My cham hates me now

[FrankTheTank]

He used to let me pick him up and carry him around. He would actually get brighter in color when I took him out. Now he tries to hide from me when I come in the room, and he hisses at me if I get too close. Is there anything I can do to make him not hate me so much? It was like it happened over night. He wouldn't even let me take him out if I HAD to. Please help

 

[MollyT]

Maybe he has hit puberty. My cham is still a baby, but I've heard that even the mildest tempered cham can turn into a monster during puberty, but that a lot of them go back to being easier to deal with at about a year. Not sure if that's what is going on, but it might be. Good luck!

 

[FrankTheTank]

I've heard that too, but I don't want to do something wrong that keeps him from ever being nice to me, which is why I am seeking experienced help

 

[nightanole]

Could always try a wardrobe change. My reptiles wont go near anyone with a solid red/pink shirt because thats the color of the scrubs at the vets office.

 

[Fearaffect]

Sounds like its time for a 2nd cham..........

Yea, some of mine would become satans spawn when they matured......just happens, but like I said, thats always a reason for another n see how that one turns out........

 

[mcbdz]

Will he let you hand feed him. Bribes may work. Only feed him his most favorite food from hand.
Maybe let him spend some time on a free range area close to where you are. You may have to try to get him to get on a stick or something to get him out or leave door open with a way for him to climb out on a free range. Just a few ideas.
Hope he goes back to his better ways soon.

 

[cigdoll]

He used to let me pick him up and carry him around. He would actually get brighter in color when I took him out. Now he tries to hide from me when I come in the room, and he hisses at me if I get too close. Is there anything I can do to make him not hate me so much? It was like it happened over night. He wouldn't even let me take him out if I HAD to. Please help

I'm assuming you have a Veiled from your profile avatar. How old is your cham? Mine is 4 months now and he's turning into some teenage mutant evil chameleon! I am currently trying to work with him by leaving his cage open when I'm around and hand feeding him.

 

[Psychobunny]

Smeagol whent through a nasty grumpy stage too.
I just ignored him and went about my business.
He would still eat out of my hand, but would open his mouth and start to puff up when I opened his cage.
I would just mimic him and open my mouth and put my hand in there anyway.
He never tried to bite, just all show, which I ignored.
I did have a pair of gloves handy just in case.

I would always have to get him on my hand to take him home from his wonderings on the free range. He would puff up and hiss and resist, but I always got him without any trouble (I still have all my fingers

So, I would just continue as you did before and not be the least bit intimadated by him.
Just continue to be around him alot and he will come around for you

 

[kokom05lb]

Our boy Ringo never really liked being picked up. But as soon as he hit 7 months he started hissing and striking. We just left him alone. He's starting to let us touch him and as long as you start off with a glove in hand he won't strike.
I'm hoping this little girl that I'm getting this afternoon is a sweetheart like they say lol

 

[FrankTheTank]

Smeagol whent through a nasty grumpy stage too.
I just ignored him and went about my business.
He would still eat out of my hand, but would open his mouth and start to puff up when I opened his cage.
I would just mimic him and open my mouth and put my hand in there anyway.
He never tried to bite, just all show, which I ignored.
I did have a pair of gloves handy just in case.

I would always have to get him on my hand to take him home from his wonderings on the free range. He would puff up and hiss and resist, but I always got him without any trouble (I still have all my fingers

So, I would just continue as you did before and not be the least bit intimadated by him.
Just continue to be around him alot and he will come around for you

Did you just us the soft gardening gloves?

I feed him crickets right now b/c that's all I can get from my local pet store, and I just ordered my first batch of 500 from mulberry farms. I plan on getting some type of "worm" to feed him by hand, and just to give him some variety before he starts to refuse crickets.

He has taken a cricket from my hand but it's really hard to hand feed him those b/c he doesn't like to strike unless he sees them moving, so I have to let them crawl on my hand and they usually jump off before he calms down enough to nab them.

