maduni3394
Member
this was right before he tried to bite me yesterday
my mean little monster
- Thread starter maduni3394
- Start date
JGuinan007
Avid Member
Typical teenager
Fiona's Mom
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ahhhhhhh...he doesn't mean to be bad. 
maduni3394
Member
i dont care if i get bit i have been bit by bigger meaner things lol
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
You might care when he grows up.
It seems you are ignoring his body language which is plainly telling you he is upset. Worse, you seem to not care. Keep ignoring his more subtle language (puffing up) and he'll soon learn to not waste his time on the subtleties and go straight to biting with little warning. Aggression is a learned behvior and your attitude--that you have been bitten by bigger meaner things--suggests you have very little concern for the emotional state and level of fear your chameleon--and it seems other animals--have.
There is a saying amongst professional bird trainers: Bite me once, shame on you. Bite me twice, shame on me. Bird trainers take that saying to heart because it tells them that they might make one mistake handling a bird (and get bitten), but the second time, they haven't been paying attention and basically mishandled the bird.
Ha u feel the same way like me then,compare with a Macaw parrot bite,its like a tickle little boo boo
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maduni3394
Member
ya i have a yellow naped amazon a chameleon bite would be nothingHa u feel the same way like me then,compare with a Macaw parrot bite,its like a tickle little boo boo
maduni3394
Member
im not ignoring the signs of his body language, as soon as he puffed up i put him back in to his home and i havnt touched him since then. my dad worked in a pet store for almost 20 years. i have had quite a lot of animals in my life and have been bitten by almost everything thats just what happens when you own a pet...... getting bit by a chameleon would be nothing to me. i also have a yellow naped amazon that has bitten my hand down to the bone about 2 years ago and you saying i have "little concern for the emotional state"of my chem is wrong if you look at my post before this one i was asking for help so before you come to a conclusion you should read a little more.
Shilohpsu
Member
You are always going to get people like jajeanpierre on here. Instead of offering you some helpful advice, he insults your abilities to care for your animal. I'm a newer member and proud owner of Herbert. He's about 10 months old now, and also got a little grumpy once or twice when he was a teenager.
We've held him just about every day since he was a little green baby. 99% of the time he doesn't mind being handled, but there were a couple of times that he hissed or opened his mouth at us. I wouldn't take it too personally, they can be moody just like some people. We put him back in his cage and was fine. Hasn't hissed at us in months and is growing into a friendly adult who doesn't mind being held.
We held him just about every day since he was a baby. I started by hand feeding him crickets so that he would associate my hand with food instead of something multiple times his size coming after him. Then I would hold my hand in his cage for a few minutes, until he didn't feel threatened. He actually came to it and walked on it a couple times, but I don't ever really expect that. What worked the best for us was to open his cage, let him crawl out on his own, and then offer our hands for him to walk on after he went on top, hung on to the side, or went exploring on the ground. I think he felt a lot less threatened when outside the cage opposed to a giant person sticking their arm in his safe place (territory inside the cage). See if any of these methods helps if he continues to be grumpy. But I've also read that some chameleons will never enjoy being handled. Hopefully he'll snap out of it!
maduni3394
Member
i hand feed every day and i dont force him to come out i let him do what he wants hes never hissed at me when feeding he must be turning into a teen i had him out the other day he was fine then about 2mins latter he just got all big and was hissing and trying to bite me so i put him back and just let him be
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
You are obviously doing something wrong if you are being bitten as often as you are.
maduni3394
Member
obviously you havnt been around a lot of animals
Of course,my electric blue Hyacinth Macaw will crack open a coconut in minutes,he is like my can opener assistant in training.
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Actually, I trained under some of the top animal trainers in the world. They would be embarrassed to be bitten.
KapitalJ
Avid Member
Not sure how being round a lot of animals transpires into getting bitten. If you can read the animal, and learn the body language you shouldn't be bitten. I realize it can happen, but as @jajeanpierre is trying to say is that 90% of the time it is the handler doing something wrong.
I have owned Burmese pythons (12+feet), big boas (10+ feet), loads of Ball Pythons, Carpet Pythons, Iguanas, skinks and so on... I have never been bitten by any of them. They have showed aggression, but I was never bitten because I read the signs and let it be.
FlChamMom
Avid Member
@maduni3394 - I think some chameleons are just naturally more aggressive than others. I have never been bitten by a chameleon, however out of my 3, two can be handled no problem. My female would just as soon take my hand off than look at me. I have raised all 3 the exact same way, using the same techniques. My first chameleon was a mean little sucker, too.
I don't sit around watching TV with a chameleon on my shoulder, but I think you do have to get to the point where you can handle even the spiciest of your chams. You want to be able to administer meds or take him to the vet if needed. I think you did the right thing by putting him back into the cage and leaving him alone after he lunged.
I don't think training a chameleon can equate to more intelligent species like dogs or even parrots- I feel like you are trying to get to the state of "the benevolent giant hand that brings the food".
Keep working with your chameleon like you are doing with hand feeding- hopefully he will grow out of the teen years soon!
I don't sit around watching TV with a chameleon on my shoulder, but I think you do have to get to the point where you can handle even the spiciest of your chams. You want to be able to administer meds or take him to the vet if needed. I think you did the right thing by putting him back into the cage and leaving him alone after he lunged.
I don't think training a chameleon can equate to more intelligent species like dogs or even parrots- I feel like you are trying to get to the state of "the benevolent giant hand that brings the food".
Keep working with your chameleon like you are doing with hand feeding- hopefully he will grow out of the teen years soon!
From my own experience,usually when a chameleon feel threatened and ready to bite,it will puff up their body n hiss,so far I never get bitten before, as I stated before I always use a stick or bird ladder to handle them n bring the cham out of cage,once I can get the cham climbing on my hand,they usually stays calm unless I try to "Grab" them in the wrong way,as far as other pets go,it really depends on how u interact with them in daily basis,observation is the key ,patience n time will also helping to understand the chemistry between me n my pets.
