Stressed Cham! Will he hate me forever now??

[charlie2022]

I had to clean Charlie's cage, because I decided to dump out the dripping tree water and not use it anymore (I heard it can create bacteria) Also I just needed to clean it in general, because there was a good amount of dead crickets on the floor and it started smelling.
I got Charlie out by feeding him a treat and he came on my hand and he was okay on his little tree on my desk. He started to escape so I put him in a medium sized red container with his leaves, and he suddenly turned brown and puffed up. I know he was stressed out, so I cleaned his cage as fast as I could and put him back in.
I heard that Cham's are not that forgiving, so I was wondering if I ruined the bond I worked so hard on creating with him? I put a plain white towel over the front of his cage to give him privacy now, but I'm scared I gave him like PTSD from coming out of his cage now. Any advice for this worried sad Cham mom???
I feel like he hates me now!

 

[Morpheo's Mom]

I had to clean Charlie's cage, because I decided to dump out the dripping tree water and not use it anymore (I heard it can create bacteria) Also I just needed to clean it in general, because there was a good amount of dead crickets on the floor and it started smelling.
I got Charlie out by feeding him a treat and he came on my hand and he was okay on his little tree on my desk. He started to escape so I put him in a medium sized red container with his leaves, and he suddenly turned brown and puffed up. I know he was stressed out, so I cleaned his cage as fast as I could and put him back in.
I heard that Cham's are not that forgiving, so I was wondering if I ruined the bond I worked so hard on creating with him? I put a plain white towel over the front of his cage to give him privacy now, but I'm scared I gave him like PTSD from coming out of his cage now. Any advice for this worried sad Cham mom???
I feel like he hates me now!

Hello,
I would say your bond is fine. I've had morpheo almost a year. Most often I can get him to go on my hand with a food reward. Other days he will fire up at me just for opening the door. Like I haven't been doing the same thing every single day.
A lot of times chameleons want to be left alone. You will be fortunate to have one that bonds with you to the point of going on your hand without a treat in tow.

 

[Tkrd69]

I wouldn't think so when I would clean Sassys enclosure he would come out climb on my head and watch me clean the enclosure. When done I would lean in and he would go back in on his own.

 

[charlie2022]

I wouldn't think so when I would clean Sassys enclosure he would come out climb on my head and watch me clean the enclosure. When done I would lean in and he would go back in on his own.

I guess I'm just worried about putting him in the red container. I don't want him thinking when he comes out he's going in it. He was running so fast I didn't know where else to put him while I finished putting everything back in his cage :/ Do you suggest I just leave him alone for a couple of weeks?

 

[Tkrd69]

I would see how he acts and go from there see if he will take a feeder from your hand. How old is your cham? I got SASSY real young wild caught might have been a month old. He would sit on my hand and shoot flies. He died at 11 months old very quickly alot of sudden deaths lately.

 

[charlie2022]

I would see how he acts and go from there see if he will take a feeder from your hand. How old is your cham? I got SASSY real young wild caught might have been a month old. He would sit on my hand and shoot flies. He died at 11 months old very quickly alot of sudden deaths lately.

Okay I will try that, I just hope he forgives that little encounter we had :/ lol he was definitely very skittish and stressed. Charlie is 3 months, and I've had him for 3 weeks now. And I'm so sorry to hear about SASSY

 

[Tkrd69]

Some people secure a branch in a box and close it darkness might put them to sleep

 

[charlie2022]

Okay I will try that, I just hope he forgives that little encounter we had :/ lol he was definitely very skittish and stressed. Charlie is 3 months, and I've had him for 3 weeks now. And I'm so sorry to hear about SASSY

this was him before he tried running off of his tree lol

 

[charlie2022]

Some people secure a branch in a box and close it darkness might put them to sleep

I LOVE this idea! I will definitely do this next time. Thank you sooo much.

 

[Tkrd69]

this was him before he tried running off of his tree lol

Very cute if they notice your not looking they will move very fast. My daughter caught me a full grown one a couple of weeks ago we call him Godzilla

 

[MissSkittles]

Charlie is not ever going to forget what you’ve done. Right now, he is plotting and scheming against you. If you have other animals, he is using his special mind control powers and blackmail to gain their cooperation in the plot against you. It may take time…he’s very patient…but he will take his revenge on you and it will be swift and fierce. You won’t see it coming. No where will be safe.
Sorry, just couldn’t resist. The only thing that may have really fired him up more than necessary is the use of a red container. Some chameleons take offense with some colors, red among them. Just get back to working on trust and all should be forgiven. Tasty bugs make everything all better.

 

[charlie2022]

Charlie is not ever going to forget what you’ve done. Right now, he is plotting and scheming against you. If you have other animals, he is using his special mind control powers and blackmail to gain their cooperation in the plot against you. It may take time…he’s very patient…but he will take his revenge on you and it will be swift and fierce. You won’t see it coming. No where will be safe.
Sorry, just couldn’t resist. The only thing that may have really fired him up more than necessary is the use of a red container. Some chameleons take offense with some colors, red among them. Just get back to working on trust and all should be forgiven. Tasty bugs make everything all better.

That made me LOL. But okay thank you so much!! That makes me feel better

 

[Mendez]

Hardly on here these days, but I have a 4+ year old jackson's chameleon and we've gone through a lot together. Had to give him some medications subcutaneously by syringe. He would sprint every time I got close to him when he thought I was going to give him his medication. Plus there's the handling of him, pinning down his arm so I can give him his shot...not ideal for a chameleon. Anyways, skip forward to today, he's running over to me to get dubia roaches. Any relationship is salvageable, person or chameleon. Patience is key for either case. Anyways, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! The fact that you are worrying makes me smile, not because you are worried, but because you care so much. Keep that big heart

Oh and remove the white towel. Creating a barrier is good if there is something outside the enclosure that can cause continuous stress. But since the only situation was the red bin, your cham should be perfectly fine without a barrier. And to be honest, putting your cham in a red bin is probably less stressful than trying to catch your chameleon every two seconds when you turn your back to clean and fix up the cage.

You literally have nothing to worry about.

 

[charlie2022]

Hardly on here these days, but I have a 4+ year old jackson's chameleon and we've gone through a lot together. Had to give him some medications subcutaneously by syringe. He would sprint every time I got close to him when he thought I was going to give him his medication. Plus there's the handling of him, pinning down his arm so I can give him his shot...not ideal for a chameleon. Anyways, skip forward to today, he's running over to me to get dubia roaches. Any relationship is salvageable, person or chameleon. Patience is key for either case. Anyways, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! The fact that you are worrying makes me smile, not because you are worried, but because you care so much. Keep that big heart

Oh and remove the white towel. Creating a barrier is good if there is something outside the enclosure that can cause continuous stress. But since the only situation was the red bin, your cham should be perfectly fine without a barrier. And to be honest, putting your cham in a red bin is probably less stressful than trying to catch your chameleon every two seconds when you turn your back to clean and fix up the cage.

You literally have nothing to worry about.

That gives me hope!! Thank you so much I fed Charlie this morning with his tongs and he ate from them

 

[Beman]

Most chams will react to colors as well. They are all different in the colors that they do not like. I had one that the color red freaked him out completely. Then two others that could care less about red. I would not do a red bin. I would do a cardboard box with a branch in the bottom for him to grip.