getting bit.

[chastity]

we've had our veiled for a few months now and he's growing fast. my problem is as he grows he gets meaner. when i reach into the cage to do anything he's puffed up and hissing.he even does it when he's outside the cage! if i try to pick him up now he opens his mouth and tries to "slap" me with his face. just the other day i was trying to pick him up to put a new ficus in his cage because he killed his bromeliad and he actually bit me. -.- i try not to bother him too much but i really dislike the idea of having something bite me if i have to take him to the vet or get him out of the house if there was an emergency. should i just get gloves and deal with the craziness and he'll eventually calm down? it's funny that out of all of the reptiles we have our first chameleon is the most spoiled and also the most mean.

i added pictures of him on a daily basis. here's a video of him too to show what i mean by "slapping" me with his face.

 

[Carlton]

How old is he now? Veileds seem to go through a "terrible teens" phase when they are grumpier. He may be convinced he's a young man in his prime who won't take anything from anyone. He may chill out again as he ages. He might not.

I find worrying about getting bitten is worse than actually getting bitten. You may stop worrying about it as much if you just let it happen once or twice. He can't really do that much damage...might break the skin but no serious injury to deal with. A bit of Neosporin on the bite, end of issue. The startle is a lot of it. Gloves won't really "teach" him to settle down. Some people use gloves, I don't bother and I've been nailed by big male melleri.

If he is just going to be a pill, you can always turn off his lights/heat for a while before having to handle or catch him (it will cool off his brain and slow him down so he's less reactive). You can get him out of the cage using a dowel or tree branch and coax him onto it rather than your hand. Or, drape a towel over him, put him in a dark box and let him brood as much as he wants. He'll chill out in the dark.

 

[chastity]

How old is he now? Veileds seem to go through a "terrible teens" phase when they are grumpier. He may be convinced he's a young man in his prime who won't take anything from anyone. He may chill out again as he ages. He might not.

I find worrying about getting bitten is worse than actually getting bitten. You may stop worrying about it as much if you just let it happen once or twice. He can't really do that much damage...might break the skin but no serious injury to deal with. A bit of Neosporin on the bite, end of issue. The startle is a lot of it.

If he is just going to be a pill, you can always turn off his lights/heat for a while before having to handle or catch him (it will cool off his brain and slow him down so he's less reactive). You can get him out of the cage using a dowel or tree branch and coax him onto it rather than your hand. Or, drape a towel over him.

i think he is in a terrible teens phase. i'm not sure how old but by pictures i'd guess we got him around 6-8 weeks? and we've had him since mid-august.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

He should mellow with age. Getting bit by a cham is like getting a few needles stuck into you. So, nothing to worry about

 

[chastity]

He should mellow with age. Getting bit by a cham is like getting a few needles stuck into you. So, nothing to worry about

LOL. "oh it's okay just hurts a little bit!" i got bit by one of my bearded dragons before and it bruised the entire side of my hand so i'm not a fan of testing bites out.

 

[SaintJimmy]

LOL. "oh it's okay just hurts a little bit!" i got bit by one of my bearded dragons before and it bruised the entire side of my hand so i'm not a fan of testing bites out.

Gary (bearded dragon) bit me a couple times while he has trouble getting mango out of my fingers. He gets overly excited for food and thinks my hands are food so he bites them. It kind of feels like one of those super clampy black paper clips you use in an office.

Once he thought my eyebrow was a worm and tried to eat it

 

[chastity]

Gary (bearded dragon) bit me a couple times while he has trouble getting mango out of my fingers. He gets overly excited for food and thinks my hands are food so he bites them. It kind of feels like one of those super clampy black paper clips you use in an office.

Once he thought my eyebrow was a worm and tried to eat it

mine bit me because he went through a "i'm the boss" phase and he's a REALLY big boy. had him out in his playpen and when i went to pick him up he headbobbed me and jumped at my hand. wouldn't let go either. so anytime a reptile bluffs at me now i'm like NOOOO DON'T DO IT.

 

[jmacphee9]

mine is in this stage right now as well and he is almost 6 months. when he was little he was perfectly fine, now he does the same thing that you snapped a picture of. i have been putting my hand in his cage for a few minutes a day, not picking him up for about a month now and i got him to walk onto my hand this week for the first time. i highly suggest trying that!

 

[Jakeelias93]

I've found that moving very slow as to not give him any chance to suspect your going to hurt him and also approach from below him. if he gets pissed just keep your hand there and let him know that his bad behavior won't be rewarded with what he ultimately wants, which is you to leave. by leaving your supporting his bad behavior. you can also try hand feeding.

 

[junglefries]

Try the rubber palmed gardening gloves. i know one brand is atlas. i have used the blue and green colored ones. the softness seems to relax the cham a little more than others i have tried. they even seem to prefer it over my bare hand. you will feel secure and so will your cham. plus the rubber grip will keep him from getting away if he tries to escape your grip.

 

[camimom]

You can also try hand feeding.

Get some big fat juicy worms, horns or silks work best for me, and hold one end of the worm, gently squeeze it, which makes it squirm, near your cham.

eventually, he'll see you as the bringer of food, not the bringer of doom. lol.

and yes, veileds go through a terrible teen phase, my guy did it, after he hit about 1.5 years, he settled down, mostly, he still has days where he wants nothing to do with me, but usually, he gets a bit grumpy, then gives in.


hand feeding helped a lot

 

[pssh]

Hand feeding can help quite a bit, but sometimes they just cant be helped during their "teens" phase. A lot settle down with age, some dont. Using green colored gloves might help, possibly because they are green, or maybe because it will give you more confidence to just get it over with (I think mine can tell when I'm working myself up and then use my hesitation to their advantage sometimes!) Also, it might help if whenever you do pick him up, something good always happens (outside sun time, a nice shower, free range time, etc.) some start to associate your hands/you with food and fun stuff so they stop trying to kill your fingers.

He has a really neat-o bar in the vid! Its like a W!

 

[J1635]

chameleons are a lot like dogs when it comes to dominance and aggression, when i first got mine he didnt like when i would have to move him or be near his cage. it took maybe a week of taking him out (always go slowly and from underneath him) and letting him hang out with me, climb on my hands etc before he realized i wasn't going to to try and hurt him.

If you start flinching everytime he puffs up then you are basically telling him that he wins when he does that, just stand your ground and show him your friendly. He WILL warm up to you

 

[Big Gulp]

My little guy I just bought at Tinley likes puffing up and biting at me too. He's only a few months old. Can't wait to see his terrible teens.