Hanging Out with my Chams??

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Blazor26

New Member
Hi all was wondering if I could put either of my Chams (I have 1 Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon and 1 Male Veiled Chameleon) on my shoulder while I work at my Computer or watch T.V.? I heard its not good to handle them that much but not sure if this is true. I understand that if I do have them out that by no means have them together at the same time :D
Also would love to hear some suggestions of other means of having them outside there cage if that is agreeable with them ;)
 
Blazor26 said:
Hi all was wondering if I could put either of my Chams (I have 1 Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon and 1 Male Veiled Chameleon) on my shoulder while I work at my Computer or watch T.V.? I heard its not good to handle them that much but not sure if this is true. I understand that if I do have them out that by no means have them together at the same time :D
Also would love to hear some suggestions of other means of having them outside there cage if that is agreeable with them ;)
Click to expand...

the more time mine spent with me the more he enjoyed it. hes out and about daily
 
Blazor26 said:
Hi all was wondering if I could put either of my Chams (I have 1 Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon and 1 Male Veiled Chameleon) on my shoulder while I work at my Computer or watch T.V.? I heard its not good to handle them that much but not sure if this is true. I understand that if I do have them out that by no means have them together at the same time :D
Also would love to hear some suggestions of other means of having them outside there cage if that is agreeable with them ;)
Click to expand...

Sure give it a try. One of both might enjoy it. :)
 
It totally depends on the personality of the cham. If they willingly come out onto your hand then great, they usually love some outside of the cage time. Mine have always been climbers though, they don't just "chill" on my shoulder. They use me as a walking tree. :) I have a large fake ficus though that I put in my living room with branches, vines and parrot ladders zip tied to it that I put my cham on when I want to hang out with him. Looks hideous in the room but he loves it! :D
 
chameleonowner32 said:
This makes no nense because i can almost guarantee you didnt buy a cham just to let him sit in his cage in watch him. No one does. :p
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that´s the proper way to handle a chamelon, they are no toys for grown ups or teenagers, they a cage to simulate their natural environment, and island of their home in nature, where they should be keep
 
Have you looked at any of the free range set ups in enclosures ? Neither of my chameleons would just sit on my shoulder- but at some point I would like to be able to give them a bigger area for climbing and exploring - and I would like to have an outside cage where I can watch them doing what they do- ready to go for next summer.
 
Waldo uses ma as a walking tree too. If he can't figure out how to get out of or off of something he begs me to pick him up and move him. It all depends of your chameleon.
 
leedragon said:
that´s the proper way to handle a chamelon, they are no toys for grown ups or teenagers, they a cage to simulate their natural environment, and island of their home in nature, where they should be keep
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don't bother arguing, most keepers in the US have a different "philosophy" about handling chameleons. In EU we tend to consider them more or less like fish in a tank, nice to watch but (almost) never to handle.I am not saying the "fish in a tank" approach it's the right one but some people on these boards consider their chams more or less like puppies, that's not right either :p
chameleons are lizards, they lack the brain function to feel complex emotions such as love, affection, boredom. they don't want "play time" they don't feel lonely, they tolerate us only because they associate us with food! it may seem too simplistic but they just want sunshine, water, bugs and plenty of plants/branches to climb. if you want a pet that sits on your shoulder and interacts with you get a parrot. :)
[end of rant]
 
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I think you have missed the point. I agree that a chameleon will not sit on your shoulder like a parrot but I believe that acclimating your cham to tolerate handling is beneficial to both you and the animal. Trust me-I have an extremely large elaborate set-up with the best in lighting, misting and humidity control I could find. I am also an adult, but have found many of the "teen" keepers to be very knowledgeable and concencious with their animals. Because my cham willingly comes to me, he gets to go to an outdoor enclosure daily and has regular vet checkups without stressing him out. If he did not want to come to me and I do think some chams never warm up to the idea, yes he would stay in the cage. Many of the people here are not trying to breed perfect specimens-we just want a happy, healthy pet.
 
I agree with you but I don't think I missed the point, I was answering to "leedragon"!
to make it short, my point is that neither the "fish in a tank" nor the "puppy" approach are correct! truth is in the middle, not on your shoulder :D :p
 
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italian chameleon said:
I agree with you but I don't think I missed the point, I was answering to "leedragon"!
to make it short, my point is that neither the "fish in a tank" nor the "puppy" approach are correct! truth is in the middle, not on your shoulder :D :p
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All of the responces could be wrong. Nobody knows what they are thinking. Im pretty sure you guys just have boring chameleons.
 
To me, engaging with my cham is always about doing it on his terms. I give him an avenue to walk himself out of his cage or walk back in. He doesn't get stressed out easily, takes being picked up well, and handles strangers and the vet like a champ. Part of it is certainly personality, but I hope part of it is a low stress experience being around people and feeling secure in his space.



My Jax loves free range time, but if I had any dreams of us hanging out together, they would have been smashed :D Yes, he will come over to see what I am doing, but then he is back to exploring. I keep an eye on him but give him his space. Regular time for free range really seems to improve his mood, too. He can be a real grump log when I've been busy.



That, I think, is your best move. Absolutely give him free time, and set up a plant and a vine that's his spot where he can chill. If he's happy sitting on you, he will, but don't be surprised when he has "better things to do".
 
For topics such as this, I believe people need to accept that there are different views on the matter, the majority seem to already. Something such as this isn't as black and white as say...humidity and temp requirements. Just bring it down a notch and acknowledge that people have different opinions :)

I, personally believe that you should have a happy medium between the two :)
 
At some point in history, dogs weren´t animals that you played with and housed either.

Since some people have succesfully tamed lions, bears etc. I think that making a chameleon use to get out on your arm or something like that is perfectly normal. Even though it is not natural for them. It is not natural for them to be GIVEN food or even be in a enclosure. So why not? If you are not pushing your cham to get out I think it is pretty obvious that he likes to get out.
 
While I agree that chams do not have emotions like a dog(or a bear) they are definitly intelligent creatures. They quickly learn that an open cage door leads to more places to roam. And ,in most cases, in time will learn to associate their human to food. While this is all entirely dependant an each and every chams personality, in time most can be handled if given the proper time and patience that they deserve. For the OP, odds are it is never going to just sit on your shoulder. It may allow you to place it on your shoulder so that it now has access to new space outside of its confined cage that it believes it can attempt to get to.
 
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