Just curious if chameleon bites hurt? My veiled doesn't mind me handling him but seems to have a great deal of disdain for my wife's hands being in his enclosure. He puffs up and hisses and lunges at her with his mouth open trying to bite her I assume. I'm sure someone here has been bitten...just curious if it hurts or causes any type of injury to your hand or body parts. It doesn't appear that chams have too much bite force, but I want to reassure my wife that shes not in peril!!!

Yes. It doesnt feel good that's for sure.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Not pleasant but not horrible either. Next time he bites you just bite him back, he won’t do it again!

 

[GoodKarma19]

It isn't a super fun experience and I'd avoid it if you can, but as far as bites go chams don't have a lot in terms of jaw strength. It's honestly more startling than anything, and their tiny little teeth do feel a lot like a bunch of bitty paper cuts! Lily clipped me when I was administering her Panacur, and it was more of a sharp edged pinch than anything.

That being said, I've been bitten/mauled so many times that I'm pretty desensitized. Nothing fazes me anymore, haha! If you're prone to reacting to bites by flicking/jerking your hand, then I'd be worried for the cham. It seems a tad counterintuitive and takes some practice to manage in the heat of the moment, but the best way to react to a landed bite is to push toward the animal rather than pull away. It reduces damage to yourself and minimizes potential harm the animal.

Of course, as already mentioned the best way to avoid bites is to work within the comfort zone of the animal in question as much as possible.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Always find stuff like this interesting. The graphic is about MBD but you can see their “teeth” really well. I forget the term for them but they’re not actual teeth, they are bone.

 

[Beman]

Always find stuff like this interesting. The graphic is about MBD but you can see their “teeth” really well. I forget the term for them but they’re not actual teeth, they are bone.View attachment 232010View attachment 232011View attachment 232012View attachment 232013View attachment 232014View attachment 232015

I love all the stuff you find to share!

 

[GoodKarma19]

Always find stuff like this interesting. The graphic is about MBD but you can see their “teeth” really well. I forget the term for them but they’re not actual teeth, they are bone.View attachment 232010View attachment 232011View attachment 232012View attachment 232013View attachment 232014View attachment 232015

Nice images Brody! Thanks for sharing.

Chameleons have acrodont teeth. That is, the "teeth" are actually bony protrusions directly off of the jaw. I always say "teeth" unless I want to sound clever, haha!

 

[JoXie411]

Nice images Brody! Thanks for sharing.

Chameleons have acrodont teeth. That is, the "teeth" are actually bony protrusions directly off of the jaw. I always say "teeth" unless I want to sound clever, haha!

Always find stuff like this interesting. The graphic is about MBD but you can see their “teeth” really well. I forget the term for them but they’re not actual teeth, they are bone.View attachment 232010View attachment 232011View attachment 232012View attachment 232013View attachment 232014View attachment 232015

Yes my niece thought they don’t have teeth because she couldn’t see them. So I told her they have “teeth” but they are more like razor bones in the mouth like fish have. Next time I’ll show her this post so she can understand and I have the correct name for the “teeth”

 

[Brodybreaux25]

They are designed to grab and hold bugs, not so much for cutting them up. They may draw a couple drops of blood, no biggie. The pressure kind of surprised me though, packs a punch for something so small...

 

[JIFFYPOP]

Ya I guess if they can crush a mouse eh, must have a lil snap to it lol

 

[Beman]

They are designed to grab and hold bugs, not so much for cutting them up. They may draw a couple drops of blood, no biggie. The pressure kind of surprised me though, packs a punch for something so small...

I would be solely concerned about my reaction to the bite because I think my first instinct would be to shake him off my hand. I would fling him against a wall and then he would die and I would be beyond heartbroken, crushed, and mortified. This is how I see it play out in my head lol. I am a bit of a worry wart as you well know. Kinda like when a mosquito bites me my first instinct is to slap the hell out of the spot... Does not matter if the dang thing is still there.

 

[JIFFYPOP]

I would be solely concerned about my reaction to the bite because I think my first instinct would be to shake him off my hand. I would fling him against a wall and then he would die and I would be beyond heartbroken, crushed, and mortified. This is how I see it play out in my head lol. I am a bit of a worry wart as you well know. Kinda like when a mosquito bites me my first instinct is to slap the hell out of the spot... Does not matter if the dang thing is still there.

lol, Ya I think that's understandable, do they bite quick or do they chomp down and hold on too I always wondered

 

[Beman]

lol, Ya I think that's understandable, do they bite quick or do they chomp down and hold on too I always wondered

I have no idea. The only time it almost happened to me he gave me warning that it was coming with a full color display puffed up and hissed then he opened his mouth and lunged for my hand. I just know my omg that hurts response would kick in so I am just going to really pay attention to him and let him be the boss as always. Lol