Any suggestions on other foods I can use? I want to stay away from dubias b/c my wife is deathly afraid of roaches lol

 

[FrankTheTank]

Our boy Ringo never really liked being picked up. But as soon as he hit 7 months he started hissing and striking. We just left him alone. He's starting to let us touch him and as long as you start off with a glove in hand he won't strike.
I'm hoping this little girl that I'm getting this afternoon is a sweetheart like they say lol

glove ON hand or IN hand? lol little confused here

 

[wendyeeeo]

All good suggestions here. My female veiled had this personality change and I never did get her sweet self back. I don't know if it's been suggested yet - but one thing that works with my Melleri is to avoid direct eye contact & blink alot when you do need to make eye contact with them. Sounds odd, but it works wonders with them. Direct eye contact is a sign of aggression with chams. Blinking shows vulnerability and will help them see you mean them no harm. I never did try that with my veiled. Good luck!

 

[Psychobunny]

Did you just us the soft gardening gloves?

I feed him crickets right now b/c that's all I can get from my local pet store, and I just ordered my first batch of 500 from mulberry farms. I plan on getting some type of "worm" to feed him by hand, and just to give him some variety before he starts to refuse crickets.

He has taken a cricket from my hand but it's really hard to hand feed him those b/c he doesn't like to strike unless he sees them moving, so I have to let them crawl on my hand and they usually jump off before he calms down enough to nab them.

Any suggestions on other foods I can use? I want to stay away from dubias b/c my wife is deathly afraid of roaches lol

No, I have a pair of work gloves, they are a sort of plastic/fabric compossit material.
I use a 64oz clear plastic deli container for feeding my guys cricks and dubia's. It's only the worms that I hand feed.
I just scoop up some cricks into the deli cup, put a little repashy calcium plus in, swirl it to cover them, they just feed the chams by holding the cup up to them.
They usually climb inside the cup to get at the crick. You just need to hold really still until they are done.
If you dont want to stand there are hold the cup, just stick it somewere so it wont fall.

 

[stalincat]

pffff my girl hates me no matter what. She takes food from me, and would walk on me, but I cannot look at her, I cannot touch her, I cannot pick her up, cannot stroke anymore. She is just really mean and tries to bite. She is 8.5 months old.
My wee boy hissed at me a couple of times. Can't wait till he grows up and also bites me

Try meal or waxworms. My girl would do anything for them=) Silkworms are also pretty good

 

[FrankTheTank]

All good suggestions here. My female veiled had this personality change and I never did get her sweet self back. I don't know if it's been suggested yet - but one thing that works with my Melleri is to avoid direct eye contact & blink alot when you do need to make eye contact with them. Sounds odd, but it works wonders with them. Direct eye contact is a sign of aggression with chams. Blinking shows vulnerability and will help them see you mean them no harm. I never did try that with my veiled. Good luck!

I learned that with my iguana. Not so much the blinking, but I wouldn't stare him in the eye. I used to just focus on his body. He never really came around to me though, but I didn't spend as much time trying as I should have.

 

[FrankTheTank]

No, I have a pair of work gloves, they are a sort of plastic/fabric compossit material.
I use a 64oz clear plastic deli container for feeding my guys cricks and dubia's. It's only the worms that I hand feed.
I just scoop up some cricks into the deli cup, put a little repashy calcium plus in, swirl it to cover them, they just feed the chams by holding the cup up to them.
They usually climb inside the cup to get at the crick. You just need to hold really still until they are done.
If you dont want to stand there are hold the cup, just stick it somewere so it wont fall.

What kind of worms do you feed yours?

 

[Psychobunny]

Mostly hornworms, but silkies when I can find them at a good price

 

[FrankTheTank]

I was just checking out great lakes. I just ordered 500 crickets from mulberry but after they run out, I'm going to combine another 500 ct. with a hornworm order from great lakes. Those guys look pretty cool. Can't wait to give my guy some variety!

 

[Baby Lobie]

i read a comment of yours in another thread.. maybe you should take him out of that new red room you moved him to. alot of ppl here have been saying that the color red pretty much pisses their chameleon off.. in my case, mine wont eat out of a red cup.. he wont even come close.

 

[Rusko]

He has taken a cricket from my hand but it's really hard to hand feed him those b/c he doesn't like to strike unless he sees them moving, so I have to let them crawl on my hand and they usually jump off before he calms down enough to nab them.

I have a four month panther cham from screameleons and he is not afraid of hand feeding. But I used to have the same problems of crickets not moving. So I just hold one of the back two legs and he responds well to it.