Chameleons not making good pets?!! What!?!

[jpowell86]

I'm not going to give a long response here as I think most members know my stance on this topic. Conversely, I am not going to condemn someone for keeping their chameleon the way they want. But, the one thing I have to say is, quit generalizing the word chameleon.

I think most would agree with me that the majority of the members here, and most all new keepers in the hobby in general, care for veiled or panthers. There are far more species than just these two. I personally work with 13 different species at the present moment and I can tell you that all of them have various moods and mindsets. Some species are incredibly sensitive. Some don't even like being seen. So saying that a "chameleon" can be tamed is folly.

You can't even generalize the character of a species when it spans various regions. I am finding that out right now. I too have been guilty of saying that melleri are calm customers. I have never had a melleri show aggression towards me...and I have over 30 of them. But, they are all from Tanzania. I just got in melleri from Mozambique and let me tell you my past comments can be thrown out the window. They are super pissy aggressive animals. So, I am guilty of generalizing as well.

I think we need to be more careful with our wording as more breeders are finding success, which means a broader variety of chameleons are available. I will have cristatus hatching soon. If someone wants to buy one, thinking it can be tamed, they are going to be severely disappointed.

 

[JacksJill]

I'm not going to wade into the handle or don't handle quagmire but I will say how good a pet any creature makes is based solely on the expectations of the owner/handler/pet parent. I say chameleons make very good pets. I don't believe they are for everyone. They are definitely for me.

 

[alphakenc]

All I can said is all my "panther chameleons " are handling every day,they never tends to hiss at me,I put my time into one specie only,I have my way of caring them,and Im glad others can experience the same results with their panther chameleon as their own good pets,the more time u put into ur "panther chameleon " the less defensive they will be,starting when they are just babies ,since they are getting fed by me day in and day out,these are my own personal experience with my panther cause I spend endless hours with them,and I dedicated all my time just for the "panther chameleon "only!!
U will definitely have to read their body language,From their postures to their color difference showing ,If u can master all the observation skill from ur panther chameleon,then u will know u own a great pet for u to handle right then,so far they never hissing or shy away from me when I approach the individual panther baby in the specific time picking the baby up n puting it back in the cage,as they seeing no threat from me at all.
And there are time u will have certain individual panther chameleon not as much as approachable from their siblings,and thats when I spend even more time to be with that particular one,I study that individual behavior until I can tell when will be the best moments to handling that individual panther baby,I dont give up easy,and This is what Im good at it,no one can ever take away from me,unless they are with me 24/7 in my house with my panther chameleons!!
Never have doubts unless u already thinking its impossible to do and failure will never be an option to me for sure!!!

 

[JacksJill]

I have to add a comment because of a rescue I'm helping with right now. Chameleons are not good pets for young children unless the parents are willing to participate in their care as a family pet. It is not fair to cham or child to overwhelm the later and neglect the former. It is a serious decision to take on the care of a chameleon. You have to be willing to do your care homework. You have to make adjustments to your husbandry as they age and at each seasonal change. You have to become care taker not only to the reptile but to a variety of feeders or build a reliable supply chain. These are not casual pets. There are other reptiles that are more durable that might be better pets for beginners that rely solely on pet store advise.
I do still believe they are good pets but not for those that are loosely committed to their pets.

 

[PJK]

As i was looking best pet lizards I came a cross chameleons and it said they are extremely hard pets,very pitty,and not playful.WHAT!?! I couldn't believe what I was seeing I did understand the part of special lightings and humidity.So I looked up chameleons as pets and it said there fun to watch,there blah blah and so on until the part I wanted to see and it said: You can't cuddle with them which is not true,that there very mean that depends on many things and almost never handle them!?! If you don't handle them they won't get used to you and we'll be grumpy and mean towards you and others.
I have a veiled chameleon and I can play with even cuddle and is very nice.
In conclusion what I don't like is people saying there bad pets when they can be really awesome pets.

