Confusion on handling

[CrazyPetLady]

Hey everyone! So what i mean on being confused on handling is, I just got Pascal last Saturday and he will be 2 years old June 13. Now the lady who gave him to me says he's the friendliest little thing and he is pretty friendly. I usually get him out by lifting the top of the terrarium up, he climbs up and out and i cup my hands underneath him and slowly lift up and he's fine with it and climbs up on me. I'm wondering though cause I'm new to him. should I start handling him less till I've had him longer? I was told he likes to be handled and out of her terrarium often. So should I handle him less? He seems to be good with me and hand feeds but I just want to make sure hes comfortable with me. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[JlaPinska]

your fine, especially if he tolerates it well. mine hates being herded out of his cage but once he's out he's alright. Mine didnt have any human contact before he came to me and i got him at 8 months old. i read stories of peoples chameleon just hanging out like on your computer monitor etc. Some of them are great with handling and they are rare so consider yourself lucky!

 

[CrazyPetLady]

Alright thanks! Yea he''s better with being slowly allowed out and cupped into my hand then trying to branch out my hand sideways to him. I was told he's been handled a lot and he's let me hand feed him like the second day of getting him so I'd hoped that was a good sign I wish Pascal was a bit more chill lol He's so energetic and active! I swear he wants to climb everything he can at all times lol

 

[leedragon]

Hey everyone! So what i mean on being confused on handling is, I just got Pascal last Saturday and he will be 2 years old June 13. Now the lady who gave him to me says he's the friendliest little thing and he is pretty friendly. I usually get him out by lifting the top of the terrarium up, he climbs up and out and i cup my hands underneath him and slowly lift up and he's fine with it and climbs up on me. I'm wondering though cause I'm new to him. should I start handling him less till I've had him longer? I was told he likes to be handled and out of her terrarium often. So should I handle him less? He seems to be good with me and hand feeds but I just want to make sure hes comfortable with me. Any help would be appreciated!

the less you handle him the better

 

[nickypav]

Feel lucky! Not all chams like to be held and played with. If he's comftorabke with you then feel free to handle him as much as you'd like. If he trusts you that much off the bat he's gonna be a great pet. If he starts puffing up and hissing and stuff like that give him a few days alone but it doesn't sound like that's the case. I don't agree with the advice above me, my cousin has a panther and he handles him every day and every time he walks into the room his cham walks close to the door of the cage and stares at him til he takes him out.

 

[laurie]

Be careful handling him. Often people who do think their chams like to be held, are really stressing them out. I feel stress kills more chameleons than most anything else, except terrible care. I have a number of chams, only one of the group it "happy" to be held, other tolerate it, and some hate it. The real trick is to know the difference with very little experience and only one cham. Good Luck.

 

[JlaPinska]

I messaged you, Crazypetlady

 

[LeeroyJenkins]

the less you handle him the better

If the cham is cool with it then there is no problem lol.

 

[Bush baby]

If you want a pet to handle a chameleon is not the pet for you.

Just because a chameleon appears to settle down once it's in your hand, does not mean it likes it. In fact for a lot of animals in general 'remaining still and calm' is a defense mechanism to avoid being eaten, as most predators rely on their potential prey to move around in order to stimulate some sort of attack. So a still cham can still be a very stressed cham.

Just think about all the horror movies out there, where the victim being chased be the killer remains still while hiding under the bed. They're still..but scared crap-less!

I rarely handle my chameleon. They are animals that should be simply admired.

 

[Loistwx]

Handling is something you shouldn't do often but a little handle here and there won't hurt. I handled mine a lot at one point and I slightly regret it now because I realized that I was putting him through stress.

 

[RandyE]

If you want a pet to handle a chameleon is not the pet for you.

Just because a chameleon appears to settle down once it's in your hand, does not mean it likes it. In fact for a lot of animals in general 'remaining still and calm' is a defense mechanism to avoid being eaten, as most predators rely on their potential prey to move around in order to stimulate some sort of attack. So a still cham can still be a very stressed cham.

Just think about all the horror movies out there, where the victim being chased be the killer remains still while hiding under the bed. They're still..but scared crap-less!

I rarely handle my chameleon. They are animals that should be simply admired.

I think this is where knowing your cham comes into play. My Jackson that I've had for about 2 1/2 weeks now actually loves being taken out of his enclosure. I leave the door open during the day and when I walk over he shimmy's his way to the door and if I put my shoulder close to him he walks onto me. He very obviously enjoys being herded around on top of my shoulder/head. If he's on my finger he doesn't even pay attention to me, he will close the eye that faces me. But then again I think we have a little trust going since I'm the one that took him out of his crappy enclosure at Petco (10 gallon aquarium and could only climb about 4" up)

My veiled on the other hand? He has never been big on handling and has taken to being very vocal about it lately (he hisses more than a snake!) so I try not to mess with him too much as he's very defensive and shows off his stress colors. When I clean him or need to shower with him he eventually calms down enough for me to kinda corral him onto my hand, but he doesn't trust me at all and keeps one eye on me at all times no matter how he is setup.

Chams are much more hardier than they were even a decade ago, they're coming from better and better bloodlines that have survived well in captivity, sure by default we should think that, but I've seen a lot of strange behavior from some of the chams that people keep up here. (upstate NY) 4 other keepers up here have at least 1 that acts like my Jackson and one has 3!

 

[leedragon]

I think this is where knowing your cham comes into play no. it is knowing chameleons not your chameleon, chameleon climp onto stuff to get away from danger or to feel more secure, that mean people too, you can see a chameleon climbing on the top of a snake in oder to try to get away too.

My Jackson that I've had for about 2 1/2 weeks. thats nothing it could dropp dead in a week from now, from thing you may not even had time to notice.

My veiled on the other hand? He has never been big on handling and has taken to being very vocal about it lately (he hisses more than a snake!) so I try not to mess with him too much as he's very defensive and shows off his stress colors. When I clean him or need to shower with him he eventually calms down enough for me to kinda corral him onto my hand, but he doesn't trust me at all and keeps one eye on me at all times no matter how he is setup.

you are doing the same mistake I did with jackson just because a velied can take doesn´t mean jackson can they are way more fragil

Chams are much more hardier than they were even a decade agothey're coming from better and better bloodlines that have survived well in captivity jacksons in the usa come from hawaii so theiy count if anything as wild caught

sure by default we should think that, but I've seen a lot of strange behavior from some of the chams that people keep up here. (upstate NY) 4 other keepers up here have at least 1 that acts like my Jackson and one has 3!

in the end chameleons dont get harm by not being handle. in the other hand chameleons can get harm if the owner doesn´t leave them alone as much as they need.

 

[Devokid]

You mentioned that you removed the lid from his terrarium and he immediately climbs out. What size it the terrarium and what is the terrarium? This is more of a concern than if you handle him a little.

For handling, I usually only handle mine to take them outside or bring them back in. They tolerate this, but would much rather be in the trees.

 

[CrazyPetLady]

I have no idea what the size is and his previous owner gave it to me as a temporary thing.I just know it's Exoterra Next month I'm buying him a (38?) gallon exotera flexarium as that seems to be a good bet.

 

[CrazyPetLady]

or approx. 3 weeks