Grumpy pants

[King4Zerg]

Hello, I have a new chameleon and he started climbing on me about a week and a half ago. Now every time my hand gets close we hiss' and snaps at me.

I was thinking of hand feeding with mealworms, is this a good think to do? Or should I leave him alone for a while??

 

[Wildwilson]

Do not feed them meal worms. They have very little nutritional value to chams and can cause health problens. Crickets and dubias are best. I suggest you read the care sheets provided on this site.....

 

[Syreptyon]

Chameleons are not friendly animals. This behavior is very normal and you should just give him space for a little while before trying to interact with him too much.

Also just to double-down on Wildwilson's point: no mealworms ever.

 

[ToxiccKiwii]

Hello, I have a new chameleon and he started climbing on me about a week and a half ago. Now every time my hand gets close we hiss' and snaps at me.

I was thinking of hand feeding with mealworms, is this a good think to do? Or should I leave him alone for a while??

NoNoNoNoNO mealworms! On top of not being worth much of anything nutritionally, they can compact in your Cham's tummy, and 'cause them health issues / could kill them if bad enough !

If you want to try hand feeding I would recommend you try super worms / butter worms / wax worms, just don't do too many because they can be fatty, they're more treat worms than anything else...

and TAKE. IT. SLOW!!!! Cham's are NOOOOT handling animals! Handling them regularly even if they don't flare up can cause them constant low level stress which can affect their health, short and long term. You gotta remember he's not on his own turf, and you're a lot bigger than him, give him his space, specially since he's so new to the environment, and work on trust building.

 

[King4Zerg]

NoNoNoNoNO mealworms! On top of not being worth much of anything nutritionally, they can compact in your Cham's tummy, and 'cause them health issues / could kill them if bad enough !

If you want to try hand feeding I would recommend you try super worms / butter worms / wax worms, just don't do too many because they can be fatty, they're more treat worms than anything else...

and TAKE. IT. SLOW!!!! Cham's are NOOOOT handling animals! Handling them regularly even if they don't flare up can cause them constant low level stress which can affect their health, short and long term. You gotta remember he's not on his own turf, and you're a lot bigger than him, give him his space, specially since he's so new to the environment, and work on trust building.

Thanks a lot!!

 

[King4Zerg]

Chameleons are not friendly animals. This behavior is very normal and you should just give him space for a little while before trying to interact with him too much.

Also just to double-down on Wildwilson's point: no mealworms ever.

Thanks!

 

[King4Zerg]

Do not feed them meal worms. They have very little nutritional value to chams and can cause health problens. Crickets and dubias are best. I suggest you read the care sheets provided on this site.....

thanks

 

[Graves923]

I assume you got a veiled chameleon?

Along with what everyone else said, let him acclimate to the new enclosure and the new day to day activity in the house and room he is in. You do not under any circumstances want to grab at the chameleon or approach it from above. Especially with veileds as they are notoriously moody and emotional reptiles...

They are known for having mood swings and can be defensive or territorial. You have to learn to read your chameleon and learn when or when not to interact with it. Take things slowly and work on earning a trust between you and the animal before even trying to handle.

Example of this would be my male veiled. He is almost 2 years old and currently tries to kill me anytime I am in his enclosure to clean... He used to be very friendly with me and would climb out onto my hand and up to my head while i would do the cage maintenance that needed to be done. This was after I slowly got him used to me being there and eventually working toward hand feeding then having him climb to my arm to feed.

Then I lost his trust... He had developed a skin infection so I had to give him oral medication daily for two weeks. He hated it and would try to hide anytime I tried to give him the meds so I would have to go in and gently take him out... He never forgave me lol. Now the only person he will interact with is my fiance. He will climb onto her head and just hang out while she does chores around the house and will sit with her outside.

Every chameleon is different, though, which is why you need to take it slow and really work with the chameleon.

 

[King4Zerg]

I assume you got a veiled chameleon?

Along with what everyone else said, let him acclimate to the new enclosure and the new day to day activity in the house and room he is in. You do not under any circumstances want to grab at the chameleon or approach it from above. Especially with veileds as they are notoriously moody and emotional reptiles...

They are known for having mood swings and can be defensive or territorial. You have to learn to read your chameleon and learn when or when not to interact with it. Take things slowly and work on earning a trust between you and the animal before even trying to handle.

Example of this would be my male veiled. He is almost 2 years old and currently tries to kill me anytime I am in his enclosure to clean... He used to be very friendly with me and would climb out onto my hand and up to my head while i would do the cage maintenance that needed to be done. This was after I slowly got him used to me being there and eventually working toward hand feeding then having him climb to my arm to feed.

Then I lost his trust... He had developed a skin infection so I had to give him oral medication daily for two weeks. He hated it and would try to hide anytime I tried to give him the meds so I would have to go in and gently take him out... He never forgave me lol. Now the only person he will interact with is my fiance. He will climb onto her head and just hang out while she does chores around the house and will sit with her outside.

Every chameleon is different, though, which is why you need to take it slow and really work with the chameleon.

Thank you very much, Yes I have a veiled I know picking them up from the top is a NO NO