Things my veiled hates: ME

[powercham]

Im not expecting affection from a reptile by any means and I don't intend to ever handle my cham "for fun" but his shyness or dislike for me is not improving. I can't feed him, mist him, even go near his cage without him leaving his basking spot, turning dark, and hiding. Ive tried putting him in no traffic area (closet) I've tried putting him in medium traffic. Ive only had him about 2 months and i never handle him.

He seems to be healthy, eats well, is misted, enclosure temp is approx 82 F, live pothos, artificial vines, repticalc sup (d3 and non), dripper, heat and uv, handled minimally, crickets/super worms, repti breeze 18x18x36, overnight temp 65-70 F

 

[Iceman716238]

mine is the same way. its mid grown. was very nice to me as a baby, started hissing when it got a little bigger, but now bites when i go near... i love him but he's a jerk!!!!!

 

[Gumball Machine]

Be consistent

Don't move him around all over the place. Let him get used to something consistent. Don't switch his schedule a lot either and it's ok to handle him a little bit... If you don't handle him at all then he won't ever want to be handled. I got mine to like me by taking her out of the cage and going outside to see the real sun. Also, she loves to come out of her cage and will go towards the bottom and stand up on the side of the door until I open it and she'll crawl out. Be patient and be consistent. That's really I feel the best way to let your chameleon know that you're a pretty ok thing to be around.

 

[jannb]

Don't move him around all over the place. Let him get used to something consistent. Don't switch his schedule a lot either and it's ok to handle him a little bit... If you don't handle him at all then he won't ever want to be handled. I got mine to like me by taking her out of the cage and going outside to see the real sun. Also, she loves to come out of her cage and will go towards the bottom and stand up on the side of the door until I open it and she'll crawl out. Be patient and be consistent. That's really I feel the best way to let your chameleon know that you're a pretty ok thing to be around.

Very good advice.

 

[PatsyB]

I can't handle mine either. I don't expect him to be affectionate but I do need him to trust me enough to take him out of his cage especially if there is an emergency. Some days are better than others and I try to be patient with him. Today he stayed at the front of his cage and let me stand in front of him and talk to him and put my finger on the door. He also let me touch him today, he used my hand to get to a branch and he let me rub his leg a bit. Normally he runs to the back of his cage and hides.

 

[powercham]

Don't move him around all over the place. Let him get used to something consistent. Don't switch his schedule a lot either and it's ok to handle him a little bit... If you don't handle him at all then he won't ever want to be handled. I got mine to like me by taking her out of the cage and going outside to see the real sun. Also, she loves to come out of her cage and will go towards the bottom and stand up on the side of the door until I open it and she'll crawl out. Be patient and be consistent. That's really I feel the best way to let your chameleon know that you're a pretty ok thing to be around.

So I've read a couple things about handling and I took away that one basically shouldn't be chasing a Cham down and grabbing it. That you should place your hand in front of it. Makes sense. But my Cham would NEVER do this willingly. Would you suggest never handling him over chasing him around the cage in an effort to handle him? Again I don't want to take him out and "play" as I know he won't enjoy it, but I would like him to at least be comfortable when I'm around his cage or feeding/cleaning. I can't even look at him without scaring him at this point.

 

[jannb]

Buy a large plant or tree and open your chams door and set the tree in front of the door. Watch from a distance to see if he will come out. It might take awhile and you might have to try it several times but once out of the cage they are usually much friendlier.

 

[Gumball Machine]

Sometimes putting your hand in such a way that they end up using it to get from point A to point B is a nifty way to trick them into going onto your hand. By all means, you don't want to be forceful about handling them. When I found that mine likes to get out of the cage on her own, I used it to my advantage by putting my hand between her and her destination. I don't think she is mad that I tricked her haha. She's quite used to seeing my hand now as a form of "this brings me somewhere nice" I suppose. I try to be careful not to leave on a bad note, so that each experience ends up a positive one.

 

[JlaPinska]

my guy will be a year old next month. he only just got to where i leave the door open and he comes out. now he gets on his favorite curtain rod and gives me fuss when it's time to go back in the cage. 2 ways to their heart 1.food 2.natural sunlight lol

 

[repdog]

Mine is the same way. I have had him for 2 months now and just started to eat in front of me while the cage door is closed. I was cleaning out the cage tonight and put my hand in front of him while he was in his sleeping area and he didn't move. So I do agree with consistence. I'm planning on about a year for him to come around. I do however talk to him everyday so he knows my voice. But my reptile room gets a good morning and good night everyday.

 

[absolutbill]

One trick that has worked for me in the past is to bring a comfortable chair into your reptile room and sit there quietly for an hour or so just reading, or playing on your phone. Be in view of the cage so he can see you, but about 4 feet away, with his cage door closed at first. Gradually, over a period of a week or 2, depending on how he's handling it, open the cage door so he can see you. Then, the next step is to move the chair closer to the cage, 1 foot at a time. Again, this is a long process. Then, like Jann said, move the chair back to the original 4 feet and place a tree outside his open cage door to see what he does. Slow consistency is the key here, you can't rush the process. And remember you've only had him 2 months - you don't say how old he is but by the size of his cage he's young, so give him time.