snappey chameleon!

L

lukergibson

New Member
:eek::eek: i have just got a new yemen and he has never been handled! he has just turned one year and i was wondering if it is too late to get him so he is more friendly or is it !!??to late!!??

Today he has been hissing at me and hitting me with his tail i think if he could he would bite me!!

Is there anything i can do to stop him!!!
Thanks alot!! :p
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a veiled chameleon alright.

It really is dependent on the chameleon. Some like their owners, most don't. Don't feel too bad, this is normal chameleon behavior responses to people entering their territory. You might have better luck once he is out, but I am not one to force a hang out session unless I need to do an examination. Some people spend way too much time anthropomorphizing their animals, and they don't notice the stress signs of the chameleon.

Some people say forcing it to be handled once a day can calm it down, but I don't really see too much truth in it, personally.

Anyways, if the chameleon has the energy to try to snap at you, hiss, and puff, chances are hes probably pretty healthy. So there is a silver lining on every cloud.
 
Sounds like a healthy animal to me!
Let him become accustomed to you by giving him some space and just taking care of his daily needs (feeding, watering, etc)
Don't force any handling for awhile.

-Brad
 
lukergibson said:
:eek::eek: i have just got a new yemen and he has never been handled! he is just turned one year and i was wondering if it is too late to get him so he is more friendly or is it !!??to late!!??

Today he has been hissing at me and hitting me with his tail i think if he could he would bite me!!

Is there anything i can do to stop him!!!
Thanks alot!! :p
Click to expand...

You should not handle a chameleon, thats one of the first things you should have read about them.
It does not matter how snappy they are if your fingers are not near them, its simple that way...

You cant really make it "hand tame", and there is no reason to try, it will just cause stress.
 
Personally, I think their spiteful meanness is the charm of calyptratus. I love it.
 
I also have a veiled and like the "I'll take on anyone" attitude.
I would rather this than a friendly cham. It is the main reason I went with male veiled.
 
Its mature, way too late if it was ever possible at all, some reptiles are simply more predisposed to defensive behaviours than others. In any case, its normal healthy lizard behaviour, just as Brad said, Infact for a veiled, even more so, from all accounts!
Enjoy your lizard for what it is. :)
 
Is there any study to F1 or F2's being easier to handle? (not that you should, just less agro about it)

Been wondering about this for a couple weeks, since my f3 or f4 (need to recount) panther almost runs to my hand sometimes when I'm in there cleaning/feeding/refilling dripper
 
I guess you guys all pulled the short straw!

My male veiled likes (wait, got to be careful what I say here), SEEMS to like being handled. He always climbs on top of my head straight away and turns his happy colours. Not sure if this is cause he likes me, or the shampoo I use.:D
 
Redeye said:
Is there any study to F1 or F2's being easier to handle? (not that you should, just less agro about it)

Been wondering about this for a couple weeks, since my f3 or f4 (need to recount) panther almost runs to my hand sometimes when I'm in there cleaning/feeding/refilling dripper
Click to expand...

There is no way that could be a reallity Im afraid, the selective breeding that give that effect in our mor common animals have taken thousands of years. Reptiles in captivity are in most aspects still "wild".

The reason you will see a less defensive behaviour in young chameleons is due to different life stage strategies.

Many different animals change their strategies over their different life stages. When the chameleon is really small, there are no good reasons to opening its mout, hiss or in anyway try to frighten its enemies. A predator would only laugh and swallow them whole.
Juveniles will try to be cryptic, shake back and forward and try to slither away without too much attention drawn to itself.

As they get older/larger, all of a sudden they have a much better chanse to survive the same situation as before by hissing, biteing and frighten a predator. Now its better to fight than to run.

I hope that helps

/ Jonas
 
Chamfan123 said:
I guess you guys all pulled the short straw!

My male veiled likes (wait, got to be careful what I say here), SEEMS to like being handled. He always climbs on top of my head straight away and turns his happy colours. Not sure if this is cause he likes me, or the shampoo I use.:D
Click to expand...

I wont bite you. This time... Hehe

What are the "happy colors"?
 
Ok. Except from the sleeping part, it sounded more like "excited colors". Normal stress free calyptratus are often quite dull in their relaxed state.
 
chamfan my male vieiled was the same happy and liked to be handle i.e. runs to me from his cage, but when i moved him to his bigger cage he became the devils best friend just wait till he gets about 5-7 months and the change happens
 
Well if it flash you its brightest colors when you are handling it, I would not read it as being happy. It is not bad as in black "stressed to the brink of death"-color of course, but it is still a excited state that is a level above being relaxed, so to speak.

I just wanted to point out that we can often be really fast to jump to a conclusion that looks good in our eyes, "the chameleon turns brightly colored, he must like it", when there is sometimes another reason to it or way to read it.

Im not jumping you, no hard feelings i hope.
 
No probs at all Jonas. Completely understand. I mean, I'm not a cham expert here! Easy mistake to make right? I don't take him out often, about once or twice a month. It only occurs if he manages to climb onto me or if it's a nice day outside.

Oh, and I think he's about a year old(pet shop with bad info. Everything else was corrected, just the age we're unsure).
 
I think the "badness" are well evened out in some cases, like if you take the chameleon out in the sun, the natural sunlight will bennefit the chameleon more than the handling will hurt it. Its hard to measure though.
 
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