Scared panther

[RobMule]

Hi everyone.

I've got a 9 month old Panther, he's very timid of me and others when we try to pick him up. I was wondering if he will ever grow out of this and be a lot more friendly instead of trying to hide all of the time. Is this normal or he just doesn't like being played with??
Please help. Thanks

 

[ChuWuti]

This sounds very normal. Chameleons really don't like being held, and it can be very stressful for them and thus detrimental to their health. They will be less stressed and thus healthier if you ensure they have plenty of hiding places (lots of vegetation/leaves), as they are an animal that is more for looking at than for holding.

Here is a caresheet about panther chameleons:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/panther/

If you scroll down, the caresheet says,

Panther chameleons vary in individual personality and some tolerate handling enough to seem friendly. Like other chameleons they are a pet that is more for observation and should not be handled regularly.

(Bold added for emphasis)

That being said, one thing you can do to interact more with your chameleon in a way that is less stressful for it is to hand-feed. There are some great pictures and videos of hand-feeding. It can take time and patience to teach them that it's safe to take crickets or other food items from your hand, but I think it's very rewarding. Here are just a few links to photos or videos of hand-feeding; there are more if you do a search for "hand feeding":

https://www.chameleonforums.com/rambo-hand-feeding-101776/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/early-morning-hand-feeding-little-shower-check-out-101415/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/hand-feeding-video-some-pics-85224/

Enjoy your chameleon!

Sandy

 

[Kaianuanu]

You shouldn't expect any cham to want to be played with. He probably will not become one of those puppy dog tame chams but if you work with him, he may lose a lot of that fear. I'd try to build up his association between you and food by trying to get him to feed from your hand and forceps. Also, don't force handling as this will only make him dread you opening his cage. If he won't feed from your fingers or tongs, try make your presence known to him without startling him, when he is feeding to begin to build that association. A lot of people who free range their chams come to find out that there cham becomes excited to see them and will reach for your hands because they want to come out and 'play' on their free range.

 

[midcoastchameleon]

Once you master the hand feeding technique, you can always try and coax him out. Our Male, around the same age, was very good about hand feeding but not being held. I slowly worked up to moving further away from him with the yummy cricket and putting my hand as the next thing to climb on, surely enough, once he has locked on to the cricket, he could care less about my hand and he now associates my hand and being handled as another form to get a tasty treat, however, once he is out and on my hand, it is brief, and he is shortly returned to his cage (comfort zone) . This has worked for me, so its always worth a shot. Note-this doesn't always work and its best to respect him and his home if he is not feeling the trick feeding method. Good Luck

 

[midcoastchameleon]

You shouldn't expect any cham to want to be played with. He probably will not become one of those puppy dog tame chams but if you work with him, he may lose a lot of that fear. I'd try to build up his association between you and food by trying to get him to feed from your hand and forceps. Also, don't force handling as this will only make him dread you opening his cage. If he won't feed from your fingers or tongs, try make your presence known to him without startling him, when he is feeding to begin to build that association. A lot of people who free range their chams come to find out that there cham becomes excited to see them and will reach for your hands because they want to come out and 'play' on their free range.

I wanted to acknowledge this post simply because the free range idea really does work. Our Chams often come straight to the front of the cage in order to get our attention and get some play time on the free ranges set up. Great knowledge from this poster to pass along

 

[RobMule]

Thanks guys.
All good stuff. Will hold back on the handling and focus on trying to hand feed him. Don't want him out of his comfort zone. Don't want to put him through too much stress. Please let me know if there are any more useful tips I could use for the future

 

[Kaianuanu]

If you do try the free range idea, make sure it is more 'fun' than being in his cage, also, feeding him only on the free range, either by cup, forceps, or hand, may yield better results. But obviously, if he absolutely refuses to eat either from your hand or forceps, free range or not, obviously don't starve him. Just let him go at his own pace.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Also, I've read that when trying to coax timid chams into hand/forcep feeding, it helps a lot to keep the food item in the line of sight between you and your cham. Nervous chams are often watching the prey with one eye, and you with the other, however, they need to have both eyes focused on the prey for their depth perception to calculate the distance; so by doing this, you are allowing your cham to focus on the prey without worrying about you behind him where he can't keep an eye on you.

 

[sulley]

patience & food.some dont mind handling some do so in time you will see which one yours is.

 

[stalincat]

Look for Psychobunny's blog about taming chameleons. It helped me=)