How aggressive are Chameleons? Have u been bitten? Which is the least aggressive??

JoshuaTree said:
I've heard some (like the Veiled) are very aggressive...is that true? Does the bite hurt? :eek:

Are some less aggressive?


What are your overall thoughts on the subject?


Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I dont own a cham yet...I just want to learn as much as possible. Talking to all of you is certainly the best way. Thanks. :)
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This is simple. Yes they bite, but only if you give them your finger.

Does it hurt? Well... yes...it's supposed to.

As for the overall thoughts on the subject, I asked Atlas for his opinion on the matter at hand.

His reply was " If the monkey sticks his finger near my face I'm gonna bite it, cuz it's there."

So there you have it from a chameleon's viewpoint. Oh and Atlas can leave you needing stitches.
 
Periyozu said:
My veiled is lovely, wants to be handled 24/7
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I doubt your veiled likes to be handled 24/7. I really doubt any veiled likes to be handled regardless of all those like yourself that say otherwise. Please, describe what this veiled does to communicate to you his/her enjoyment at being handled. Wanting to escape a cage or climbing up an arm is not behavior that indicates any enjoyment in being around you. My newly imported wild caughts do that and I can assure you they think I am the devil incarnate.
 
IMAG0682_1[1].jpg IMAG0674_1[1].jpg my daughter has a year old veild and I have 11month panther ,, veild is more aggressive and panter she laid back , my daughter told me just the other day she wish she would have bought panther because she's so calm , the veild has bitten me it doesn't hurt
 
I've been bitten by my veiled chameleons and it doesn't hurt.

I don't pull away, I offer another finger to bite so they get the hint it's not a weapon, and I'm not running away.

My female no longer tries to bite, my eldest male will act like he's going to bite, and my newbie is learning it doesn't really bother me.
 
So far my female veiled (about 6-7 months) has never tried to bite, hiss, or really seemed aggressive. She just moves away from me if I try to get her out. So, I leave her door open and she comes out on her own, if she wants to. Even when she's out, I almost always use a wooden dowel for her to climb on, then my hand. Not sure if she'll get more aggressive as she gets older or if she's just mellow?
 
jajeanpierre said:
I've had three notable bites from two different wild caught chameleons, one a T.q.quadricornis male and the other a T.q.gracilior male.

The first "bite" can't really be called a bite. He was a little imported wild caught quad quad and I was medicating him. I used my thumb to hold his mouth open while I put the silkworms in which I do after I orally medicate anything. He didn't let go. It was funny. I carried him outside hanging from my thumb to show my husband who was out by the pool. My husband rummaged around for his phone and came up and took this picture. That little guy swung from my thumb for minutes.

The next bite from him wasn't so funny. He was full grown then and latched onto the heel of my palm and wouldn't let go. If I moved, he bit harder like a little pit bull. Any movement on my part made him tighten his grip and start sawing a bit. I honestly thought he was going to extract his pound of flesh. I was really worried I was going to lose a big chunk of skin as he slowly sawed away. I put in a female to try to distract him. He bit harder. I put in a male. He bit even harder still. Finally I just waited him out and stayed as still as I could be.

The second bite was the other day with another adult wild caught male. I had just finished giving him his antibiotic injection (for an abscess caused by injuries suffered at import) so he was pretty upset. He had been wrapped in a towel to hold him still and had just gotten an injection that was very painful. (Baytril really burns, but my vet wanted to inject rather than oral.) He's a new import, so he was a super stressed upset animal. I was taking him back to his cage. I had him against my stomach with my other hands making a cage so he wouldn't leap to escape, something this species is inclined to do. He bit my stomach and wouldn't let go. Fortunately it was through a shirt so he couldn't cut into the skin. I just lay down on the bed and waited him out. It took minutes. Yes, Ralph @OldChamKeeper , I tried waving a rubbing alcohol pad under his nose and it didn't work or I wasn't doing it right!

Neither of these two threaten to bite me except when they feel their life is in danger. I have a healthy respect for their bite, believe me.

View attachment 165193
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Those are great stories! I love the pic haha!
 
So far I haven't been bitten by my panthers and I doubt I ever will..theyre just not aggressive toward me. I was bitten by male Jacksons by accident when I was hand feeding a super worm. He looked totally shocked and promptly spit me out! Lol! :p
 
my current male panther when he's inside has a completely different attitude than when he's outside in his larger summer enclosure. he's a pussy cat outside. but inside, when he's in the 2x2x4, he acts all tough, but only acts tough. he opens his mouth, gets all flat, and will even hiss. But he's never bitten me. its only for show. only time i'm handling him is for his monthly weigh ins, or when I'm moving him. my female accidentally bit me once. when I hand feed either of them, I'm usually grabbing a leg of a cricket to hold on to them. once i lost the grasp on a cricket and it was slowly crawling down my hand just beyond my wrist. she was very interested and eventually snapped the cricket off the under side of my wrist. her tongue nailed the cricket and some arm hair. i was only a very short distance from her, the branch she was on sagged, her mouth went right onto my arm as she brought her tongue back in, and CHOMP. i think the bite surprised her as much as me.
 
JoshuaTree said:
I've heard some (like the Veiled) are very aggressive...is that true? Does the bite hurt? :eek:

Are some less aggressive?


What are your overall thoughts on the subject?


Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I dont own a cham yet...I just want to learn as much as possible. Talking to all of you is certainly the best way. Thanks. :)
Click to expand...
Male chams are usually better pets for first time owners as females will lay eggs regardless of being with a male or not and they require more attention because of it. And also male veiled chameleon generally are easyer to get along with the females can get quite nippy sometimes .... Most of the time
 
I've kept chameleons since 2008. I started with a female Veiled, then got another, followed by a male. After him I got my 1st male Jackson followed by a male Carpet. I now have just one male Jackson. Out of all of those the only one to ever bite me was the little Carpet cham! He was rather mean and would launch at my fingers any chance he got! The Veileds and Jacksons have all been lovely, especially my first Jackson.
 
I've only been bitten twice by my panther and both were an accident when he shot his tongue out and he got my finger and the locust and chopped down lol but he's very nice natured
 
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