does it happpen straight away?

[clairebear]

Just wondering if you are going to be on of the lucky ones and have a charm that walks on to the hand and doesn't seem to mind handling, are they like it straight away or has it still taken time?
I ask because ive had my new veiled peetree since Sunday and he doesn't like being handled but he doesn't hiss or try to bite.
he varies between stepping reluctantly on my hand but looking like hes trying to get away to trying to climb away from me as quick as he can, when hes out he doesn't hiss or gape at me but he isnt happy by any means, his colour seems to remain normal i think what i mean is he dosnt go dark or light
Does it sound like in time he will become more likely to become a really docile one or is it too early to tell?
He is only just over 3 months old.

 

[clairebear]

Also i understand that chameleons do not really like handling in general

 

[windex]

There is no way to tell.. Seems like every Chameleon has his/her own personality. Some of them are very docile, while others don't even like you walking in the same room as them.. He may get used to you he may not.. Veiled Chameleons in particular become more aggressive when they mature.. Just the nature of the beast
Not saying that there aren't docile Veiled Chameleons, it's just seems to be the luck of the draw. Hand feeding them helps, since they start to associate your hand to getting food.

 

[PoshPenny]

My new Cham hates my guts and tries to bite me when I clean his cage. I'm debating giving him away free. I think I'm in over my head with his aggression. Everyone says don't flinch but I can't help it. Be happy he isn't trying to take off a finger. Good luck.

 

[clairebear]

My new Cham hates my guts and tries to bite me when I clean his cage. I'm debating giving him away free. I think I'm in over my head with his aggression. Everyone says don't flinch but I can't help it. Be happy he isn't trying to take off a finger. Good luck.

aww thats rubbish ive met loads of veiled and every one ive met walked on my hands and did not hiss or bite or puff up, so i taught they where the tamer of the species but ive started to realize through this forum that pathers seem to be more docile so im kind of wishing i had gotten a panther but to be honest i liked the look of the veiled more but i would of liked one that didnt mind being on my hand more because the wonder for me is when they walk across you and you get to see those eyes and see them close up is so amazing, having said that i am fully aware they are more of a pet to watch than to hold. but every now and then would be nice.
I also chose a boy because of the females laying eggs i wanted a girl though and i thaught veiled where smaller than pathers but ive seen a video with both in and the pather looks smaller I hope my baby vieled will be happy and not to hard to handle

 

[PoshPenny]

My new boy is a one year WC oustalet. Now my female veiled she was shy and would gape but now we are pals. I call her potatoe affectionately. She hand eats and comes to the front in hopes of a raspberry. She is a sweet baby girl.
However my new Cham iv had six days hated me from day one. :/ but he is a large male who is stressed out. I'm scared of him either way but trying to stay positive and just brace the bite when it happens. Cause I'm sure it will eventually.

 

[windex]

Veiled Chameleons are going to be larger than a panther for sure, I'm sure there are some panthers that are larger than some veileds, but typically it's the Veiled that is larger.
I got lucky with my panther, he has never tried to bite or even his (except for the day I bought him)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eswowifoyY&feature=youtu.be

Quick video of him this evening

 

[SRTtoZ]

I've owned a Veiled and a Nosy Be Panther in my life and the Veiled was an absolute pain. When he was young he was playful and didnt care but when he hit the 8 month+ mark he became cranky and just wanted no part in being touched. He was snap at me and bite (it didnt really hurt, just kind of scares you). The Nosy be would sometimes get annoyed and open his mouth but he never snapped and he would walk in your hand as long as you werent pointing your fingers at him. Treat your hand as a branch instead of trying to grip him from his body, that seemed to work best.

 

[shmeenakoz]

So...just how bad is the bite?! Im ultimately hoping I will never find out!

 

[juice28]

Female veiled...ehh..shes ok not cranky just let her do her, shell come to you, or not, male...hes most likely wild caught, reach for him at your own risk lol...female panther, she's skittish but cool, male faly, loves everyone

 

[SRTtoZ]

So...just how bad is the bite?! Im ultimately hoping I will never find out!

It wasnt bad at all, its sort of a 'get away from me!!!' bite and it shocks you just because you're scared of what its going to feel like, but its just a bit of pressure, nothing serious.

