MEAN Chameleon

[BHillendahl]

I am having a serious problem with my eleven month old veiled chameleon. When I try to take him out of his cage to clean it, he hisses and bites. When I mist his cage, he hisses and bites. When I TOUCH his cage at all, he hisses and bites. He is just one malcontent little bastard. I only handle him once a week plus removing him to clean the cage. I'm trying to start a breeding project after I get a female in September (my favorite vendor comes to a local reptile show annually), and I see this becoming a big issue. I don't know if his aggressive disposition will also hinder my chances of successful mating. The vendor told me I could trade him for another veiled at the show, but I am kinda attached, not to mention he has some AWESOME color. What should I do? Is there anything I can try to get him to calm his little self down? I can take pictures and short videos of his hissing and whatnot if you guys want to see whats goin on. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Julirs]

This is completely NORMAL. It is rare to have one that is NOT like this. Out of my 4 male Veileds-only one does not try to kill me. It won't affect mating-I am sure he will be perfectly lovely (Veiled-style) to a female!

 

[sandrachameleon]

Dont handle him, and you will have less troubles. They dont usually like being messed with.

Use a removable branch to get him out of the cage. Might also wear gloves. Or try to coax onto a long stick you hold some distance from your body. Sometimes using a food bribe helps. Always move very slowly. Often once outside the territory/cage they relax a little.

Aggressive males sometimes make the best breeders.

 

[BHillendahl]

Understood. I just hope he gets a little better a year down the line when he's full grown. I've only handled 3 adults, but they've all been really docile. They just kinda sit there. Is that really that unusual?

 

[Carlton]

There isn't a whole lot you can do to change his personality, but a few things to consider...

At this age his hormones are raging. Many chams go through an extra pissy stage until they are fully mature.
He may just be a reactive aggressive guy. Doesn't mean he won't be a good breeder, just that he doesn't like you in his turf.
You can try getting him to tolerate your presence by offering favorite treat feeders by hand (or in a small cup held in your hand).
He may be very stressed by something in the room such as a reflection of himself, seeing other animals, seeing a lot of disturbing activity, or not having enough cover to retreat to, or not enough space to dominate in his own cage. Sometimes aggression is fear or insecurity. A larger elevated cage with lots of foliage can help.
And, do you really have to breed to enjoy him? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Carlton]

Understood. I just hope he gets a little better a year down the line when he's full grown. I've only handled 3 adults, but they've all been really docile. They just kinda sit there. Is that really that unusual?

My first male veiled was docile too. It is mostly luck of the draw.

 

[BHillendahl]

That makes a lot of sense. And no I don't have to breed him, but i'd like to. I think it'd be really cool to get a translucent female. I know the odds of the babies coming out really spectacular isn't high, but after seeing "Frost" from FLChameleons, i'd like to try.

 

[pssh]

That's how my guys is. I use a stick to get him out when needed. He's too much of a butt to use my hand (I'm super afraid, he went into deathroll mode when he was a baby and tore my skin! AT TWO MONTHS!) he's a beastly lizard, but I love him anyways.

It's pretty unusual to have a super 'friendly' veiled. I've only met agressive guys. My panther is more docile now that he's bigger, but he likes to run away or mock-puff at me. He's a funny guy.

 

[RastaReptiles]

Lol ya they get super pissed if u go into their territory... haha... the other day my veiled chameleon, delilah was hissing and gaping at me too when i was trying to take her out... they just want to be left alone in their environments...

 

[chrisandpugs]

Need to handle your Chameleon on a daily basis!

Hi!
Haven't posted in a long time but I had to intervene!!

I have always exposed my now 4 year old Veiled C. to touching him, getting him out of his cage, and to other human strangers. He shows no aggressivenss such as hissing, biting or dark color changes because he is so used to me handling him on a daily basis. It's MORE stressful for your C. to be rarely handled and then suddenly see fingers trying to take him out of his cage..etc. I wear no gloves at all and it's nothing to him when I transfer him with my hand from an indoor cage to an outdoor temporary cage for him to bask in natural sunlight on a daily basis.

I started him at a very early age (4 months) when I got him from the breeder to learn to get used to being handled. Yes, around 5 months when he started to reach sexual maturity, he started to hiss at me and even try and attack my hand so I just used a small kitchen towel to sheild my fingers and when he struck, he only bit the towel. It wasn't long before he realized that I wasn't going to hurt him and that me getting him out of his indoor cage meant going out to bask outside so he associated me positively with both being fed and/or getting to bask outdoors.

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to let new or will be C. owners out there that they can be handled properly without them getting upset or aggressive. Anybody who comes to my house thinks that I have the sweetest, nicest Veiled C. when I handle hiim and I tell them that it is a "learned" behavior thru positive reinforcement!!

Christine B.

 

[alan23]

i get mine out bout once a week he does get stroppy sometimes.i start off by stroking his feet for a min or 2 and just look at him so he knows im not gonna hurt him then slowly put my hand under him he trys to get away sometimes he knows wht is happening is like a game lol

 

[gabzzy]

KnoKnutty

i rescued my 2nd male veiled from someone who had him behind plexi glass for 1 year, so he constantly saw his reflection an he became his own worst preditor.
He was a lil dracula, hissing, lounging and spitting with such intensity i thought he had nuerological problems, BUT, he has made a 360 degree change since in my care.
He comes to me from his free range perch and sleeps in the corner of my bed, i wake up he is on my chest; he has become the absoult LuvBug and even smiles at me when he is super happy about stroolin around.
I did it with a warm wash cloth and lotsa paintance but the real trick is to cover hiis face with one hand and hold him to ur heart so he can hear it, make a lillte "shelter" with ur hand so nothing spooks him but he can smell ur natural scent and work with him daily,get him a ficus tree where he can sit and take sum screen and make sum hammocks for him, get him comfortable, like he lives with u, not as captive, and u will soon see a change.
They are very easy to handle just be gentle and always use some kind of baby blanket so u can wrap him up when he becomes feisty, then burrow into his lil nest and let him peek, till he starts to climb ur hands like a jungle jim.
Let his actions speak to u but always be the alpha in a gentle giant way and u will fain his confidence and b rewared with lotsa good good chammy lovin

