hissing at me :(

[jerseyrugby21]

hey so i know it is a very common and basic question but i have a now i beleve to be juvinile veiled chameleon and he was fine being handeled as a baby (didnt nessisarily like it but he had never gotten upset about it) but now recently he has been hissing as me and snaping like as if he were going to bite me even when i put my hand in the cage only way i dont get hissed at is if i have the cup of food in my hand..lol but to the point is this just a stage that he is going though because he is becomeing more teritorial and is therte any way i can not be hissed at and he can becomre more used to my hand and feel less threatened (i am wearing light colors when handeleing him and avoiding wearing anything black or resembling to black) i know that i dont have any specifics in here but i am just talking in general behovorial wise.
his age is roughly 5 or six months old

 

[suzi]

The same exact thing happened with my veiled(who should be arriving by mail to my friend in California any minute now lol) I was terrified of her! Lmao. I am convinced she is the offspring of lucifer himself. I actually had to have my husband put her in the shipping box because I couldn't get her out of the cage! He said she was the meanest lizard he had ever seen! And he has seen a lot. Personally I didn't want a lizard I was afraid of. My panthers are so gentle, much different. I later heard that some veileds can become very aggressive when they reach sexual maturity. I know a veiled breeder who said that 1/2 are not nice and 1/2 are very sweet. I suppose I got stuck with the devil worshipper. My heart goes out to you, best of luck

 

[VeiledKarma]

I am dealing with this same issue unfortunately. Best way to pick mine up is to shoo him onto a stick with a glove on. Once I get him out he calms down.

 

[carol5208]

I used green garden gloves in the beginning even though he never tried to bite. I was always afraid though. They were bright green and I thought maybe he would think they look like a big leaf!!!! Try getting him on to crawl on a stick and also open the door, put a large tall plant out in front and see if he will come out on that. Try to handle him once he is out of the cage. I think sometimes they feel less threatened when not cornered in the cage.

 

[hallenhe]

My female veiled hisses and threatens (sometimes swinging her head around suddenly and gaping) whenever you reach for her. But as soon as she's climbed on board she's perfectly peaceable. (And for those who would say, "Clearly she doesn't want you reaching for her; leave her alone!", she has to be picked up to go outside, and she loves being outside. There are tradeoffs to everything.)

 

[laurie]

Suzi you didn't mail that cham to CA. You mailed her to Montana. And she is a female panther! Not sure how you could make a mistake like that. lol She has been here since 3/17 and is still the spawn of satan. And I have to keep her since she is to be bred to my husband's dr gonzo boy. I feel sorry for him having to go in a cage with her. I am holding off as long as I can. I just hope she doesn't eat him or worse.

The same exact thing happened with my veiled(who should be arriving by mail to my friend in California any minute now lol) I was terrified of her! Lmao. I am convinced she is the offspring of lucifer himself. I actually had to have my husband put her in the shipping box because I couldn't get her out of the cage! He said she was the meanest lizard he had ever seen! And he has seen a lot. Personally I didn't want a lizard I was afraid of. My panthers are so gentle, much different. I later heard that some veileds can become very aggressive when they reach sexual maturity. I know a veiled breeder who said that 1/2 are not nice and 1/2 are very sweet. I suppose I got stuck with the devil worshipper. My heart goes out to you, best of luck

 

[jessica]

Sounds like shes growing up! A lot of chameleons go through a terratorial stage at that age.

Maybe she would be less terratorial out of her cage. You can set a plant outside of the cage open the door and let her climb on it. I move it infront of the window this way the chameleon associates the plant with something she enjoys.

Baby steps lol. I should point out that shes just being a typical chameleon, I have a couple chams that just prefer to be fed watered and left alone.

 

[jpm995]

My veiled usually runs [slowly] but doesn't bite. I rarely pick him up but it's usually a slow process, he always seems to have a least one foot or tail gripping a branch as i try to pick him up. He's so big i need 3 hands to get him off the branch and he moves SO slow.

 

[jerseyrugby21]

well i am glad that i am not the only one running into this issue i thought i might have done something wrong :/ hopefully it will get better with time

 

[jerseyrugby21]

i have a question relating to it also though what do you think would be better to do..to back off when he is hissing or continue and risk getting bitten (i dont mind getting bitten that is untill he gets really big..then i will be worried about like losing a finger..haha).
but my theory is based off of a push and pull theory that he understandes that he cant hurt me and that hissing/biteing is useless as aposed to showing that hissing and lunging towrds me will cause me to back off.
thoughts?

