getting cham comfortable with hand feeding

Troodlesn

Troodlesn

Member
Hello, I have had Yoda (veiled) for about five weeks and I think it is time to try to hand feed. I know it takes a very long time before a cham will do this. That's why I want to know all of the tips and tricks that helped your cham become comfortable enough to hand feed. What should I be doing to help Yoda be brave enough to hand feed? Right now he hides any time I am putting crickets in the feeder. He will climb closer to where the feeder is, but he will hide behind a leaf or something like that to watch. Then, he stays hidden for at least 15 minutes after I leave the room. I have left a camera running to see what he does when I leave. If I stay in the room he always stays hidden or only moves super slow. Thanks for any tips you can share. [ @Gingero we are big fans and saw that you said it took over 4 months to be able to hand feed Neptune. What did you do in those 4 months to get him ready?]
 
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I try to stand with my body as far away as I can while still holding my arm near the front of the cage. Try not to stare at him but look at the feeder.

you can use a clear container so he can see your hand under it and he will get used to your hand being there. Then once he is confortable with that You can just use your hand.
 
Typically it takes me 2-4 weeks to get my boys to start hand feeding... I do exactly what @Lennoncham does with holding my hand near the front of the cage without putting it into the enclosure. And I do not make eye contact with them while I am initially starting this process. This causes stress I have found and they will turn into sticks and try to hide. I hold the feeder between my finger and my thumb so that the end is wiggling.

Here is a blog I did about trust building. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
 
Slow and steady. I tend show them the food on my flat hand from outside the cage... as i slowly open the door, and even more slowly move it towards them. Then I stop a few inches away and i hold my hand still until they eat the bug, or until my arm falls off. My guys are all very tame at this point, (not you clarice), but it still takes them a few seconds to realize what Im doing, so I try to be clear about why I am entering their space.

My husband is a fidgeter. He cant leave the bug alone or his hand still... and the chams take a whole lot longer to go for the bug. So be still and patient! And be prepared to try without success for a long time... it could take days, weeks, or even months for them to feel comfortable enough to try. Some never do.
 
Mine didn't do it till 8 months old. Put a superworm on hand and let it crawl. If he sees it, he comes over to eat it. The Arcadia vitamins and calcium helped.
 
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