contrary to forum rules

[philanddeb818]

There is something more that needs to be said about those of us who have been at this a while and want to just say what's going on. So let this be the start of it.

Just because you see a registering date, doesn’t' mean a new person hasn't explored Madagascar and regions near, or whatever we think is important to Chameleon husbandry. Perhaps we know nothing until the Chameleion tells us.

This evening, with respect of the"Elders" on our board, as the sun was setting, I took out several Chams just to get close with them. Forgive me, those of you who think we should not touch our Chams, but the spirit moved me to handle about 5 of them.

Here are the results:
5 out of 5 ate well.
1 out of 5 was unaware of cars passing on the street.
5 out of 5 responded positively with color with caresses lengthwise to the body (stroking the sides while being held).
5 out of 5 preferred to remain outside their cage with us.

Result:
I think they know we love them, and that's it. I've read all contrary, but seeing is believing.

 

[LBonawitz]

my cham knows me, and doesn't mind my hands, but as soon as the vet gets ahold of him he flares up and opens his mouth like hes gonna bite. he's NEVER done that with me. so its obvious he is okay with some contact and he knows the hands that feed him.

i see nothing wrong with handling them, as long as you leave it up to them; "on their terms". (no force cuddles)

 

[withlime]

my cham knows me, and doesn't mind my hands, but as soon as the vet gets ahold of him he flares up and opens his mouth like hes gonna bite. he's NEVER done that with me. so its obvious he is okay with some contact and he knows the hands that feed him.

i see nothing wrong with handling them, as long as you leave it up to them; "on their terms". (no force cuddles)

I have the same experience. My chams know me and are fine with my presence or handling, but flare up at unfamiliar people. None of my chams like stroking or any touching of their body.

 

[Pure]

It really depends on the cham. I do agree that they do at least learn to recognize their owners. Some will tolerate every one, some will tolerate just their owner, and a lot of them will not tolerate any one.

You guys are lucky to have chams that show you guys those personalities. It took me until my fourth one to find one that seems to enjoy being handled. The one Melleri can consider as friendly still stresses if I hold him for more than a few seconds and the other one...well she wants to eat my face and has to be handled with welding gloves that cover my skin up to my elbows. Other wise she will actually look for bare skin to bite.

The nice ones are a rarity. If you think about it, human interaction goes against the very core of their instincts. Their instincts are to hide and not be seen. And when you let it be known to them that they are not fooling you, you usually enlist a flight or fight response.

 

[Miss Lily]

There is something more that needs to be said about those of us who have been at this a while and want to just say what's going on. So let this be the start of it.

Just because you see a registering date, doesn’t' mean a new person hasn't explored Madagascar and regions near, or whatever we think is important to Chameleon husbandry. Perhaps we know nothing until the Chameleion tells us.

This evening, with respect of the"Elders" on our board, as the sun was setting, I took out several Chams just to get close with them. Forgive me, those of you who think we should not touch our Chams, but the spirit moved me to handle about 5 of them.

Here are the results:
5 out of 5 ate well.
1 out of 5 was unaware of cars passing on the street.
5 out of 5 responded positively with color with caresses lengthwise to the body (stroking the sides while being held).
5 out of 5 preferred to remain outside their cage with us.

Result:
I think they know we love them, and that's it. I've read all contrary, but seeing is believing.

I am so glad you posted this! I am with you all the way on this one. I handle Amy on a daily basis because it is her choice! She will stand on her back feet and scratch at the door when she sees me. I have such a lovely welcome home from her! She is always at her door to greet me and the first thing I do when I get home from work is go straight to her cage to see how she is. The other day she didn't see me at first, and when she spotted me she literally did a double take and immediately started pawing at her door! I feel nothing but love and respect for her and I think she knows this and feels comfortable with me.

Just this afternoon she did the same and I got her out - she runs down the vine to climb on my hand, and that's if she doesn't nearly fall out the door as I open it, lol! She wouldn't go back in her cage - she kept doing u-turns and refused to go back, so I sat in the conservatory with her where she just sat on my shoulder for ages looking out the window. Again she was doing this because she wanted to. I believe that they can sense how you feel about them - there is some sort of 'connection' with Amy, just like I had with Lily. Just can't quite put my finger on it though.

 

[jannb]

Both of my chams are friendly and have tons of personally. They grab at me, my dog, their vet, anybody from their trees just wanting to get off. I walk them in the mornings, in my privacy fenced back yard, around and around the pool. You should see Luie (my male veiled) color up when I pick him up. In my opinion they are not meant to stay in cages. They come from the wide open jungle. I do understand though how some owners could not free range because they have to many chams to do so or other pets (dogs and cats) that would not get along with the cham.

 

[rmhawk]

My cham plots my death while i sleep.

 

[Fearaffect]

Ive caught my Chams tieing the noose ready for their break when they could get their revenge on me!!!!

They run at first then once I get them they settle down and actually prefer to be held then placed on something to "get away" from me

 

[Carlton]

Anyone who has kept more than a few chams can tell stories about the ones who seemed to enjoy some interaction and the ones who made Garbo look like a socialite. They are intelligent enough to be individual. If they weren't emotionally sensitive their mood ring color advertising would be a complete waste. I've had a friendly melleri and an evil one, a chummy docile veiled, an evil jax, friendly fischeri and a spooky psychotic one. There is no hard and fast rule, just as there shouldn't be a hard and fast rule about handling them. As soon as you write down a rule, an exception pops up. As long as you try to understand your cham's own wishes and respect them, that's what is important.

