tons of questions on handling

[xxaprilrose]

I have quite a few questions on handling. I currently just got a 3 month male panther chameleon (currently no name) about 2 weeks ago and I already have an 8 month male panther chameleon (his name is freddy). When I got freddy I did tons of research and was under the impression that i'll barely every get to hold him. However if I did try to hold him I need to go in slowly from the bottom and reach my arm out and just stand there until he wants to get on my arm and i could even use food on my arm to help. I could say I saw these demo's done on Youtube. I never was able to get Freddy on my arm. He doesnt puff up, and when im back there in his cage he comes to the front to watch me but idk if he trusts me to hold him? So i stopped trying. Is it too late for him since hes already 8 months and I didnt train him properly? Now for my 3 month chameleon I want to try and tame him a bit. I found a few other videos on youtube and people just go in there. they dont pick them up and yank them from the enclosure but they go in and use one hand to move the chameleon forward and the other hand to pick up the front legs. Do I do this? What is the most accurate way to go about this. I feel like i'm failing. I know we arent suppose to handle them often I just want my chameleons to trust me and if i need to take them out I want to be able to as in the summer I do plan on letting them outside for a few and to deep clean their enclosures. Thanks in advance

 

[nightanole]

Dont go in from above like a bird trying to eat them.
Do go in from the front under the front legs. They will either grab your fingers, which you can then lift abit to encourage climbing on your hand, or they will tell you to piss off and turn around and slowly walk into the cage.

Its never too late, even wild caught can be tamed pretty easy. Though you have to understand that each cham is unique, and some will be friendly no matter what, and others will hate you till the end of time even if you do hand feed them.

As for handling often, that is also per cham personality. Some dont want to be handled and too much interaction will result in a hunger strike. Others almost want the interaction (or at least the free hand rides to the favorite plant by the window) and will come to the front of the cage when they see human movement.

 

[kinyonga]

First of all...some chameleons will tolerate handling and even come out on you willingly...some never will....so you're going to have to decide what will work for your chameleon by trying to "tame" him.

Whenever you try to interact with him...I would move slowly.

There are a few things you can try.

You can encourage him to move forward onto your hand or arm by using food to lure him out onto it.

You can get him out by putting on hand I front of him coming up from below and then encouraging him to move forward by putting your other hand slowly behind him so he'll move forward onto your hand.

You can try holding a stick in front of him and encouraging to move forward onto the stick by putting a hand behind him slowly.

Patience is a virtue. Moving slowly keeps him from panicking and trying to run away from you.

Also some will tolerate being handled more than others as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[MissSkittles]

This is a great blog to check out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
Patience is your biggest asset. Food is a great motivator.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Between nightanole & kinyonga, not a whole lot left to add.

I didn't even start/try taming until I'd had my panther 6 months (which would make him 9 months).
You'll know he trusts you when he'll step onto your offered hand of his own volition. It may not be immediate; you may have to wait a minute or two for him to think it over, but he'll be able to feel the heat from your hand and make up his own mind.

I started with the stick between the front legs method. Slowly lift, and he has to choose between grabbing/transferring to the stick or losing his balance. Once I got him onto the stick (I use a bamboo garden stake), I put him on my Missus' plant table for some 'enrichment'. He naturally climbed as high as he could get, so after a couple hours, I 'rescued' him the same way, and put him back in his home.

I did this exactly twice before he started charging me and running up my arm every time I open the enclosure. (He REALLY likes the plant table and climbing up high.) I won't say every chameleon will be this easy; they're all different.

He does still gape at me every time; he'll step partially onto my hand, look up at me, and gape as if to say, "Don't mess with me—I'm a mean green mutha from outer space Madagascar!" but then he continues up my arm. It's a game.

Don't be intimidated by the 'big scary lizard' (puffing up and gaping/hissing) routine—it's mostly just bluster. Just pause and let him decide if he wants to proceed or turn around and retreat and you'll know how serious he is. Never force taming issues.

The 2-handed method likely came from this:




Probably doesn't need saying, but now that you have 2, I would strongly advise always washing hands before, between, & after handling both/either of them. You don't want to spread anything accidentally from one to the other.