Hate to be "that guy" but it seems like a few have jumped on this already. Attributing what your animal, no matter the species, is thinking is an incorrect way to perceive their behavior. Its going to come off as cold, but its the truth, we have no true idea what an animal "likes" and "dislikes". there is no true way to measure this, and projecting your sense of enjoyment onto an animal is incorrect. We call this anthropomorphism. In reality we don't even know if any animal has any true sense of liking or disliking something the way we see it. Humans have the most complex higher brain function in the animal kingdom and not to offend our scaly friends theirs is......lacking. It would almost be safer to assume they cannot sense enjoyment the way you do, but again, we cannot do this because we simply have no way of measuring it. I love my chameleon for sure, but I wouldn't expect him to love me back. Doing so is attributing too much functionality to their somewhat limited brain function.

 

[JacksJill]

It would almost be safer to assume they cannot sense enjoyment the way you do, but again, we cannot do this because we simply have no way of measuring it. I love my chameleon for sure, but I wouldn't expect him to love me back. Doing so is attributing too much functionality to their somewhat limited brain function.

At best when they climb on your arm (I'm going out on a limb here. HA) you can only barely assume that they find it a warm convenient branch that they have found food on from time to time or a connection from point A to B. Personally, that I'm not considered a treat is fine with me.

 

[PJK]

At best when they climb on your arm (I'm going out on a limb here. HA) you can only barely assume that they find it a warm convenient branch that they have found food on from time to time or a connection from point A to B. Personally, that I'm not considered a treat is fine with me.

Eggsactly

 

[OldChamKeeper]

I think you folks got trolled. The thread isn't even worth posting on other than this comment of mine. Anybody check the the IP? I've got a few users on ignore for good reason who didn't like that and maybe its just a coincidence, but many here knows of my Chameleon, Atlas...... the whole thread is fishy. Or trollish.

 

[JacksJill]

considered a treat is fine with me.

Considered a THREAT (auto correct strikes again) is fine with me.

 

[Carlton]

I think you folks got trolled. The thread isn't even worth posting on other than this comment of mine. Anybody check the the IP? I've got a few users on ignore for good reason who didn't like that and maybe its just a coincidence, but many here knows of my Chameleon, Atlas...... the whole thread is fishy. Or trollish.

Oh well, so maybe we did succumb. I can forgive it...its almost Christmas after all.

 

[alphakenc]

Here is the exact word from the professional breeder.
." No one color morph is hardier or more personable. Personality is an individual trait and may vary from chameleon to chameleon. The younger the chameleon is, the easier to tame."
And Im the WITNESS to "tame" my own baby panther chameleon since they hatched with my ENDLESS TIME and PATIENCE,its always possible if u believe in ur chameleons from the time when they were born.
Merry Xmas Everyone!!!!

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

When @Decadancin became a modurator he mentioned in his initial post that most of all, he wants people to be more tolerant to each others ideas and that there no one correct way of doing things when it comes to chameleons! If we are not open minded we will never learn wonderful new things! This thread is at constant risk for things to get nasty, and yet it has not! I want to thank every one who has participated in this thread for keeping it nice! Because of the potential explosive nature of this thread this will be my last post here. I choose kindness, peace and harmony! I love this forum and want all members to keep feeling the same way!

It feels to me that this subject has no substantial objective proof on either side of the debate! Reminds me of the Star Trek episode where censient, highly intelligent crystalline enteties refered to us humans as "ugly bags of mostly water!"

Whether my chameleons loves me or not is not as important to me as the fact that there seems to be no animosity towards me as their keeper (or are they my keepers) and that I absolutely love each and every one of them, big and small!

To me it is a joy and honor to have them in my live! I am a very lucky guy!

Blessings to all of you wonderful people! Thanks for tolerating me and for all the respect I am shown here! May this Christmas day be a wonderful, blessed and happy day for all of you, humans and reptiles alike! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CandyCham]

I think you folks got trolled. The thread isn't even worth posting on other than this comment of mine. Anybody check the the IP? I've got a few users on ignore for good reason who didn't like that and maybe its just a coincidence, but many here knows of my Chameleon, Atlas...... the whole thread is fishy. Or trollish.

My Dog's name is Atlas... great name