 

[ronnie]

My cham plots my death while i sleep.

LOL!!great thread!I firmly believe that i have a connection with Trixxi......no one else feeds her but me,no one else waters her but me etc etc,i respect her not wanting me touching her (learned this the tough way!yes i got a bite!)i would absolutely love to be in a position that i could free range her but I'm not,i really think she would love to be out and about and one of my biggest regrets is not having her from when she was a baby...so jealous of Tiff right now LOL!!What more can i say but that i absolutely adore her and if she can tolerate me back well i can live with that

 

[Miss Lily]

LOL!!great thread!I firmly believe that i have a connection with Trixxi......no one else feeds her but me,no one else waters her but me etc etc,i respect her not wanting me touching her (learned this the tough way!yes i got a bite!)i would absolutely love to be in a position that i could free range her but I'm not,i really think she would love to be out and about and one of my biggest regrets is not having her from when she was a baby...so jealous of Tiff right now LOL!!What more can i say but that i absolutely adore her and if she can tolerate me back well i can live with that

Ronnie - I'm so glad you have a connection with Trixxi too. You know what I mean and it is hard to describe it, lol! I think if you handle them from babies (as long as it doesn't totally stress them out) they learn to accept that you aren't gonna eat them and nothing bad is gonna happen to them. In fact, they learn to assoiate you with nice things just as easily as bad things. So hand feeding and trips into the sunshine can work wonders! Amy has come a long way from the scared, flighty little thing that she was when I first got her!

 

[whitespyder]

thanks for sharing your stories, guys! im enjoying reading them

im hoping that my little girl will open up to me. ive only had her for 4 months and shes really starting to get used to seeing me but still a little iffy. she comes out on her own when she sees my hands only because she thinks my fingers are worms.
the first girl i had was a flapneck and she was the sweetest cham on the planet. i would take naps with her and she would calmly sit with me for hours when id watch tv. but i think she was so friendly because the owners of the pet store i purchased her from would constantly handle her.

 

[nick barta]

Both of my chams are friendly and have tons of personally. They grab at me, my dog, their vet, anybody from their trees just wanting to get off. I walk them in the mornings, in my privacy fenced back yard, around and around the pool. You should see Luie (my male veiled) color up when I pick him up. In my opinion they are not meant to stay in cages. They come from the wide open jungle. I do understand though how some owners could not free range because they have to many chams to do so or other pets (dogs and cats) that would not get along with the cham.

Jann,

Picturing you with Chams on leashes walking around the pool........PRICELESS!!

Nick

 

[Syn]

Jann,

Picturing you with Chams on leashes walking around the pool........PRICELESS!!

Nick

And in barbie beds!

 

[tkilgour]

many of my chams like me, and even climb off their perches right to the door to climb on my on my hand and up my arm. Funny, you post this I certainly have to agree w/ you all the way. I do have a couple mean ones that do not like me grabbing them.

 

[hallenhe]

Anyone who has kept more than a few chams can tell stories about the ones who seemed to enjoy some interaction and the ones who made Garbo look like a socialite. They are intelligent enough to be individual. If they weren't emotionally sensitive their mood ring color advertising would be a complete waste. I've had a friendly melleri and an evil one, a chummy docile veiled, an evil jax, friendly fischeri and a spooky psychotic one. There is no hard and fast rule, just as there shouldn't be a hard and fast rule about handling them. As soon as you write down a rule, an exception pops up. As long as you try to understand your cham's own wishes and respect them, that's what is important.

Okay, now I want to know more about the spooky psychotic fischer's.

They're all different. Saccardo objected to being picked up, but didn't seem to care much once he was on your arm. Thaxter asks to be picked up (more scientifically, behaves in an agitated manner at certain times, pacing about a narrow circumference (he's free range) and reaching for humans, and calming down promptly once he's been allowed to climb aboard), and shows no signs I can identify of differentiating between humans. I'm sure the next cham I have will be different; it's part of what makes them so fascinating.

Great thread.

 

[jojackson]

As soon as you write down a rule, an exception pops up. As long as you try to understand your cham's own wishes and respect them, that's what is important.

Nicely sums it up!

 

[hallenhe]

Like many animals, some chams have figured out that certain humans are trainable. You can't ask anything too complicated of them, but many moderately bright humans can learn to follow simple commands such as "open the cage", "let's go outside" and "feed the lizard".
It is always important to remember that a slight degree of trainability does not necessarily equate to intelligence; the completely illogical and haphazard color changes of humans generally argues against them possessing much intelligence of any sort.

 

[renzo0684]

thanks for sharing your stories, guys! im enjoying reading them

im hoping that my little girl will open up to me. ive only had her for 4 months and shes really starting to get used to seeing me but still a little iffy.

My male veild is the same way I really hope Jasper will let me hold him when he gets older!!!

 

[summoner12]

Like many animals, some chams have figured out that certain humans are trainable. You can't ask anything too complicated of them, but many moderately bright humans can learn to follow simple commands such as "open the cage", "let's go outside" and "feed the lizard".
It is always important to remember that a slight degree of trainability does not necessarily equate to intelligence; the completely illogical and haphazard color changes of humans generally argues against them possessing much intelligence of any sort.

hahaha This post made me laugh.