 

[xxaprilrose]

Ok so update. The baby Cham we were able to pickup about three times. He only gets on our hand for about 30 seconds and immediately tries to get off but it’s progress and I’m happy. Now for Freddy…… I’m sad. So YouTube was saying if they puff up don’t immediately jerk ur hand away as they will learn that this will get u out of their space so we slowly put our hand near him, waited and waited and he was puffed up big so we just held our hand there and didn’t move eventually Freddy head butted my fiancé’s hand so he took his hand back and we stopped there. Before when I was saying we it was because we both tried. I went first and I’m the only one Freddy trusts and likes but I chickened out because I really thought he was going to bite me so I had my fiancé try. Now I’m sad because we made him upset. And I feel like he will never trust us. Is this just part of the process? Should we just stop with him since he clearly isn’t wanting to be held or is this kind of normal for some at first. I guess I just don’t want to keep stressing him out. I also learned I have to grow a pair and not be such a chicken how long should I wait to try again? And this time I’ll do it

 

[Ambilobe123]

Ok so update. The baby Cham we were able to pickup about three times. He only gets on our hand for about 30 seconds and immediately tries to get off but it’s progress and I’m happy. Now for Freddy…… I’m sad. So YouTube was saying if they puff up don’t immediately jerk ur hand away as they will learn that this will get u out of their space so we slowly put our hand near him, waited and waited and he was puffed up big so we just held our hand there and didn’t move eventually Freddy head butted my fiancé’s hand so he took his hand back and we stopped there. Before when I was saying we it was because we both tried. I went first and I’m the only one Freddy trusts and likes but I chickened out because I really thought he was going to bite me so I had my fiancé try. Now I’m sad because we made him upset. And I feel like he will never trust us. Is this just part of the process? Should we just stop with him since he clearly isn’t wanting to be held or is this kind of normal for some at first. I guess I just don’t want to keep stressing him out. I also learned I have to grow a pair and not be such a chicken how long should I wait to try again? And this time I’ll do it

If he shows signs of stress, definitely back off. Same with gaping (unless you want to get bitten). Keep in mind that friendliness and personality vary from cham to cham, and as your 3 mo. cham grows, personality changes can also happen. From my experience, with my two panthers, one will gladly climb onto anyone, while the other is very shy (she won’t even eat if I leave her door open).

Freddy may warm up to you, or he may stay somewhat aggressive forever. I’d say wait at least a day before trying again with him. Does he have a favourite food? I can sometimes coax my shy girl with a good superworm.

 

[nightanole]

Ok so update. The baby Cham we were able to pickup about three times. He only gets on our hand for about 30 seconds and immediately tries to get off but it’s progress and I’m happy. Now for Freddy…… I’m sad. So YouTube was saying if they puff up don’t immediately jerk ur hand away as they will learn that this will get u out of their space so we slowly put our hand near him, waited and waited and he was puffed up big so we just held our hand there and didn’t move eventually Freddy head butted my fiancé’s hand so he took his hand back and we stopped there. Before when I was saying we it was because we both tried. I went first and I’m the only one Freddy trusts and likes but I chickened out because I really thought he was going to bite me so I had my fiancé try. Now I’m sad because we made him upset. And I feel like he will never trust us. Is this just part of the process? Should we just stop with him since he clearly isn’t wanting to be held or is this kind of normal for some at first. I guess I just don’t want to keep stressing him out. I also learned I have to grow a pair and not be such a chicken how long should I wait to try again? And this time I’ll do it

You will always get "love headbutts". I can hand my cham to any number of 8 years olds just fine. But when hes in a mood, hes gona bluff ya. Could be worse, some do tongue warning shots, and others dont bluff, they just nail you...

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

.... Now for Freddy…… I’m sad. So YouTube was saying if they puff up don’t immediately jerk ur hand away as they will learn that this will get u out of their space so we slowly put our hand near him, waited and waited and he was puffed up big so we just held our hand there and didn’t move eventually Freddy head butted my fiancé’s hand so he took his hand back and we stopped there. Before when I was saying we it was because we both tried. I went first and I’m the only one Freddy trusts and likes but I chickened out because I really thought he was going to bite me so I had my fiancé try. Now I’m sad because we made him upset. And I feel like he will never trust us. Is this just part of the process? Should we just stop with him since he clearly isn’t wanting to be held or is this kind of normal for some at first. I guess I just don’t want to keep stressing him out. I also learned I have to grow a pair and not be such a chicken how long should I wait to try again? And this time I’ll do it

I've trained every animal I've had (as an adult) with positive reinforcement, and it's worked with every one except the cat. 'Nuff said about cats.

