Chameleon handling

[Thehippie]

I want to give m chameleon a little bit of freedom and set up some plants and ropes outside of his enclosure but in order to get him there i'll need to pick him up. now my chameleon is a bit shy and doesn't like being picked up whatsoever, any tips or tricks on how to get him there without getting bitten? hes very aggressive when hes afraid and I don't want to accidentally stress him.

 

[Tucklander]

If you just acquired them, give them some time to acclimate to thief new surroundings...also Chams simply sometimes (most of the time) don’t enjoy handling...its a case by case thing...each Cham is different...but approach it with your hand below and under its sight line, maybe with a treat in your hand like a wax worm or super worm...they don’t like to be approached from top or behind or suddenly...all a chill attempt

 

[gonioporagirl]

My cham is very enthusiastic when it comes to food, so I recommend holding a feeder insect such as a cricket with one hand and he will likely crawl towards it. Then you can slowly place your hand under the cham's sight line and allow it to crawl onto your hand to get to the insect. Not sure if this will work for your cham, but it works with mine every time. As a general rule, you shouldn't actually pick up your chameleon. Instead, you are allowing them to perch on your hand. They should be the ones crawling onto you. Hope this helps!

 

[Thehippie]

update: I "held" him for the first time, he was fine once he was out of the cage, colored back up and he didn't hiss the entire process, thanks for the advice on using food as a lure, he came straight to me, now I just have to set up a bigger free range space because mine was made for baby veileds.

 

[andrearamirezo91]

update: I "held" him for the first time, he was fine once he was out of the cage, colored back up and he didn't hiss the entire process, thanks for the advice on using food as a lure, he came straight to me, now I just have to set up a bigger free range space because mine was made for baby veileds.

I've read that they tend to be quite territorial with their enclosures. A lot of people say the issue is actually getting them out of the cage, but that once they're out they mellow down quite a bit. The food thing helps. Just in general make sure your cham always sees your hand when you're dropping food in his enclosure. That way he'll start associating your hand with good things. You could also lure him onto a stick and then take the stick out of the cage without having to grab him yourself. This works for a lot of people.

 

[Tucklander]

I've read that they tend to be quite territorial with their enclosures. A lot of people say the issue is actually getting them out of the cage, but that once they're out they mellow down quite a bit. The food thing helps. Just in general make sure your cham always sees your hand when you're dropping food in his enclosure. That way he'll start associating your hand with good things. You could also lure him onto a stick and then take the stick out of the cage without having to grab him yourself. This works for a lot of people.

I have to use the stick method a lot...although he’s a cool little fella...Harry becomes “Dirty Harry “ when you need to take him out...he then completely chills out and tries to crawl on my head and everything in sight