Help with very aggresive 9 month old male Veiled

[ZiggyStardust]

Hello everyone, I am a new Cham owner.

I have had my male Veiled for 2 weeks now and he seems absolutely fine with the setup I have provided - is eating, drinking, pooping and wandering around every day, happy colours (he's green and orange when he's chilled).

When I got him a fortnight ago, I saw the breeder handling him and although he wasn't altogether happy (he went very dark) he seemed okay to be handled.

I have tried to get him used to me in the last few days - I left him alone for the first week so that he could get used to his new home etc., but have since been trying to offer him food from my hand. As soon as I go near him he gapes, hisses and puffs up.... if I go to close he gets even worse and tries to bite me.

I am worried that when I need to get him out of his tank for any reason, and for example I would want in the next couple of weeks to do a complete clean, although I do take out droppings each day - he is so aggressive and gets so stressed when there is a hand anywhere near him, I am worried about how to approach this?

I know that some Chams are happy being handled and so less so, and if Ziggy is one of those that never likes human contact then that's fine, but I am going to have to get him out of his tank at some point and I am worried that he is so aggressive and stressed whenever I get anyhwhere near him.

I have read PsychoBunny's really useful and informative sheet on taming a Chameleon and I have tried the hand feeding for a few days now, but he just ignores me, until I get to close with the food and then he gapes, hisses and puffs up.

Can anyone advise what is the best way to move forward with this?

I am a first time Chameleon owner, although my husband and myself have had reptiles for the last 15 years and are not exactly novices.

As mentioned, he seems fine in every other way.

Thanks for any help.

Rachel

 

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

Well some are just aggressive however, although for us two weeks seems like enough time, it is not..give him some more time so that you can seen if he going to remain aggressive or not.

If he scares away from hand feeding, start placing feeders on a branch where he can see it, move away, and let him go for it as opposed to trying to get it as close to him as possible as he will only see your hand coming towards him and not the feeder..

If you are picking up the dropping regularly, you don't need to remove everything to clean so often...a good long misting should do it...thats how nature works

Apart from that, it might disturb your cham when he just might be getting used to his cage and surroundings.

Good luck !

 

[KatiLemons]

Chameleons really need trust when it comes to being handled. Try feeding him treats that he really likes (hornworms/silkworms/supers). Offer them by hand but do not be forceful with him. I also see that you have him in a tank. What size is this tank? Can you post pictures of it?

 

[SteelHeadStalker]

Might take time for him to warm up to you, some never do and never will regardless of how much time you take trying to get them used to you some of them will puff hiss and lunge at you until you get them out of their enclousres then its a different story they mellow out and its happy go lucky until you try to put them back into their enclousre then its back to demon spawn mode...Another thing to look at might be reflective surfaces that he can see if they see what they think is another male chameleon invading their turf it will trigger the fight or flight mode and make for a stressed/aggressive cham might be something to look into.

 

[jannb]

Try putting a little tree or large plant by his open door and see if he will come out as you watch from a distance. Normally, they are much friendlier out of a cage.

 

[Alan12013]

Not sure if you're familiar with the forums and whatnot but I just emailed you, let me know if you get it.

 

[Leslie11]

Handling

I have a male Nosy Be who is iffy. Sometimes I can hold him briefly. I went and bought heavy duty garden gloves. The pair I picked had a pink palm, so it looked like a palm. His bite was very strong, but okay. I think leather gloves might have been better? He will eat out of my hand.

 

[oblgobl]

I don't think he'll be less fearful of leather gloves because they're a diferent colour if thats what you're asking he's probably just scared of being handled in general. Wether leather would hurt less I'm not sure.
Some chameleons I think simply don't like being handled and won't tolerate it no matter how hard you try, but I don't think this is the norm most do come around enough eventually so you can move them round if needed be.
One of my males was aggressive when I first got him it took him months to calm down enough for me to even hand feed him and now he's almost a year old and will sometimes climb out onto your arm entirely on his own so just be patient. I'm not saying he'll be that tolerant of handling but alot (if not most) do tame down enough eventually so you can take him out for whatever reason. Some though simply will never let you handle them I think it's just down to the individual personality.

 

[Tonystandman]

I have a 8 month old male veiled , just super grumpy , I try to gently handle him once a week and he just gets meaner as time goes on

 

[oblgobl]

I personally would never try and tame down my chameleon by forcing him into handling. It sounds like to me that by doing this he is gradually getting more annoyed or distrufstful of you. He is at the teenage stage however and they can just like human teenagers go through a grumpy phase. For now I wouldn't pick him up and work on building trust with handfeeding. You can try and put your hands underneath him and lift up and see if he'll climb up on his own but if he seems uncomfortable in any way I'd leave him and maybe try again in future.

 

[SuperFastSlug]

Veiled chameleons in general are just really aggressive. Some do tolerate handling very well, others, not so much. You could try, as others said, to offer him treats with your hand so that he may start associating your hand with food, but I've tried that with my chameleon and it doesn't change a thing. He'll still accept the food, but after that he just puffs up and starts hissing. He never wants anything to do with me unless its feeding time. That's just how it goes sometimes!

 

[brownie64]

Like it was said some are just aggressive everyone of them has their own personality just like us. But like one member said they usually calm down once you get them out of the cage inside the cage is their territory. One thing is for certain chameleons are territorial. Once you do get him out keep your thumb out of the way of his mouth. Don't ask me how I know that one. I also found that they never like being manhandled let them be in charge, and never go in over the top of him they hate that. Ease in under him slowly, and cautiously as you try to coax him on to your hand from behind. After he grabs your hand gently, and slowly raise it he should climb right up on you. Lastly give it time a lot of times they get tamer as they get older. I guess they learn to trust you more.

 

[junglefries]

Teen age years. Most veils go thru tolerate you moods to kill you if they got the chance. The good thing is their mood swings usually lasts a couple weeks to a couple months. That way when they are friendly, you get the time to enjoy their company. Most of all mine change attitudes about maybe 4-6 times a year. Maybe more or less, kinda hard to keep track of. Some i leave completely alone and others run for t he door to come outside and play. You can work with them or let them delegate their friendship. Less stress with the latter.