My chameleon seems to hate me...

[Riggsy]

Is it normal that my chameleon is absolutely opposed to being around me? It runs for cover everytime I even walk into the room his cage is in and becomes terrified whenever I open the door. He's been like this ever since I got him, he's 3-4 months old, a veiled. Just wondering.

 

[FaunaBgirl]

They are A social and do not like the big human. In the natural, they would be hiding from you or at least traveling away from you. Maybe if you very slowly and calmly approach with wiggly worms between your fingers, your cham will begin to warm up to you. You must have extreme patience as it may take a long time.

 

[AncientCritters]

I would say its pretty normal. It may change with time so keep your phalanges crossed.

 

[Riggsy]

Thanks! This site is so helpful.

 

[John33871]

its cuz he does, mine hates me too lol

 

[davider]

dont worry mine is the same except she bites the crap out of me like im a big cricket. lol
-David

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

NO! it's all his fault
He's a bad chameleon keeper and horrible person to boot!


Just kidding
IF he's a captive bred animal they tend to be less shy
but that still doesn't negate their instinct to hide from big monkey predators
- such as yourself.
In my opinion the longer you let this behavior continue
the harder it's going to be wired into his pea sized brain.

You may want to work with him a bit to ease his fears
handling him (gently) may help, as will the aforementioned feeding
but I've also found that taking him outdoors a bit and letting him see other people
can also help break a fixation upon you as the sole bad guy in his diminutive world.
Hold him while you watch a movie on DVD is a good start.

 

[pohchunyee]

This is what i did to stop my chameleon from freaking out on me...take it out from the cage (for sure it will bite/hiss)... for a few second a day... and keep extending it to a few minutes a day and let it craw around you...in about 2 months time...it will be so used to you and won't freak!

 

[Mintglow]

All chameleons always hate everyone. Period.

Nah, some are just less human-tolerant than others. Hand feeding him worms can help him to at least realize that you can bring him food and that you will not hurt him, and he should eventually be able to tolerate you.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Try putting his cage up higher...they feel safer the higher they are.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

high and alone is not the way to make friends.

yeah, but that's not going to be doing anything to educated them
as to how wonderful primate chameleon interaction can be...

let them know that they can feel safe around you.

 

[Treetop Chameleons]

my male hates me to, but my female loves me i don't get it. but i think its normal. mine just started biting at me when i put him in a bigger cage. I'm afraid to try and hold him all the time though cuz i hear it is really bad for them.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

yeah, but that's not going to be doing anything to educated them
as to how wonderful primate chameleon interaction can be...

let them know that they can feel safe around you.

This is an animal that acts on instinct...you dont educate them. You have to make them feel safe.

 

[Riggsy]

I have tried taking him out of the cage, but he just continually runs off my hands and I really don't want to drop him, which I *nearly* have. I suppose I'll just give it some time, hopefully he'll warm up to the idea of being around me, who knows, I'm just glad this is somewhat normal.

 

[Bill Sammon]

I see some good suggestions here. My experience is with panthers so take it for what its worth. I place my new panthers in my living room next to my easy chair. That way thier quarinteened away from my others and they get use to being around me but in the safety of thier cage. After a little while curiosity gets the best of them and they start to watch me as much as I watch them. After the initial fear has past I start to get them used to my hand and then they fall right into hand training easily. I have male panthers that run to the door of the cage in the morning to see me and will sit in my lap for hours while I pet them and watch tv. Just remember that the young ones are shy and my need time to grow out of it and they will have days when they don't want to be bothered so repect that too. A book on hand training birds might be helpful. It's the same thing. Good luck!

 

[davemailcall]

My veiled hates me too. Even when I approach with crickets or worms. Until I read another thread earlier this week, I thought his hissing was just a lot of talk, but I have to watch for the biting now!

He runs when I try and pick him up, but once I have him, he relaxs a bit and hangs out. His colors go natural and he has a good time. I guess he forgets that I'm not out to hurt him.