Hi guys need some help with handling my baby veiled chameleon

TheSeymoursDOTcom

TheSeymoursDOTcom

New Member
I've had Osiris my baby Veiled Chameleon 6 days i got him from petsmart and am kinda getting frustrated. pics of him below... for you guys to get about an age idea if that is worth anything.
He was cup feeding now he rarely eats from his cup wich is fine.

he has had 6 days to acclimate... he runs from my hand everytime i open the cage... he's in a 16x16x20 reptibreeze full mesh on all sides etc....

on day 3 in the morning i was able to get him to eat a cricket from my fingers once....

He is extremely skiddish... i bought him from petsmart... he was in a little box.... now he's in a mansion.

He's just skiddish as can be i still have atleast 9 days to bring him back... sadly he was on sale from 99.99 down to 69.99 even the petlady pulled him out and he got right on my my moms finger and sat there fine.

WTF is the deal... he will bolt and is skiddish as all heck...

Sad part is i thought i'd save this little guy from petsmart instead of get a bird she even tried to sway us towards the bird... but i said nope! i'm getting this lil guy...

any ideas how i can coax him into being less skiddish or i am highly debating bringing him back to the store. what hurts is i've spent 6 days of babbying him and leaving him to acclimate and only feed him and talk gently to him... everyday he just runs from me even more... or about the same but it's still frustrating i really like the lil guy but i'm not gonna devote this much time to a pet that can't be bothered with me....

I'm starting to wonder if he'd like it back at the crummmy pet store(petsmart)...

I don't even know how i'd catch him to bring him back LOL... seeing as he won't come near my hand and bolts everytime....

I don't want to hurt him grabbing him either... i'm really just disapointed i see people holding their babies on their hands in every other picture.. HELP!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0969.jpg
    IMG_0969.jpg
    258.8 KB · Views: 938
  • IMG_0971.jpg
    IMG_0971.jpg
    260.5 KB · Views: 959
well, sometimes they are just that way. while many people are able to handle their chameleons, not all of them are like that. I have 11 chameleons and they range from outgoing and handleable to tolerant but prefer to be left alone to if you touch me I will bite your finger off. They do all hand feed but some of them took a long time to get comfortable with it.

6 days is not that long to acclimate - if you keep trying you may get him to hand feed but it may not be in nine days - or ever.

And I get the feeling that you are impatient and distracted with wondering if you'd be happier with another pet. I think maybe your chameleon is picking up on your vibe and that is not helping. It seems he was an impulse purchase - which I understand - they are too adorable! But overall I think you would be happier with another more interactive pet.
 
Even if you do eventually get him to tolerate some handling, don't be surprised if it changes when he gets to around 5-6 months old.

I noticed you had some type of wood chips on the bottom of your enclosure. This is not a good idea. He could ingest some while eating and this could cause him to become impacted.

Do you have the proper lighting, supplements, etc.?
 
It will take a while if hes going to get used to letting you hold him (some just dont) Mine will eat worms and crickets right out of my hand he become quite nice after 2months.
 
the reptile chipe are gone. im using paper towl now... yes i have everything for him.. he has ate one cricket from my hand on day 3 of owning him... im not worried about all that. the crickets come pre gutloaded..

it was not an impulse buy.. i've always wanted a chameleon.. ive just now took the plunge...


the lady/handler at petsmart was the one trying to detour me from a chameleon and telling me how they get when they get bigger(said they get mean lol) and recommended the BIRD.. this WAS not an impulse buy... but i'm not gonna devote my every waking minute to a pet that wants to run from me and act skiddish... literally


So with that said any better advice/help besides my setup..:D No tamming techinques? how do i get him out to return him? or even let him roam around?!?! Seems like everything but my questions and tips were overlooked.
 
You can't tame a Chameleon. They're undomesticated animals, most are still taken directly from the wild. They're instinctively solitary and aggressive towards threats. You should have known this if you wanted a Chameleon.

Some are naturally friendly/tolerant of people. Most are not. However, if you put time into building trust (When I say time, I mean a long time, not a week or two), he could eventually warm up to you. They can, once they realize that you're not a hungry predator and that you are in fact the deliverer of food, they can warm up. However, if your Chameleon is naturally reclusive or aggressive, it is unlikely to change and trying to change it will most likely result in heavy amounts of stress and the early death of the animal.
 
The only thing is patience, some chams will take longer to settle in than others. Try devoting a bit less time to him for a while, his cage looks ok from here, so he'll settle in. Hold a cup of crickets out to him, and he'll probably come towards them.....
Chameleons are naturally solitary animals that don't like it when they know they've been spotted. A big ape constantly looking interested in him is bound to make him nervous. The pics you've seen are usually rare instances of handling babies. Both my Chameleons will tolerate a bit of handling, but if that's what you want a male Veiled Chameleon for then you did pick the wrong pet I'm afraid
 
It sounds like you want this animal to act exactly how you want it to, when you want it to.

Rather than trying to make the chameleon act the way you want it to, maybe you should try respecting it's boundaries by trying to figure out what it needs to feel comfortable with you.

Think about it:

Think if you were a chameleon, that is essentially prey to many, many different species. And out of nowhere you see this huge hand follow you throughout the cage (and from the way you express your feelings about this issue it seems that your fairly aggressive in the way you try to handle him).

I would run too!

Respect the little guy and realize that he is scared S**tless of you because of his instincts.