Freddy will get over it, but IMO you need something to encourage/incentivize him to do what you want, whether food, temporary freedom (like Ol' Mr. GrumpyPants), or something else—something he wants, and is willing to take a risk to obtain. Little steps and patience.

I've been bitten 3 times , but he's gotten over it each time within a week. It may be a backstep (as in two steps forward, one back), but the odds are in your favor. Personalities and temperaments can be all over the place, but they usually rest on a bell curve—relatively few are super-friendly or untamable.

How long to wait? No less than a day—no more than a week? Certainly until you calm down enough to regain your confidence & comportment. If you approach with trepidation, animals are really good at sensing that, though they may interpret it differently.

I think it's too early to give up on him. Patience and persistence will pay off.

 

[xxaprilrose]

thanks everyone! i genuinely appreciate it and feel a bit better now. Will def give it a few and try again. Hopefully he comes around but glad to know there could still be hope

 

[xxaprilrose]

Omg everyone!!! So I have to share my excitement here because nobody will understand except for you guys so yesterday was really rough trying to feed Freddy. I went to go put his cricket bowl in his enclosure and he ran up to the front and puffed up so I just closed the door and left without giving him his food. Went back 20 mins later when he was basking and put it in there and all was fine. Today he’s getting normal and when I’m near him he comes up to the front to watch me and I went to give him some hornworms as a treat which i just lay on branches because I think it’s more fun for him well he did something he’s NEVER done before he ran up to the front so fast like a bat out of he** and snatched the worm right off my tongs lmao I was not intending to do that! I know ur not suppose to tong feed them and he rarely ever eats in front of me either but I gave him a second and before I put the second worm down BAM right out of the tongs lmao I was so happy I was shaking. He literally a. Never eats in front of me unless I act like I’m walking away b. Never seems THAT excited to see me and c. Never ever would tong feed because he seemed more afraid of them than anything. Wow I’m still shaking from excitement because this is just another step in the right direction!!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

See? You're not the monster you thought you were, and food is a mighty powerful incentive!

It works with us men, too... "The way to a man's heart is through his breastbone stomach."

Congrats!

 

[EmilioTheAnkify]

Patience.
Mine took 5 months to warm up to me.
He would gape, and lunge at any stick I would put near him.
My gf is the one to feed and occasionally mist. So I was afraid he would never warm up to me.
I usually would only watch him for a bit once I got home from work….
Now he waits for me to come home so I can take him out. He’ll even follow me until I open his doors.
I mean I’m sure he’s just using me to get to his money tree that’s by the window. But that’s fine with me

 

[Mendez]

Looks like everything is handled here...

I have nothing else to add...but I'll talk anyways. Like many said earlier, it is never too late to start "taming" your chameleon. I never handled my jackson's chameleon for the entire first eight months that I had him. He was super shy and would always change colors when I would open up his cage. Eventually, this consistent schedule of feeding him led him to trust me more and more. Eventually, I could scoop him up (slowly) to take him outside for natural sun. He would be annoyed at me, but not scared.

Eventually, I held a dripper to his nose at too fast of a frequency and he ended up aspirating water. I took him to the vet and they prescribed a medication that needed to be administered by hypodermic needle. After every shot, the trust he had in me dwindled more and more. Eventually, he didn't trust me at all. It sucked a lot and I was literally heartbroken. Once the whole ordeal was over, I was patient and took my time with him. I kept feeding him consistently, holding the cup of bugs until he finished eating.

I have since restored his trust in me. If needed, I could scoop him up in a matter of 10-20 seconds (always make sure you don't rip them off the branch or you could hurt their tail or feet) with him being disappointed, but not fearful or upset. I give you this anecdote to show you that you can rebuild trust after trauma inflicted upon your chameleon. If rebuilding trust after trauma is possible, then anything is possible.

I think all my chameleons are disappointed to see me

Also, I rarely handle my jackson's chameleon. I never made it a point to handle him or get him used to me. You build trust by feeding them. So if you want them to be okay-ish with you handling them, just be there when they feed. How long this will take depends completely on the individual. Also, if your chameleon is perfectly content with being in its cage, be proud that your husbandry is good enough to the point where he doesn't want to escape.