 

[Leroux2008]

My Veileds really dont appreciate being held lol. My female is scared of me she hisses but does not attempt to bite. I normally just reach in (no gloves) I try not to touch their back and pick them up from underneath. My male is a different story.... My male Loves my hand being in the cage because he always thinks hes going to be fed but the moment he notices I dont have a cricket.... He gets poofy hisses and tries to bite me.... though I still dont wear gloves XD He usually never actually goes for the kill willl normally just open his mouth his and act like hes going to bite me but never does....

Ive still never gotten them to where they can be okay even out of the cage....

 

[suzi]

Suzi you didn't mail that cham to CA. You mailed her to Montana. And she is a female panther! Not sure how you could make a mistake like that. lol She has been here since 3/17 and is still the spawn of satan. And I have to keep her since she is to be bred to my husband's dr gonzo boy. I feel sorry for him having to go in a cage with her. I am holding off as long as I can. I just hope she doesn't eat him or worse.

Lmao Laurie , I feel ya!

 

[suzi]

i have a question relating to it also though what do you think would be better to do..to back off when he is hissing or continue and risk getting bitten (i dont mind getting bitten that is untill he gets really big..then i will be worried about like losing a finger..haha).
but my theory is based off of a push and pull theory that he understandes that he cant hurt me and that hissing/biteing is useless as aposed to showing that hissing and lunging towrds me will cause me to back off.
thoughts?

A girl I know who breeds them thinks you should handle them more to get them used to you. But me...

 

[Kodos2150]

my veiled is a pistol. he doesnt run from me when i have to reach in the cage....he stands and fights lol. i have to distract him with my other hand to grab him without getting bit, and after i have him out he still hisses up a storm and tries to bite lol. when i have him out i have to keep him well away from my face because he likes to lunge at me and he likes to try to zap me in my eyes with his tongue lol.

i love my lil guy

 

[k9monkey]

Wow, I feel much better reading this thread. My veiled is a pistol as well. I wear over mitts to reach in and get him because he does hiss and bite. I did notice since I have to take him out multiple times a day to treat his tail, he is getting better. I can usually just nudge him in a direction where he will climb on to me now.

My theory is with any animal if they react and you withdrawal from them, they will keep doing it. Protect yourself, but show no fear.

 

[CheekyMinx]

I was about to make a post asking the same questions! Haha.
When I first got my little guy, he did anything to get out of the tank. Now he doesn't even let me get my hand in there without scaring the crap out of me with his demon hiss..
It's getting so bad he hisses at me even when I stand near the cage

I am being bullied by a lizard. And I accept it.

 

[vgaines]

My Rebel (male veiled) is the same way. When I first got him he would run but I could put my hand out flat in front of him and nudge him from behind and he would climb on. Now he hisses, opens his mouth and lunges for my hand. I am not really scared of the bite I am scared of hurting him if I were to jerk my hand away. I have been thinking about wearing a glove. Green or brown...With my birds I have always just pushed my hand underneath them and don't give them a choice. Not sure why I have been letting Rebel get away with intimidating me. I just want to be able to get him out for free ranging, cage cleaning, and a trip to the vet if needed...

 

[pepezkakap]

Has anyone ever experienced this with panther? I think as a male matures he's becoming more agressive. Idk about female lol.

 

[Ferrah88]

Yuki (female veiled) hisses at me about 40% of the time I put my hand in there. The other 60% of the time she assumes I have food and looks at my fingers crosseyed before selecting the most delicious looking one and shoots her tongue at it. Because of this, and not wanting to injure her, she has bitten me quite a few times. At first it was kinda hard, her bites. Now they seem to be less chomping and more "oh, that was your finger? Oops..."

If I have food, she never hisses. If I have the water bottle, all hell breaks loose! (Although she likes to stand behind the nozzle while I'm spraying...). She's just a really odd one!

The fact that she's getting better after teaching her to hand feed might be an option for you, if your cham doesn't hand feed already But as lots of people have already said, it might just be an age thing that you can hope your cham will grow out of

Marimo (male Ellioti) on the other hand... he gives my hand the look of pure terror when I put my hand in and prays. After a while though, he realizes my hand isn't danger and climbs right on. But this is only after I remain still for a few minutes. I only ever take him out to clean, free-range in his favourite tree, bring outside and maybe pictures from time to time.