Help!
- Thread starter BabyRANGO
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jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
That's too funny.
You should stop doing what you were doing that forced him to tell you to back off!I've had babies gape at me right out of the egg if I grabbed them rather than let them climb out of the box on their own. I don't know if I've had a newborn baby try to bite me, but I do know my two-week old babies will bite if I handle them incorrectly.
Body language is communication. He's talking to you, and you didn't listen when he was talking softly. He was forced to yell his displeasure with a hiss and a bite. This has nothing to do with him and everything to do with how you are handling him. It usually takes a lot to get a baby to hiss and bite, so he likely felt in mortal danger. If you look at it like that--he was afraid for his life--you will get further to figuring out how to handle him without terrorizing him.
BabyRANGO
New Member
But why is he grumpy today ? Yesterday he was fine, he came on me with no problem . He loves coming into my hand. But today he was not having it . I woke up late at 11am & didn’t turn on his light till then? Is that probably why? He’s hungry maybe ? Or just didn’t wake up in a good mood ?
Johnnyjames572
Avid Member
I have a two month old veiled that puffs up,hisses at me, and opens that mouth of his every time I open his cage door. It’s a chameleon not a puppy. The cage he is in his house not ours and sometimes they just don’t like uninvited guests.
Fiona's Mom
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to the wonderful world of chameleons....mood swings and all.
Just when you think you understand them...they change.
Just when you think you understand them...they change.
So again, what did the chameleon see that caused the behavior? As @jajeanpierre stated, your chameleon is reacting to something that is causing the action. You have to think like a chameleon and not like a human
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CamrynTheCham22
Avid Member
That could definitely be it. Plus, I know that they can sort o go through a 'teenage' stage, and they get real grumpy. My female is always on edge, but it just takes a little bit of practice for them to get more used to you. I leave her cage open while I am in the room with her reading or something and she just sits there and watches and slowly she is getting more accustomed to me being there. There are many reasons why your cham could be grumpy, but I would probably go with @kinyonga's reason.
hopps31
Avid Member
I find all of my guys to do much better on a set schedule, I would definitely look into getting a timer for your lights. They are pretty inexpensive and he will set his body to a set schedule
Just like everyone else said he was not happy and wanted you to know, tomorrow he may be fine or he may be grumpier, welcome to chameleons
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Behavior always happens for a reason. Nothing just behaves randomly. There is always a reason even if you don't see it yet. There is a cue or stimulus that starts the behavior, there is the behavior itself and there is a consequence to the behavior that does one of three things. Consequences either reduce the behavior in the future, maintain the behavior or increase the behavior.
Look at behavior that way. There is a reason, a trigger for any behavior and something keeps the behavior happening or not.
You cannot possibly know how your chameleon feels. He didn't tell you in English and you don't speak chameleon. You have no idea whether he "loves" coming onto you hand. All you know is that he did come on your hand yesterday and he didn't hiss and bite you. You don't even know if he was using your hand to escape the big scary chameleon-eating human monster. He might have climbed on your hand in mortal terror for his life. You just don't know.
I am not sure anyone knows if a chameleon has anything that resembles a human "mood."
Perhaps, like many young chameleons, he is making his preferences known. Many young chameleons are very passive in their response to frightening situations. Bigger chameleons sometimes make their objections known.
