Mean Juvenile

mdbeaver

New Member
My boyfriend and I just became the owners of two very young juvenile chameleons. His does seem to be probably about a month older than mine, since it is noticeably bigger and hood is much more prominent. However, mine does not seem to be accepting his new environment well nor his new owners... He drinks but we have never seen him eat. We have only had him for about 5 days. He also tries to either run or attack us whenever we need to clean the cage or try to feed him... What should we do? The habitat is completely stable as is the temperature and humidity. Our other chameleon is nice and eating very well. Will he always be so agitated and hostile? Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
not all chameleons adjust the same as others. Some can take weeks. As far as personality, the same things goes and some are just nicer than others. Pretty much luck of the draw. How do you know he is not eating? Are you counting feeders? What and how many are you offering? Are you letting the feeders run wild, or cup feeding? You can try to hand feed your chameleon so he does not associate your hand as something bad.
 
We have tried hand feeding and cup feeding. there are times when the feeders get out of the cups, but we keep count and all food is accounted for. he will not take food from either of us.
 
we are offering about five at a time in the feeding container mounted on the side of the cage and some free roaming ones as well. we have also offered meal worms with the hand feeding and he will not take those either.
 
sometimes it just takes some chameleons to adjust then others, they also have diff personalities lol one can be sweet as pie and the other could be a little satan! id just let him be for awhile give him some time to get used to his new home....and as for his hostile attitude ...sometimes it changes sometimes it doesnt....i used to have a panther that was as mean as can be when he was little ...he would his and lunge at you...but after around 8-12 months...he completely changed he was turned out to be so sweet ....as long as he is drinking and eating you shouldnt have much to worry about....what method do you use for feeding? maybe since he is so hostile try cup feeding him then every now and then start to offer him food by hand, if he associates you with food he will more likely not be so agitated by you.
 
i guess carol beat me to it :D lolll was interrupted in the middle of typing and didnt refresh :p
 
We have tried hand feeding and cup feeding. there are times when the feeders get out of the cups, but we keep count and all food is accounted for. he will not take food from either of us.
have you tried offering him different feeders? besides meal worms?
 
so how old would you say he is then? Are you housing them together? As far as his personality staying like that, many if not most are not the friendliest when you first get them. You have to build a relationship with them just as any other pet. Some take awhile to start eating, but 5 days is getting up there in time. A healthy adult can go weeks without eating, but a juvi cannot go that long.
 
and pictures are always welcome! just in case you miss any physical signs of illness/dehydration etc.
 
Mine is probably around a month and a half to two months old. They are not in the same cage and their cages are a very good size with plenty of space to roam around in. He has about 4 large branches that extend to all sides of the cage and a large umbrella plant that he stays in most of the time. We have had a tupperware container mounted to the side of the cage for the crickets near one of the vines. We also let a couple of the crickets roam. We have thought about getting more of a variety of food, but our local pet stores are limited in what they have in stock. We give them what we have been able to find so far, even though we are looking into ordering some others online.
 
some of the site sponsors have great deals of many different kinds of feeders all through out the year. if you arent seeing him eat or drink i would get small dubia iv never had a chameleon refuse those...or small hornworms...which are great if your cham isnt eating and/or drinking they are quite juicy. and be sure to gutload your feeders so they are getting all the nutrition they need.
 
Hey he finally ate today!!! :) He ate 5 small crickets. I appreciate the advice. He doesn't seem as mean after a full stomach. :)
 
that is great news! See, you worried for nothing, but I don't blame you! I am so glad he ate. I guess he was just settling in. Now he will probably eat you out of house and home!:eek:
 
1 1/2 month old chameleon wont attack you. thats a good time to coax it into liking you. if it runs away or doesnt wanna go on u then by no means force him.
 
Glad he ate :) I had a chameleon like that and what I did when it was time to clean her cage was put a large plant outside the cage withher door open and when she climbed onto the plant I let her free range on the plant while I cleaned her cage, it made it easier for me :)
 
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