If you cant do that, than perhaps you should not be a chameleon owner.
 
Respect his boundries?? lol i havent even went in the room but to feed him act the way i want? lol..

anyways here's a video of how scared he is of me.. eating right out of cup.. ate out of fingers once...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-QUqrGdUMg

anyways thanks david. and all the others with great responses much appreciated.

lol as far as he's concerned in a pet store people are constantly pestering animals... this guy has had it on easy street for 6 days LOL.. oh yeah i open his cage to feed him and talk gently to him.. "back off" ??? lol ok..

anyways since i cant catch him and i do need to bring him back before the 6th of next month 14 day return period.. i'll just remove his stuff from the cage and try and get him in a box or someway safe if i do decide to bring him back... since no one can tell me an easier way to catch him..

I can't even get him out to let him roam or put into bigger huge fake plants i have for him to crawl in ... oh well his loss...i guess he'll like it better at the petsmart lol...
 
wow...

you have given your cham 6 days!!!???

they can take weeks to adjust... a couple weeks just to get used to their enclosure alone, then months to come to recognize you as safe. then sometimes, after a year of being tame and approachable, they can decide at the drop of a hat that they hate you again.

chameleons are not cuddly pets. you ideally should not handle them at all. they're wild reptiles and every single one of them is completely different. some are friendly and some are aggressive.

you should have done a lot more research before purchasing a cham if this is your reaction to 6 days of trying to approach him to find he runs from you. jesus.

you should - once you've purchased and homed him - leave him for at least a week without trying to handle him AT ALL.

it's a long, slow process. you're approaching the journey like a naive & impatient kid.

you say you're 'not gonna devote every waking minute to a pet that runs from you'.

DUDE. They are ornamental pets! You should handle them ONCE A WEEK at most, on THEIR terms, when THEY'RE ready.

it's a baby, give it a damned chance to get to know you.

it can take WEEKS.

i'm trying to keep my cool here, but your ignorance is breathtaking. how old are you?
 
You know there are chameleons that tolerate handling pretty well. However, pretty much all of them don't tolerate it well as a baby. You need to work with him if you want a chance at being able to handle him.
 
When I sell one of my babbies I recomend not handling the little guy for at least 2 weeks. this lets the baby know the enclosure is there territory and not yours.they eat better,they drink more,there more active. it over all gives them a good start. As far as handling goes start slooooow!!!!!!! First by hand feeding (try holding a cup for them) as they gain your trust pick them up from there under side. Vince from screameleons has a great video on how to handle a chameleon.For the most part Veilds can get a nasty attude. my male we call BigNasty. 190 grams of pure hate!! my female FeFee is as sweet as pie. do a little research HERE on the forums about your set up so you can make the changes others mentioned.And thank you for saving him from petco Good luck with your baby!
 
Maybe a bearded dragon would be a good choice. I have 2 and they love being held and they are easy to take care of and make great pets. I myself just ordered a chameleon. I'm hoping he is somewhat tame when he grows up but if he's not that will be fine to. They have an adult panther chameleon at the reptile store I go to and he always wants to come out and climb on your arm. He is so cool. I wanted to buy him but he is old and only has a few years left. Good luck with your little guy.
 
yeah, id go with a bearded dragon or maybe a crested gecko..

sounds pretty impulsive to me if you didnt know generally chameleons dont like to be messed with. you dont have to leave your hand in there to feed him either. just sit the cup somewhere and if he wants to eat he will.


he actually looks pretty good to me, if you adjust your way of thinking about him i think you might actually be pretty happy in the long run. it just takes time. if you have the space and maybe a bit of money you could set up a free range, it seems most free range chams are more laid back - although, this also takes time.

either way, lol.
 
So just because your chameleon, which generally dont like to be handled anyway, is acting normal by being a little skiddish towards you... your going to return it?

Sounds like you have no patience. Also sounds like you did no research what so ever. Did you really expect to have a lizard who is not familiar with its surroundings be completely cool? Not even that, its the fact that chameleons dont like to be handled. You may have a few out there who are EXTREMELY tame... but it is VERY COMMON to have a "less-friendly" chameleon...

Please - re-evaluate buying pets if your just going to give up on them in a week.
 
i just got my baby panther about 3 days ago its my first one and i love him i could just sit there and watch him i dont even have to hold him hes just so interesting to watch and i would rather have a happy cham then have him stressed out and maybe one day hold him but for now i just let him be him :D
 
kfactor said:
i just got my baby panther about 3 days ago its my first one and i love him i could just sit there and watch him i dont even have to hold him hes just so interesting to watch and i would rather have a happy cham then have him stressed out and maybe one day hold him but for now i just let him be him :D
Click to expand...

I always enjoy seeing mine happy as well !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

_Julian_
Chameleon thinks I'm food
Replies
11
Views
432
Beman
Beman
baldarthecham
New chameleon owner I rescued him in bad shape HELP ME!
5 6 7
Replies
130
Views
3K
absolutbill
absolutbill
Milch
Heartbreaking decision to make - young panther with poor tongue aim
Replies
10
Views
276
yungzerk
yungzerk
kenzie!
Why does my chameleon choose to be with me?
Replies
9
Views
468
Beman
Beman
Gecky
He tries to eat my fingers. Is he ok?
Replies
3
Views
408
Gecky
Gecky
Back
Top Bottom