Training Chameleons?

[BrendenBilodeau]

I'm curious about training chameleons and how it is done. Like how to get your cham to be comfortable enough to walk out of it's cage onto my hand or to just come to my hand whenever I want it to. I know they are solitary creatures but I would like to believe they can be trained to not be the way they are in the wild. Any one have anything to contribute to the topic? Interesting stories? Personal experience/techniques? Different responses/tricks?

 

[Clint526]

My male Panther comes to the door of his cage when he wants out and will climb up my arm when I put it in. I don't think I really trained him, I never did anything special. I assume he's just used to me and knows I mean no harm and usually have food.

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

Yea I have that with my girl too. She will come to the door when I open it and wait for me to give her some crickets or worms w/e... but I want to know how to get her to want to come onto my hand! the only way she will is if I hold her food away from the cage and let her use my arm as a way to get to the food. After she gets on my arm she eats and then realizes she isn't where she wants to be and gets afraid. I want to be able to train her to be cool about being on my hand... not that I take her out all the time and mess with her, I just don't want her to have so much anxiety about being gently handled.

 

[Clint526]

I handle all mine daily, they don't even puff up or act the slightest bit agrivated.

 

[Theveiled]

I handle all mine daily, they don't even puff up or act the slightest bit agrivated.

Mine too! When I got my chameleon Stark he was pretty aggressive. I would use food to lure him out to get used to comming out. One day I let his cage open for a while and he came out by himself. Ever since that he wants to come out every day. I just open his cage up and he climbs onto my arm.

 

[Carlton]

I'm curious about training chameleons and how it is done. Like how to get your cham to be comfortable enough to walk out of it's cage onto my hand or to just come to my hand whenever I want it to. I know they are solitary creatures but I would like to believe they can be trained to not be the way they are in the wild. Any one have anything to contribute to the topic? Interesting stories? Personal experience/techniques? Different responses/tricks?

IMHO, I think the best way to approach this is to change your understanding of how a cham thinks, and then take advantage of its behavior. Remember, no cham really cares about what YOU or anyone else wants. They are not "wired" to be very social, so the wishes of a human just don't register. What you CAN do is teach your cham that you are not a threat, that you are a source of goodies, and that you can be a safe perch or a transporter to someplace nice (like a sunny window). You do this by establishing routines it can trust, offer treats by hand, and by being patient with what is natural for them. And, remember that most are individuals...what one keeper's chams tolerate yours may not and vice versa. So, to teach it that coming out on your hand is safe, try to gently coax them onto your hand and carry them to a favorite spot in your house, keep the sessions short and simple.

 

[BrendenBilodeau]

IMHO, I think the best way to approach this is to change your understanding of how a cham thinks, and then take advantage of its behavior. Remember, no cham really cares about what YOU or anyone else wants. They are not "wired" to be very social, so the wishes of a human just don't register. What you CAN do is teach your cham that you are not a threat, that you are a source of goodies, and that you can be a safe perch or a transporter to someplace nice (like a sunny window). You do this by establishing routines it can trust, offer treats by hand, and by being patient with what is natural for them. And, remember that most are individuals...what one keeper's chams tolerate yours may not and vice versa. So, to teach it that coming out on your hand is safe, try to gently coax them onto your hand and carry them to a favorite spot in your house, keep the sessions short and simple.

I like it. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Contrary to what many people on the forums might say, my chameleon loves being held and touched. He leans in to it when I rub his side! He will often refuse to eat unless he gets attention first. He stops what he is doing, turns around and heads my way the moment he sees me! I am 100 % sre he loves the attention! Makes my wife a little jealous. She wants her chameleon to act the same way to her. It will come, it just takes time, persistence and dedication!

 

[Damicofam6]

my chameleon climbs on the screen of his cage whenever he wants to come out so i open the door and he climbs on top of the door and onto my arm

 

[alphakenc]

Every chameleons are different,I will say,be more observing on ur cham n take advantage of every opportunity...feeders..scratching the door..etc

 

[JGspecial]

my new panther didnt really warm up to me initially but was never aggressive. what it took was me leaving the cage open and letting him come out to explore on his own. when he looked confused id put my hand out to help him back home. now he likes/ tolerates being held and sometimes grabs on to me to come out. he also hand feeds well. only problem now is he wants to come out all the time!!! hell be really happy when i move to my new spot because he will have his own free range and i will have a whole chameleon area set up. i have 3 boys and they all tolerate handling. my jackson is skittish but once i get him out hes okay. my veiled gets startled easy and hisses and headbutts but if i pick him up the way he feels least threatened and lift very slowly he calms down and becomes very docile. my jackson likes to be cup fed, my veiled likes to be cup fed and hand fed, and my panther doesnt care either way as long as he gets fed. all will hunt depending on what the bug is.

