Chameleon aggression

[Jc555]

Hi id like to discuss the leading up to the point of my relationship with my veiled today and how to fix this. So when i first got him he was about a month old and was an angel and i could pretty much hold him whenever i wanted (Not that i actually did) and that was that, i had obviously known that chameleons dont like being held or being in their business so i just limited it to a whenever i have friends or family over id hold him so basically like once or twice a month, and i started leaving a dish of food out for him instead of hand feeding him which i think was a big contributor to as you will learn my “untaming” of him, and that was that about a month ago i had family over and they were all looking at him and that was the first time he had ever hissed at me and my family obviously i just assumed he felt overwhelmed at this point he was about 2-3 months old, and then my friend who is a reptile keeper and had took care of my chameleon when he was about a month old thought he was still a chill guy about 2 weeks ago just went into the cage to get him like i would usually when i have company over and he hissed and i didnt expect that either and i was like what and i tried to get him and he hissed at me and that was that, but then my brother who does practically nothing with him goes to get him and he dosent even care hes just fine so i think ok maybe he just dosent like the way i go for him and i say let him climb onto my arm, and i approach him on my brothers arm and he hisses and i was pretty upset, the only experience my brother had had with him was holding him for about 2 hours on two seperate occasions when i was remodeling some enclosure aspects and that was all and i really got into how to tame them and ive been hand feeding again, leaving my hand in the enclosure for 15+ minutes to let him know im not a threat, trying to pick him up and he keeps hissing, and now he wont let my brother pick him up either so hes kinda isolated at this point its not that i necessarily want to hold him all the time its more of a what if theres an emergency leak or something in the enclosure and i have to get him out, i dont even know what i would do, today i made some good progress trying to pick him up he let me pet him which is a first if i even got within a foot radius hed prly hiss at me, i tried to make him enter my arm and he hissed i tried to slip him under a brach i poked in the enclosure and he went crazy, im considering soon getting gloves and just picking him up to know im not a threat, the thing is im certainly not going to stop because if i let this chameleon know that hissing will make me go away then he’ll just do it forever. Am i doing the right things? Should i do anything else? let me know thanks, if you read this long story.

 

[Carlton]

If I understood that wall of text correctly what you are describing is a veiled who is maturing and becoming more territorial of his space. As we say many many times, every cham is intelligent enough to be an individual, so it's often hard to predict just how tolerant any one of them will be as it grows up.

When they are babies everything is new and bigger than they are. They are less "sure" that they can tell an intruder off, so they don't. As they mature, hormones start getting added to the mix. Plus, they kind of know what you will and won't do...they know you are not much of a threat so they can bluff you if they don't want to be messed with. You are becoming more of an intruder to their cage which is THEIR turf and they resent it. Most chams will bluff and put on a display when disturbed, but don't always follow up with a true attack.

Some people decide to use gloves, but many don't. IMHO, a drawback to using gloves is that they help you ignore what your cham is attempting to tell you. If you are not concerned about how upset your cham gets (because the glove protects you from handling mistakes), you may be missing subtle cues he's giving you about what he'll accept and what he won't. If you force your cham to just take what you dish out, you can end up with an even nastier defensive lizard instead of one you have learned to respect and accept for itself.

Don't "pet" him. Stroking isn't necessarily something he enjoys. It could be seen as a threat, as it's not natural for chams to stroke or groom each other socially. That's a mammal thing. I have had some chams that didn't mind being stroked under the chin or on a foot, but not all of them. Start hand feeding him again to "remind" him that you are a source of good things. When you use a branch to pick him up and move him, take him someplace he likes in the house (a warm sunny windowsill, a favorite houseplant, etc) so he learns that if he accepts being handled he'll get a reward of someplace fun.

Also, many veileds go through a particularly pissy phase as adolescents (5 months to a year). They are sulky teens. They may mellow out again after that, but not always.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Well said @Carlton panthers go through it too!

 

[Jc555]

If I understood that wall of text correctly what you are describing is a veiled who is maturing and becoming more territorial of his space. As we say many many times, every cham is intelligent enough to be an individual, so it's often hard to predict just how tolerant any one of them will be as it grows up.

When they are babies everything is new and bigger than they are. They are less "sure" that they can tell an intruder off, so they don't. As they mature, hormones start getting added to the mix. Plus, they kind of know what you will and won't do...they know you are not much of a threat so they can bluff you if they don't want to be messed with. You are becoming more of an intruder to their cage which is THEIR turf and they resent it. Most chams will bluff and put on a display when disturbed, but don't always follow up with a true attack.

Some people decide to use gloves, but many don't. IMHO, a drawback to using gloves is that they help you ignore what your cham is attempting to tell you. If you are not concerned about how upset your cham gets (because the glove protects you from handling mistakes), you may be missing subtle cues he's giving you about what he'll accept and what he won't. If you force your cham to just take what you dish out, you can end up with an even nastier defensive lizard instead of one you have learned to respect and accept for itself.

Don't "pet" him. Stroking isn't necessarily something he enjoys. It could be seen as a threat, as it's not natural for chams to stroke or groom each other socially. That's a mammal thing. I have had some chams that didn't mind being stroked under the chin or on a foot, but not all of them. Start hand feeding him again to "remind" him that you are a source of good things. When you use a branch to pick him up and move him, take him someplace he likes in the house (a warm sunny windowsill, a favorite houseplant, etc) so he learns that if he accepts being handled he'll get a reward of someplace fun.

Also, many veileds go through a particularly pissy phase as adolescents (5 months to a year). They are sulky teens. They may mellow out again after that, but not always.

Thank you for the advice, i was reffering to chin rubs which was a step because he hadnt let me even touch him for a solid few weeks, but yea the thing is hes pretty intelligent he knows if i have a branch and poke it near him that im trying to get him out he goes crazy hissing at a branch compared to my hand, i havent established really a place he likes, didnt really get to hold him a ton until he got aggressive i will just try the spots you said, just for reference how could i tell if he is happy at times? Or does every chameleon have their own moods and thats for the owner to figure out? Thanks.

 

[JoshD49]

From what I have read and heard, every charm has their own personality similar to people. Lumping even one species together as friendly or not doesn't work. Also they seem to go through a teen phase that they challenge the "parent" to establish themselves as an adult.

 

[alan marz]

My guy has been mean and will bite since the day I got him 3 to 4 years ago, but I still love him.
I get him out by either a stick and putting under or in front of him and try and give a little push or coral him on to the stick, just be patience.

 

[Graves923]

I actually just got a video today showing how territorial my Veiled is... If any put of me in in "HIS" cage, he comes after me to try and scare me off. But once he is out of the cage and on my arm or his free range area, he is calm.

Funny how easily territorial/defensive behavior is mistaken as aggressive.