 

[Julirs]

These last few posts are the kind that scare me. Honestly people, FORCING them to tolerate you is just not a best practice. Also if you only have one or two chameleons in your lifetime-it is not representative of the many different personalities a chameleon can have. Some are just more tolerant, and some are just more stressed.

The message you are sending to new keepers is to handle, handle, handle-and then these same new keepers here are trying to find out why their chameleon is sick or stressed or DEAD.

 

[SliK JiM]

Dont handle him, and you will have less troubles. They dont usually like being messed with.

Use a removable branch to get him out of the cage. Might also wear gloves. Or try to coax onto a long stick you hold some distance from your body. Sometimes using a food bribe helps. Always move very slowly. Often once outside the territory/cage they relax a little.

Aggressive males sometimes make the best breeders.

I'll second all of the above apart from the stick thing! I tried this once. Moved it slowly to try and coax him out and he did his best defensive move! He just dropped from his perch into a ficus and ran away. I'm convinced he must have thought it was a snake and this was just his natural instinct kicking in! Scared me witless!

As everyone says, its just veileds! Me and mine have a good 'working' relationship. I can feed/clean/water him without any issues, but anything else and he doesn't want to know! Nothing ****s him off more than the camera coming out. Man, he hates it! It's a bloody pain as I'd love to get a few shots of him, but not just that, if he catches a glimse of the camera he gets pissed! I try shooting my new little fellow and Dante will tell me to **** off in only the way he can!

Food bribes are a good bet. Waxies can normally calm any situation down (except the camera coming out!)

At the end of the day, he is an animal and this is how he is going to behave! Trying to change that is silly! Chameleons may be pets, but they're not toys, you have to respect them as you would any other animal.

 

[alan23]

i dont get him out alot so dnt know why the little go at es there.i treat me cham well

 

[Carlton]

i rescued my 2nd male veiled from someone who had him behind plexi glass for 1 year, so he constantly saw his reflection an he became his own worst preditor.
He was a lil dracula, hissing, lounging and spitting with such intensity i thought he had nuerological problems, BUT, he has made a 360 degree change since in my care.
He comes to me from his free range perch and sleeps in the corner of my bed, i wake up he is on my chest; he has become the absoult LuvBug and even smiles at me when he is super happy about stroolin around.
I did it with a warm wash cloth and lotsa paintance but the real trick is to cover hiis face with one hand and hold him to ur heart so he can hear it, make a lillte "shelter" with ur hand so nothing spooks him but he can smell ur natural scent and work with him daily,get him a ficus tree where he can sit and take sum screen and make sum hammocks for him, get him comfortable, like he lives with u, not as captive, and u will soon see a change.
They are very easy to handle just be gentle and always use some kind of baby blanket so u can wrap him up when he becomes feisty, then burrow into his lil nest and let him peek, till he starts to climb ur hands like a jungle jim.
Let his actions speak to u but always be the alpha in a gentle giant way and u will fain his confidence and b rewared with lotsa good good chammy lovin

This approach sounds a bit weird to me! It probably won't work on a cham who is more reactive. If you were able to try the same approach on a group of chams with different personalities I would trust the results as advice more. Most chams absolutely hate being covered, being picked up or restrained by the head or body (such as being wrapped up), and are not burrowers. They don't seek a burrow to hide from threats (those who let themselves drop to the ground like a dead leaf to confuse a predator usually freeze in place).

That being said, taking him out of a plexiglass prison was a kind thing to do and probably made most of the difference in his life. Free ranging in a nice tall tree helps many chams feel more secure because its more natural for them to be perched above everyone else.

He is who he is. He may mellow out with age somewhat. Chams are not socially sophisticated creatures who care about being rewarded for "good" tolerant behavior. Don't expect them to change to please anyone. To be aggressive or reactive is a good survival skill.

 

[Carlton]

i dont get him out alot so dnt know why the little go at es there.i treat me cham well

I think the point is that he just doesn't CARE what you think about his behavior! Instinct is telling him to reject any intruders into his space, and he's just following instructions. Whether another creature likes his behavior or not isn't important to him.

 

[Julirs]

I think the point is that he just doesn't CARE what you think about his behavior! Instinct is telling him to reject any intruders into his space, and he's just following instructions. Whether another creature likes his behavior or not isn't important to him.

Well said.

These are not dogs. Consider the terror to them of taking away their sight-their most important sense. Covering them with a towel-to try to tame them???? That just makes me angry. There very well might be an emergency where you would need to grab them and quickly, but for routine maintenance and inspection you do not need to touch them at all for the most part.

You do not NEED to nor SHOULD you be handling your chameleon daily.

 

[FroggtheCham]

Just cuz they hate us, doesn't mean they will be that way to a mate. You may be surprised what a pretty girl can do . He is a guy after all!! I use a wood dowel to remove Frogg from his cage. He is a complete a**, but once I get him out he calms a little. I'm at least able to transport him to the shower.

 

[alan23]

i just saying i get him out once a week if tht i clean cage with him in it most time but i do think the cham has to come out now and then