help with taming

[amycrespi]

hello all!
I've had my Gojira (aka Goji aka aguacate aka guac) for about a month now.

I haven't handled him once for two reasons: a: I know I'm not supposed to touch him for a while after I get him in order to help him acclimate to his new home (which he is really flourishing in) and b: he's a very typical veiled; super ornery. He puffs, hisses, lunges to bite, squeaks at me whenever I'm near him to adjust a branch in his home, misting him or tong feeding him.

I feel like it's time to start the process of getting him used to a hand. I'm afraid if I wait any longer he'll really never let a hand go near him. I am fully aware that he'll never enjoy being held but for practical reasons I really want him to at least put up with a little handling.

where do I begin? does anyone have any tips for me?

Thanks in advance

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. Handfeeding is a good place to start. Buy a large plant or small tree to put him on when you can be very close by to supervise. Once out of the cage, they are usually much nicer. I’ll find you a link on taming and attach it below.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/the-taming-of-the-chameleon.746/

 

[Daniel266jz]

Do as JannB says and please never force your cham out you will lose all trust and it might take a VERY long time before they even let you feed them or get near them. I had this problem with my veiled as we didn't know any better and he was very small (Petco baby), as i said didnt know any better, we tried to get him out no matter what. I feel so bad for doing that and he has not eaten from my hand or even got near me since. He only cup feeds and i always get lunged at or almost bit when i clean his cage. I still love the guy and hes doing great. I got lucky because hes from Petco. But moral is let them come out or decide to interact on their own. Please don't force it. Very stressful for them also.

 

[Daniel266jz]

Pic for refernce, when we got him VS. how big he is now.

 

[jannb]

I recommend opening the cage door and putting the plant/tree right in front of his door. Watch from a distance and see if he will come out on his own.