Shy chameleon

[slmousley]

Hey everyone,

So I’ve had a juvenile male veilded chameleon for a few months now. He’s about 8 or 9 inches nose to tip of tail. Anyway, he’s so shy! It irks me! One of them main reasons I got a chameleon is to see him and marvel at its majesty. This guy sprints for the hills every time I get near the cage. He’s Florida wild caught but I’ve had him for a while now and I just wish he wasn’t so fearful. I’d really love for him to just be content when I’m nearby and not have to run for cover.

If anyone could offer me any tips or or feedback for me regarding making him feel more comfortable in my presence I’d really appriciate it.

Thanks

Oh and he’s in an extra large reptibreeze with lots of branches, plants, and cover. So he’s got the works when I consider what his housing situation is like.

 

[bobbydigital]

I can't really offer any help but I'm just curious did you catch him yourself?

 

[slmousley]

I can't really offer any help but I'm just curious did you catch him yourself?

No I got him at a show. I was hoping to get a captive bred one but that's all that was available. Apparently they aren't profitable enough so most chameleon breeders just do panthers and such.

 

[Fireborn]

Give him time and he will get used to you. My male scratches at the door if I'm not paying attention to him. Of course he doesn't want me to touch him just wants bugs. Mooch.

 

[slmousley]

Give him time and he will get used to you. My male scratches at the door if I'm not paying attention to him. Of course he doesn't want me to touch him just wants bugs. Mooch.

How do you feed him? I either drop a few crickets in his cage for him to hunt down or I put insects in a container for him to easily find. I don't think he's associating me with food at this point, and I know that's probably my best bet for getting him comfortable in my presence.

 

[kinyonga]

Do you know about supplementing? Feeding/gutloading insects? Appropriate temperatures? UVB?

You can try hand feeding him some of the insects so he will get used to you.

 

[slmousley]

Do you know about supplementing? Feeding/gutloading insects? Appropriate temperatures? UVB?

You can try hand feeding him some of the insects so he will get used to you.

Yup I'm all on it. I'm very methodical when it comes to the well being of my pets. So far he's eats crickets and superworms. Every once in a while he'll eat a roach but it's rare since they don't move much and don't draw his attention.

 

[Fireborn]

I cup feed, hand feed, and free range feeders.

 

[slmousley]

I cup feed, hand feed, and free range feeders.

What do you feed him? Like I said, he chows down on superworms and crickets. Roaches not so much. I plan on trying out hornworms when I can get some at the next show I go too. I'd like to get him some more variety. I'm sure they eat dozens of different insect species in the wild.

 

[Fireborn]

I used crickets, super worms, silk worms, horn worms, black solider fly worms, wax worms, and then I pupate some things and feed them. They like the flying things like horn worm moths and what not.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

I used crickets, super worms, silk worms, horn worms, black solider fly worms, wax worms, and then I pupate some things and feed them. They like the flying things like horn worm moths and what not.

Are wax worm moths good for them?

 

[Chameleon-Scotland]

My cham wasn't shy but he wasn't happy for us to enter the Viv when we first got him I found a calci worm or wax worm allowed to roam on your hand for a week or two soon changes their perception about it's all about trust