i know im not supposed to, but.........

[Killjoy]

Hi all!
thanks for the help in advance. I want to start by saying...... I understand, COMPLETELY, that chams are more like fish, a kind of "look and dont touch" kind of pet. I understand and respect that rule. Now, i have had many chameleons in the past that i was able to handle, on occasion. Mostly to clean up and rearrange the enclosure, also for some selfish reasons, like picture taking etc. I have this one chameleon(my avatar pic). His name is Ikran. He is about 7 months old and kickin ass!!! really healthy and growing. But this little guy has some nasty temper. he just wont let me near. Does anyone have any tricks that they can suggest that may help to get Ikran a little relaxed around me. He will eat from my hand and will let me move things around but as soon as i slowly approach to guide him onto my hand, he flares up and gapes. I have tried my own techniques which have worked in the past with other chams, but they have no soothing effect on Ikran. Thanks for any suggestions you all might have

 

[pssh]

Sounds like he just doesn't want to be held try gently but quickly sliding your hand under him immediately after he eats some food from your hand. Occationally my nasty veiled will tollerate this but I generally use a stick to get him out. Once he's out he's usually less agressive.

I really don't recommend handling more than needed though. I hold mine once a week at the maximum. (it probably like every 3 weeks for Pan and every 1.5 for Hyperion.)

 

[ajacobson]

I don't know, I think some just will never like people. My Veiled's attitude keeps getting worse and worse. No love from that guy! But my Panther is pretty friendly, although I don't try to hold him often.

 

[Killjoy]

Thanks i will try right after i feed him. If after the next 2 or 3 months, if he doesnt cool out, i will just deem him a "people hater" and let him be. Thanks

 

[ajacobson]

Thanks i will try right after i feed him. If after the next 2 or 3 months, if he doesnt cool out, i will just deem him a "people hater" and let him be. Thanks

People-hater...LOL!

 

[billbuckner]

my panther is friendly! i open the cage and he runs out to me its cool. but i have yet to get him to eat from my hand, any tips?

 

[thechameleon]

You feel my pain. My chameleon hates me! Once he sees a hand, he will either hiss or bite it. I tried hand feeding him, but If my hand is near it he won't touch it. I had a panther chameleon with the same problem. So I never had experience with "nice" chameleons good luck with your Cham, hope he will someday become a "people lover" instead of a "people hater"

 

[Killjoy]

time will tell.....
and Bill, i was able to get him to eat from my hand by using this strategy.
first off, do not try to hold the crickets with your fingers, for some reason chams take a closed finger approach as aggressive behavior, or have a tough time spotting the cricket at the end of your finger tips. . not sure why but either way you want to start by allowing the crickets to walk in your open palm. introduce each cricket to the enclosure by having them walk on your hand first. keep your hand still. do not rotate or move it. continue this behavior for about a month and then he should be accustom to your hand = food. then you can begin to feed by holding the crickets in your finger tips. another little tip, if you do this behavior each morning about an hour after he warms up and is hunger, it will be very effective. good luck

 

[summoner12]

sometimes the nasty ones just need some time with you... are you in the room with him ever? making it clear you are a 'good guy' can help calm a cham. I have a melleri that gets pretty upset when my hands are in the cage. I use his 'run away!' efforts to my advantage by getting my hands in front of him so he climbs onto my hand, then i pull him out of the cage kinda quickly but being very sure he doesn't grab a vine or branch on his way out. He likes to try and hook something once hes realized his fate lol. once out he calms down. I try not to handle him unless i have too. I might only handle him every other week. I need to handle him more though, he needs parasite treatment, so im gonna have to ramp up my handling

 

[draetish]

Like Kevin said, he may just need more time with you. Do you ever free range him? I have a tree branches with lots of limbs in the corner of the room and my panther knows when I come home from work, he is ready to come out and get on his "limb gym". I let him sleep there too and in the morning I just gently get his feet attached to my fingers and off the limb back in the cage. His limb is next to the computer and he will actually come down and perch on the bottom limb and watch me. Another thing to try is keeping his cage door open when you're in the room so he knows he has an option. If he starts to wander out, let him be.

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

if all you want is to beable to minimize the stress levels of both your cham and yourself when you need to handle him you could try this untill he warms up ( if ever )

1.) try to distract him with something ( not your hand )

2.) lay one hand inside the cage like if it was a branch

3.) use what ever it is you are distracting him with to coax him in the direction of you hand and ultimately to crawl on to your hand thinking it's a branch and no threat to him

i think its important to use something thats not your hand to invoke that reaction before you try to take advantage of it, because you don't want him associating your hand with anything negative

also have you tried hand feeding treats ? a hungry cham will snap one outta your fingers if it gets stimulated enough.

try using something neutral like one of the leaves to hide the majority of your hand while pinching the feeder to dangle infront of the cham. slowly over time if you're gettin positive results stop hiding your hand.

and ideally even if he never warms up you should be able to get him to hand feed, which will prove to be the best possible distraction to use while you get your hand in there, and hopefully use a feeder to get him to move in the direction of your hand.

i dont know how you go about it now, but if you arent already, try to keep your face away from the cham. for example, dont have your face right at the opening of the cage when trying to work with him. For me there was always a between time when an " anti " cham would stress over my face and not over my hands. faces can be a big threat to cham imho

good luck !