How Bad is a Cham Bite?

[Washoe]

I’ve never had any of my little buddies bite me (knock on wood), but if they do, how bad is it? About a year ago, my wife’s African Grey tried to take a chunk out of my thumb, and believe me, it wasn’t pretty. It felt just like hitting my thumb with a hammer, and it left a bruise which took several weeks to heal. Can a cham do the same? How bad is a bite from a full-grown veiled or Melleri? Or for that matter, a panther?

 

[ChromaChameleons]

In my experience , chameleon bites are more of a surprise than painful. The only time I ever had skin broken was when i jerked my finger after it was chomped on and I had a nasty cut. If I had left it in place , it wouldn't have even been bruised.

 

[leanna156]

I have had one bite experience. My male veiled was trying to eat a silkworm out of my hand and just missed. His tongue got stuck to my hand. I quickly moved my hand to his mouth and he sort of bit my hand to get his tongue unstuck. It left a <> -shaped bruise but no broken skin. The bruise lasted for a few weeks and was pretty deep.

 

[Marc10edora]

A melleri bite would be more powerful than a veiled. I have a veiled and I would say that there are 3 levels to a cham bite:
1) The Bump - This is when the cham tries to scare you off by bumping you with his mouth. He would't bite, but it is hard to tell if he was going to bite in the middle of the action.
2) The Nip - This is when the cham actually takes a quick bite at your hand. It feels like a hard pinch. But it's not enough to break any bones or break skin.
3) The Incredible Hulk - This is when your cham grabs on to your finger and clamps down hard. then starts to jerk his head around to really grind the teeth in. This bite can draw blood. But it still isn't enough to break bones. But it still hurts.

I wear thick leather gardening gloves with the hand that approaches my veiled. The gloves are thick enough to protect from the teeth. All I feel is a hard pinch. Plus the leather doesn't harm the chams mouth.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

In my experience , chameleon bites are more of a surprise than painful. The only time I ever had skin broken was when i jerked my finger after it was chomped on and I had a nasty cut. If I had left it in place , it wouldn't have even been bruised.

This is my experience too. More of a surprise that you just got bit then any pain it had caused.
I have seen one of my WC male Ambilobes clamp down on a family members sweater sleeve for about 15 seconds though. That would have definitely sucked if that was on the body. lol

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

I agree with what Marc10edora said.

I had a 8 month old panther with was very scared
to the point of "aggression".
He would always do his best to grind away to cause as much damage as possible
and even go so far as to lunge a few steps in order to reach my hand -just to bite it.
When he did, there was a break the skin where he made contact
leaving a dot pattern of bleeding pinpricks.
But NOTHING LIKE THE CRUSHING POWER OF A HOOKBILL

Simple fix: handling him with garden gloves and letting him chew away.
He eventually realized I was not out to hurt him or get hurt
and while still a bit wary when I open up the cage
once he's out... he's fine now.

In fact I've got him in hand right now...
It's mating season so his hormones are raging!
and even then I can pick him up and handle him w/o much of a problem.

 

[AFH]

One of the worst bites I had was from a female panther. She's really lazy, but she's got a great grip and good chomper! It wasn't really the power of her bite, but where she got me. I was trying to get her out to do some cleaning and she reached over and got the soft part on the inside of one of my fingers and bit as hard as she could. She only got a little piece but it was like getting pinched by nail clippers. It broke the skin, but luckily she didn't take a chunk.

 

[chamlover]

I've gotten bit by a male veiled and a female panther. Neither one really hurt, just scared the heck out of me. The male veiled bit the first day i got him, the female bit just cause she is a b......Neither one ever broke the skin.

Debby

 

[spartybassoon]

My male veiled bites me every time I take him out. He's perfectly fine once he's out, but when I reach in, he hisses, lunges, and then clamps down. He is 8 months old, and can occasionally break the skin slightly when he bites and jerks his head away. It doesn't surprise me anymore since I know its coming EVERY time, but it still does hurt a bit. I think I may begin to wear gloves when taking him out...

 

[SoCaliSon]

I think I may begin to wear gloves when taking him out...

Haha... Sounds like a good idea... How many times have you bled before coming to this decision?

 

[Canopy Chameleons]

I’ve never had any of my little buddies bite me (knock on wood), but if they do, how bad is it? About a year ago, my wife’s African Grey tried to take a chunk out of my thumb, and believe me, it wasn’t pretty. It felt just like hitting my thumb with a hammer, and it left a bruise which took several weeks to heal. Can a cham do the same? How bad is a bite from a full-grown veiled or Melleri? Or for that matter, a panther?

I haven't really found Cham bites to hurt all that bad, in comparison. I've worked with parrots for what seems like ever, rehabbing, training, etc, and wow. Both of my 'pinkie' toes were crushed by a damn Umbrella Cockatoo, scars everywhere, so when lizards bite me, it kind of makes me laugh. That Grey bite is much more painful than any Cham bite can ever be.

 

[dj special k]

3) The Incredible Hulk - This is when your cham grabs on to your finger and clamps down hard. then starts to jerk his head around to really grind the teeth in. This bite can draw blood. But it still isn't enough to break bones. But it still hurts.
QUOTE]


Uhhh... Be careful of infection if contact from a reptile and your own blood is involved. hehe.

 

[ken2414]

i got bit by my leopard gecko it that counts. it hurts and they don't let go until they feel safe

 

[Washoe]

Uhhh... Be careful of infection if contact from a reptile and your own blood is involved. hehe.

Who needs to be more concerned—the human or the herp?

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

My male veiled bites me every time I take him out.

yeah well I figure that they view it all as protecting their territory against
the intruder.
Always approach him from slightly below, wait a bit when 8" away
then move in under the forelegs lifting him up.
if he needs motivation... I usually tap the tail lightly to lift them up.

once you get them outside the bounds they change their attitude quick
it's not because they hate you or anything that they bite,
they're just responding to instincts... (defend my homebush)

 

[SuperRad]

But it's not just the bite, it's their nails as well. My cham climbed up my shirt and i had a tank top on, and it scratched the heck out of my shoulder to the point where it was red and swollen. And they are still just teenagers.

 

[Washoe]

Hee hee—we recently acquired our first Melleri and we were total newbies. I let him have his way with my arm for all of about five minutes while we were considering the purchase. By the time I said “we’ll take him”, my right arm looked as if I had tangled with a cat.

 

[nightcrawler]

But it's not just the bite, it's their nails as well. My cham climbed up my shirt and i had a tank top on, and it scratched the heck out of my shoulder to the point where it was red and swollen. And they are still just teenagers.

when i had to give my cham oral meds i had the same thing.
he scratched the crap out of my arm and i had little two and three lined
evenly spaced scratches on my hand.
it was cute.