Help me read my chameleon.

K

Kroqgar77

New Member
when i put my hand inside my chameleon's cage he makes himself tall (from the bottom of his belly and to the top of his back) and will turn green( His happy green) and then jerk forward and slowly go to my hand. is he trying to climb on me? or bite me? please help!
 
Kroqgar77 said:
when i put my hand inside my chameleon's cage he makes himself tall (from the bottom of his belly and to the top of his back) and will turn green( His happy green) and then jerk forward and slowly go to my hand. is he trying to climb on me? or bite me? please help!
Click to expand...

Pictures help and type of cham? But bright colors usually mean fired up or angry lol and making himself look bigger kinda slanting his body and lunging means get ur finget a little closer so I can bite the check out of it!.. and It hurts :(
 
Welcome to the forum by the way :). Chameleons arnt very cuddly so they through out there defensive colors and actions upon ur presents in his home.
 
reptilover said:
Pictures help and type of cham? But bright colors usually mean fired up or angry lol and making himself look bigger kinda slanting his body and lunging means get ur finget a little closer so I can bite the check out of it!.. and It hurts :(
Click to expand...

he is a veiled
 
and if anyone has any tips for me to try and tame him to like me, he is about 1 year old so if it's too late to tame him please let me know
 
Sounds classic veiled to me! Just keep putting your hand in their daily and work around him very slowly. Let him warm up to you! Could take weeks, or he might decide to never tolerate you. Chameleons all have their own ideas about amounts that they will allow themselves to be handled :)
 
CamiGirl89 said:
Sounds classic veiled to me! Just keep putting your hand in their daily and work around him very slowly. Let him warm up to you! Could take weeks, or he might decide to never tolerate you. Chameleons all have their own ideas about amounts that they will allow themselves to be handled :)
Click to expand...
How would i know when he would let me handle him? and would hand feeding him meal worms ( his favorite snack) help?
 
Kroqgar77 said:
How would i know when he would let me handle him? and would hand feeding him meal worms ( his favorite snack) help?
Click to expand...

Yes. Even if he doesn't ever like you he can learn that your hand is a source of good things and isn't something to fear. Also that an occasional intrusion into his turf isn't a horrible thing. You are not a rival or a predator, just a somewhat annoying, odd-looking neighbor.

BTW, "happy colors" isn't really the best way to think about it. Mild stress or excitement is better and has nothing to do with being happy. A contented cham with nothing going on will actually be quieter colored or even slightly dull.
 
It is typically a progressive thing. Day one he might strike and hiss at you, day two might be the same, by week 2ish he might just puff up and hiss. Week 3 or 4ish he might let you touch him without getting upset, or he could walk onto your hand. Results for each chameleon are very different. My female veiled was tame by week 3. My male took a couple of months, my little panther I have had for 2 weeks and he is showing small signs of allowing me to handle him. Food is also a good way to get to any male's heart :p He might recognize your hand as a good thing, as opposed to a scary object. Again, results for every cham vary, but with mine these little things have had similar results after different variations of time!
 
i take it.

Kroqgar77 said:
when i put my hand inside my chameleon's cage he makes himself tall (from the bottom of his belly and to the top of his back) and will turn green( His happy green) and then jerk forward and slowly go to my hand. is he trying to climb on me? or bite me? please help!
Click to expand...

I take it its a veiled and he is going to bite the #$&% out of you. And he will probably be like that most days.
 
Veiled Temperment

I have an adult male veiled who is cool with being handled sometimes. When I first got him he would hiss and try to bite my hand whenever it cam near him. As he gets older there is a chance he might mellow out.
 
I just bred my noseybes, well I think I did. I left them in a cage together 4 a Few days, and didn't actually see them mate, but my female has been showing some nonreceptive colors. I put her with my male, just to check if she was gravid, and she showed nonreceptive colors, so I removed her, but the next day I saw she had receptive colors??? So I put her with my male and she showed no reaction for like two minutes, then all of a sudden she flared up and started gaping??? Can anyone tell me what is going on?
 
As your veiled gets more used to you, that isn't necessarily true. Both of my veileds are complete hams, and enjoy coming out and sitting on my shoulder (not at the same time of course, I would have too many babies if that happened!). Veileds can be aggressive, but I think they are given a bad wrap. I have met mean panthers and loving veileds, I think a lot of it depends on the lizard's personality, as well as the owners willingness to attempt a mutual respect between themselves and their animal. Best of luck, keep your chin up and keep trying! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BleuSaphir
Chameleons and crawling up to you
Replies
10
Views
499
dinomom
dinomom
F
Sudden health issues
Replies
9
Views
305
jannb
jannb
M
Veiled going to bed too early
Replies
5
Views
237
Tkrd69
Tkrd69
S
is my chameleon okay? what should i do?
Replies
14
Views
433
kinyonga
K
D
Winter hydration method that works for me.
Replies
5
Views
242
DesertChameleon
D
Back
Top Bottom