How I gained Beman's trust

[Beman]

So recently I have seen quite a few posts from keepers that are stressed about trying to handle their chameleon for the important things like cleaning or taking them to the vet.

I am always told how rare it is for a Male Veiled to have such a good personality like Beman does. Beman did not start out like this though. He was quite shy when I first brought him home. Very leery of my hands and he would back into the farthest position in his enclosure when I had to clean each day or put food in.

So I just did a blog on the steps I took to build trust with him. There is a video of him at 2 weeks into the process and a video from today. I hope it will be helpful to all the new keepers that find this thread in the future.

I want to note that I do not think of this in any way as taming him. No no no. He is a wild animal not a cat. It is important to allow them to be as they are in their own Chameleon glory. This is simply building a level of trust so that when needed I can remove him safely from his cage without causing additional stress for him.

Here is the link to the blog. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

 

[snitz427]

Great blog entry!

I used a similar technique with my veileds. My male is extremely docile and eagerly comes onto my hand after just a few short hand feedings. My female, on the other hand, is just starting to walk onto our hand to eat after 3+ months of daily hand feeding. She is still quite reserved, but food will coax her out enough to easily remove her from the cage when needed.

I'd definitely recommend doing this while they are young, as my (new) panthers are older, and food is not a motivator for them.

Quality time with my chameleons is sitting next to them and enjoying watching them free range, or photographing them. I agree that your goal should not be to cuddle them or excessively handle them. Honestly it seems boring for both parties!

 

[Beman]

Great blog entry!

I used a similar technique with my veileds. My male is extremely docile and eagerly comes onto my hand after just a few short hand feedings. My female, on the other hand, is just starting to walk onto our hand to eat after 3+ months of daily hand feeding. She is still quite reserved, but food will coax her out enough to easily remove her from the cage when needed.

I'd definitely recommend doing this while they are young, as my (new) panthers are older, and food is not a motivator for them.

Quality time with my chameleons is sitting next to them and enjoying watching them free range, or photographing them. I agree that your goal should not be to cuddle them or excessively handle them. Honestly it seems boring for both parties!

Thank you hun! Yeah I had no experience with Chameleons prior to Beman. He is my one and only Chameleon. I really had not idea how aggressive they could be. Until recently my new neighbor moved in and he has a 4 year old male Veiled that he has never handled. He invited me over to see him. He was massive and in a plastic bin because he was setting his cage back up. He pulled him out and within seconds this guy went to latch on to his finger. lol talk about a shocking moment for me.

I would think when they are young and so food driven this method may work for others. It was a very long process but I am so glad I did it after seeing how aggressive they can be as adults!

 

[jamest0o0]

Didn't look at it yet, but thanks for sharing this. You're doing a great job!

One thing to stress... just because it works for 1 cham doesn't mean it will for the rest. I've had Panthers incredibly easy going and Panthers ready to bite my hand off with no differences in handling. I know you're talking about a veiled, but I assume they're the same.

 

[Beman]

Didn't look at it yet, but thanks for sharing this. You're doing a great job!

One thing to stress... just because it works for 1 cham doesn't mean it will for the rest. I've had Panthers incredibly easy going and Panthers ready to bite my hand off with no differences in handling. I know you're talking about a veiled, but I assume they're the same.

Thanks James. Yeah I put that at the end of my blog... That I don't know if this is a fluke but this is what I did and it happened to work lol.

 

[snitz427]

Didn't look at it yet, but thanks for sharing this. You're doing a great job!

One thing to stress... just because it works for 1 cham doesn't mean it will for the rest. I've had Panthers incredibly easy going and Panthers ready to bite my hand off with no differences in handling. I know you're talking about a veiled, but I assume they're the same.

Same is true for every species. I think in many "pet" species, those showing aggressive behavior are culled. This is true for puppies, bunnies, rodents, etc. The only exception are cats... because... well, cats aren't pets. WE are cat's pets. And if you don't fly straight, your cat might cull you next!

 

[jamest0o0]

Thanks James. Yeah I put that at the end of my blog... That I don't know if this is a fluke but this is what I did and it happened to work lol.

I dont think it was a fluke, I think you did a great job with him

 

[Beman]

I dont think it was a fluke, I think you did a great job with him

Thanks hun. Hopefully the blog will help others. Their chams may never be as calm as my boy but if it could just eliminate the stress for both keeper and cham in the simple things like cage cleaning, going to the Vet, and taking them outside then that would be wonderful if even a few were helped by it.

 

[bay1997]

Thank you Becca! You did a great job with your handsome boy

 

[Beman]

Thank you Becca! You did a great job with your handsome boy

Your welcome hun!

 

[JIFFYPOP]

So recently I have seen quite a few posts from keepers that are stressed about trying to handle their chameleon for the important things like cleaning or taking them to the vet.

I am always told how rare it is for a Male Veiled to have such a good personality like Beman does. Beman did not start out like this though. He was quite shy when I first brought him home. Very leery of my hands and he would back into the farthest position in his enclosure when I had to clean each day or put food in.

So I just did a blog on the steps I took to build trust with him. There is a video of him at 2 weeks into the process and a video from today. I hope it will be helpful to all the new keepers that find this thread in the future.

I want to note that I do not think of this in any way as taming him. No no no. He is a wild animal not a cat. It is important to allow them to be as they are in their own Chameleon glory. This is simply building a level of trust so that when needed I can remove him safely from his cage without causing additional stress for him.

Here is the link to the blog. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

Its like you read my mind, lol. I was actually thinking about asking this question, cause I have some new stuff to put in cletus' enclosure. He seems more comfortable around me now, only had him a month. He doesnt run from me when i open his cage, actually just chills till his feeder cup goes up, then he goes right for it. How often should I be taking him out, just for big cleanings, or dealing with plants? Or should I be seeing if he just wants to come out to chill every so often, eh?

 

[Beman]

Its like you read my mind, lol. I was actually thinking about asking this question, cause I have some new stuff to put in cletus' enclosure. He seems more comfortable around me now, only had him a month. He doesnt run from me when i open his cage, actually just chills till his feeder cup goes up, then he goes right for it. How often should I be taking him out, just for big cleanings, or dealing with plants? Or should I be seeing if he just wants to come out to chill every so often, eh?

I go into much more detail in the blog.

I think it is stressful for them when you are in their enclosure moving stuff around with them in it. Just ensure that you have a safe place to put him and can keep an eye on him while you take care of whatever you need to.

I do happen to take Beman out every day unless he is shedding or he is showing me that he does not want to come out. I never push him. But I always remove him from his enclosure when I do spot cleaning each day and on the weekends when I do my deep cleaning. He also goes outside with me every day that the weather allows for it.

So I would say just follow what he wants... Don't push and be patient.

 

[JIFFYPOP]

I go into much more detail in the blog.

I think it is stressful for them when you are in their enclosure moving stuff around with them in it. Just ensure that you have a safe place to put him and can keep an eye on him while you take care of whatever you need to.

I do happen to take Beman out every day unless he is shedding or he is showing me that he does not want to come out. I never push him. But I always remove him from his enclosure when I do spot cleaning each day and on the weekends when I do my deep cleaning. He also goes outside with me every day that the weather allows for it.

So I would say just follow what he wants... Don't push and be patient.

Awesome, will check out blog. When I first got him he climbed out of container, was up on my shoulder by the time i could get him on my hand, lol. He's a fast lil bugger. I've only taking cletus out once since I've gotten him, and that was to add stuff his enclosure. I realize are mostly to look at and enjoy, ain't gonna be laying on yer chest getting pet like a bearded, lol