Mango

[CrazyMango]

Ok so to anyone who was watching my posts, I decided to keep Mango. He is 100% a male. He ate his first orange today. My problem is that he has mood swings. One day he loves me and come out of his cage on his own onto my arm, and the next day I receive a painful bite when I'm holding him even though I didn't do anything! And on the days when I get bit, I remain calm, but tbh his bites hurt, even though he's only 48 grams! My question is why is he so friendly one day then really cranky the next??? I got him live plants by the way, and he loves them. Thanks @Beman @MissSkittles and @PabloTheCham for supporting me all this time, but this one really has me thinking now.

 

[Beman]

Ok so to anyone who was watching my posts, I decided to keep Mango. He is 100% a male. He ate his first orange today. My problem is that he has mood swings. One day he loves me and come out of his cage on his own onto my arm, and the next day I receive a painful bite when I'm holding him even though I didn't do anything! And on the days when I get bit, I remain calm, but tbh his bites hurt, even though he's only 48 grams! My question is why is he so friendly one day then really cranky the next??? I got him live plants by the way, and he loves them. Thanks @Beman @MissSkittles and @PabloTheCham for supporting me all this time, but this one really has me thinking now.

It is hard because they are not like dogs or cats... It does not matter that we adore them. They will never respond the same. They are very much wild lizards. They are typically not fond of being held or messed with. Fast movements freak them out. What you might think is ok and not causing stress to him he may perceive it as not ok.

Veileds are very temperamental. One moment they can be fine and the next not at all. I only interact with my boys on their terms. I never push to take them out. They each have their own personality and I respect their space and boundaries.

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok so to anyone who was watching my posts, I decided to keep Mango. He is 100% a male. He ate his first orange today. My problem is that he has mood swings. One day he loves me and come out of his cage on his own onto my arm, and the next day I receive a painful bite when I'm holding him even though I didn't do anything! And on the days when I get bit, I remain calm, but tbh his bites hurt, even though he's only 48 grams! My question is why is he so friendly one day then really cranky the next??? I got him live plants by the way, and he loves them. Thanks @Beman @MissSkittles and @PabloTheCham for supporting me all this time, but this one really has me thinking now.

So glad you’ll be keeping him! As Beman said, they don’t like being messed with and we have to respect their terms. The best thing you can start working on is building trust. Beman wrote a great blog about it. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
Just an FYI: there’s no need to feed them anything other than live bugs. Especially don’t feed oranges. Besides being high in sugar and citric acid irritating the stomach, it contains oxalic acid which binds with calcium...meaning it decreases your chameleons calcium levels.

 

[CrazyMango]

Well the orange was kind of an accident. LOL. I was eating some oranges today, and today was a day he was fine with me. So I was eating this orange and I peeled it and left it on a plate. Mango was sitting on his free roam pothos. Next thing I know hes eating one of them. I was freaking out because I had no idea if they could eat them or not, but I looked it up and it said they were fine. He seemed eager to eat it but I don't plan to give it to him often at all. I never make sudden movements around him, and i never force him out of his cage. I always offer a superworm or cricket to him and see if he wants to come out on my arm for it, if he does, I bring him to his free-roam. Sorry, I should have explained this at the beginning. I worked on my bond with him from the very beginning about a week after I got him every day. It still confuses me why he is so temperamental. For Tiger, my crested gecko, even without bonding, he doesn't care if I hold him or not, and he has never shown any sign of aggression. I read that crested geckos drop their tails easily, but even though Tiger has been in situations where he could have dropped his tail, he didn't. So I guess it is different with every animal.

 

[CrazyMango]

Literally just figured out that I can follow people on this site.

 

[MissSkittles]

Well the orange was kind of an accident. LOL. I was eating some oranges today, and today was a day he was fine with me. So I was eating this orange and I peeled it and left it on a plate. Mango was sitting on his free roam pothos. Next thing I know hes eating one of them. I was freaking out because I had no idea if they could eat them or not, but I looked it up and it said they were fine. He seemed eager to eat it but I don't plan to give it to him often at all. I never make sudden movements around him, and i never force him out of his cage. I always offer a superworm or cricket to him and see if he wants to come out on my arm for it, if he does, I bring him to his free-roam. Sorry, I should have explained this at the beginning. I worked on my bond with him from the very beginning about a week after I got him every day. It still confuses me why he is so temperamental. For Tiger, my crested gecko, even without bonding, he doesn't care if I hold him or not, and he has never shown any sign of aggression. I read that crested geckos drop their tails easily, but even though Tiger has been in situations where he could have dropped his tail, he didn't. So I guess it is different with every animal.

Wow! Sneaky Mango! Little orange thief! I used to give my girls an occasional blueberry cut in half as they seemed to enjoy them. Once I started their ‘diets’ to reduce egg production & laying I stopped.
My females have always been hissy - it’s just the way they are. My male used to be more tolerant of me, but as he’s maturing he is hissy now too. Veiled’s have attitude. When I got a panther I was and still am shocked at how very sweet he is. No hissing, no attempts to bite...just moves away if I bother him or he doesn’t want to be held. Besides all being different, they have their moods just like us too.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

....So I guess it is different with every animal.

That seems to be a universal truth that's come out (eventually) on every forum I've ever read concerning animals—and humans. They/we are all individuals, and as such, are all different.

We can make generalizations and notice similarities, but there will always be exceptions and/or outliers.