 

[Psychobunny]

If you go ahead and let them bite you, you will stop being afraid and jerk
back.
Once they realize biting doesn't work, they will quite doing it.

Unless your talking about a large adult veiled, the bite does not hurt, it's
the fear of it that makes you pull away.

 

[Psychobunny]

My new Cham hates my guts and tries to bite me when I clean his cage. I'm debating giving him away free. I think I'm in over my head with his aggression. Everyone says don't flinch but I can't help it. Be happy he isn't trying to take off a finger. Good luck.

LOL!! don't give up !

It can take months of patience.
You should at least get him to a point where he no longer puffs up and gapes
at you when you open the cage.
Even my grumpiest cham would take his favorite food (sometimes) from my
hand if I held it there long enough.
But if I made a move closer to him, he would try to snap my finger off

 

[Lathis]

My new boy is a one year WC oustalet. Now my female veiled she was shy and would gape but now we are pals. I call her potatoe affectionately. She hand eats and comes to the front in hopes of a raspberry. She is a sweet baby girl.
However my new Cham iv had six days hated me from day one. :/ but he is a large male who is stressed out. I'm scared of him either way but trying to stay positive and just brace the bite when it happens. Cause I'm sure it will eventually.

Keep at it, Penny! He will calm down when he gets more comfortable. Have you tried letting him walk himself out of the enclosure when you want to clean, etc? Once he's outside of the cage, he may calm down quite a bit since he won't feel as trapped. Try not to be nervous. I'm sure he can sense it and it makes him nervous, too!



I really like ousties. Maybe for my next cham... Hang in there - you will be glad you did!

 

[Guaca mole]

I have had my boy (a veiled) for exactly one week and he is a total sweetheart!
I didnt handle him at all the first three days that i had him. I just let him get acclimated to his cage and to me. I let him crawl onto my hand (while still in his cage) to get comfortable with the idea. Now he is like a puppy when I come into my room, he cage climbing and wanting to be out with me.
He has fallen asleep on my hand the past three nights. If chameleons do not like to be handled then mine must not be one then (he is!)
I think that you get out of it what you put into it and also it is the luck of the draw as far as temperament, willingness to be handled, and if they were hand fed as babies. My lil guy has so much personality it is unbelieveable.
And to those that say they lack the ability to "bond" with people I have proof otherwise...

 

[Katrinaa]

I'm curious why people stil resort to a wild caught "pet" when there are MANY breeders available. If you can't afford a CB proce is it really fair to the animal he's taken out of a beautiful wilderness to live in a terrarium?

 

[PoshPenny]

I didn't resort to a WC. And I can afford to take care of him. I could afford a parsonni if I wanted but I fear killing any living thing. But, this subject really sticks with me. Iv been thinking about it a lot. As I felt some guilt at some point. There is a book called never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro that reminds me of this very subject. The main characters are clones of original persons that had them made so they could use some part of them, like their liver, kidney, ect. But despite them being clones they still have the same wants and desires of the original copies ( humans).

My point is all chams I'm sure don't desire to be in a cage, enclosure, house- WC or CB. It is not any easier for either because their DNA and everything about them was made to be outside.

We can only hope to give them a good life and provide for them.

Wether it's easier for one to deal with captivity or not is pointless to even bring up. Because in the end they are in fact still "dealing" and tolerating, like one would a crappy neighbor who never mows his lawn, or a noisy tenant that lives above you.

The difference is really only that some will go punch that neighbor in the face, or kick the tenant in the head.

So honestly it just comes down to personality. My new Cham really is just the latter. I'm the noisy neighbor and he will punch me in the face. So I stay out of his way. I read about maladaptation in WC and honestly don't know how I feel about that theory either.

I just know I can't give up on this big moody jerk no matter how many times he tries to bite me. WC or CB I have a wild animal who is scared.

I do think those that can free range them in a nice warm environment have an advantage. I wish I lived in Florida. This is my theory and thoughts, I'm still figuring out my own theories.

But one thing still is the bottom line, all animals respond to love. And I love both my chams, despite them being complete A holes.

 

[PoshPenny]

And thank you bunny and lathis. I chose these big guys from the research on their temperament. I hope it gets better for him. I hate seeing him upset. Tears me up. I want him healthy and happy. I wish I could give him an outside enclosure but it's 30 degrees out!!!