 

[Dday]

my chameleon climbs on the screen of his cage whenever he wants to come out so i open the door and he climbs on top of the door and onto my arm

Same with my veiled

 

[Damicofam6]

i remember when i first got my panther from chameleonparadise.com and the breeder Bruce said to not handle him for about 3 days so he can settle in but when i unboxed him he climbed right onto my arm. He has never shown any aggression towards me and he favors climbing on me rather than family members. I never did anything special, i guess i just got a friendly panther

 

[Chilipina]

Contrary to what many people on the forums might say, my chameleon loves being held and touched. He leans in to it when I rub his side! He will often refuse to eat unless he gets attention first. He stops what he is doing, turns around and heads my way the moment he sees me! I am 100 % sre he loves the attention! Makes my wife a little jealous. She wants her chameleon to act the same way to her. It will come, it just takes time, persistence and dedication!

I can understand that! I can tell (even if some believe that a chameleon doesn't have the emotional complexity for this) that Skittles likes @NERVOUS way better than he likes me.

 

[Kabloona]

IMHO, I think the best way to approach this is to change your understanding of how a cham thinks, and then take advantage of its behavior. Remember, no cham really cares about what YOU or anyone else wants. They are not "wired" to be very social, so the wishes of a human just don't register. What you CAN do is teach your cham that you are not a threat, that you are a source of goodies, and that you can be a safe perch or a transporter to someplace nice (like a sunny window). You do this by establishing routines it can trust, offer treats by hand, and by being patient with what is natural for them. And, remember that most are individuals...what one keeper's chams tolerate yours may not and vice versa. So, to teach it that coming out on your hand is safe, try to gently coax them onto your hand and carry them to a favorite spot in your house, keep the sessions short and simple.

 

[Goose502]

I think most chameleons may learn to tolerate gentle handling, I've conditioned mine to associate handling with food. In fact, I don't feed him in his indoor cage. I have a separate outdoor enclosure where he spends most of the day. So he knows in the morning, when I pull him out of his indoor enclosure, he's going for a walk outside, then into his other cage with food. Oddly, he seems to look forward to going back in his indoor enclosure in the late afternoon. Either way, he walks right out into my hands and up to my shoulder every time.

 

[Kabloona]

My male Panther Chameleon, Third Sun, locale cross, by Tormund Giants Bane,
just turned one year old. I got him from Kammerflage Kreations. I spend all day with him (I am retired) and I have gotten a lot of training done with him. At 3 months he was very aggressive and independent, but over time he has come a long way. When I open the door he is waiting to get right on my hand. He is out of his cage from 11:30am until 7pm. He has an extensive hanging system of vines that goes around the room. He can climb down to the floor and climb up anything else he wants to and he does! Yes, I watch him. I like to train for general and medical examination, so you can have him lay calmly of his side, handle his legs and feet, he will open his mouth and let himself be turned from side to side. He will wear a leash, and I walk him on the grass. He will ride on my shoulder, on the handle bars of my walker, and ride safety in the van sitting on my shoulder and holding on to the seat belt. He will sleep in my hand or just loose on my chest and will sleep on his back on my chest as well. He will wear a little set of glasses and various little hats. He knows "stay" so I can have him pose on a variety of "Barbie" size toys, a small ATV, motorcycle, car, etc. He will eagerly meet and climb on anyone who comes to the house. I have taken him to the grocery store - and he is welcome there (so far!). I have also trained numerous toads as well, along these same lines, and must stress that how and what you train any creature for MUST work with their nature and at their own pace, as well as their individual personalities. I have been training different types of animals for 59 years. I feel strongly that animals should live an enriched life - filled with love and respect. I follow all of the Krammer's keeping guidelines, and send Ed photos. Anyone is welcome to ask questions or comment. I have photos as well.

 

[kelly_girl199]

My male Panther Chameleon, Third Sun, locale cross, by Tormund Giants Bane,
just turned one year old. I got him from Kammerflage Kreations. I spend all day with him (I am retired) and I have gotten a lot of training done with him. At 3 months he was very aggressive and independent, but over time he has come a long way. When I open the door he is waiting to get right on my hand. He is out of his cage from 11:30am until 7pm. He has an extensive hanging system of vines that goes around the room. He can climb down to the floor and climb up anything else he wants to and he does! Yes, I watch him. I like to train for general and medical examination, so you can have him lay calmly of his side, handle his legs and feet, he will open his mouth and let himself be turned from side to side. He will wear a leash, and I walk him on the grass. He will ride on my shoulder, on the handle bars of my walker, and ride safety in the van sitting on my shoulder and holding on to the seat belt. He will sleep in my hand or just loose on my chest and will sleep on his back on my chest as well. He will wear a little set of glasses and various little hats. He knows "stay" so I can have him pose on a variety of "Barbie" size toys, a small ATV, motorcycle, car, etc. He will eagerly meet and climb on anyone who comes to the house. I have taken him to the grocery store - and he is welcome there (so far!). I have also trained numerous toads as well, along these same lines, and must stress that how and what you train any creature for MUST work with their nature and at their own pace, as well as their individual personalities. I have been training different types of animals for 59 years. I feel strongly that animals should live an enriched life - filled with love and respect. I follow all of the Krammer's keeping guidelines, and send Ed photos. Anyone is welcome to ask questions or comment. I have photos as well.

Mine is slightly over 4 months old and I have had him since 3 weeks. He hates going outside(puffs out at first). Has taken food from my hand since day one. Still hates being handled. He won't eat everyday and when he does it's very little.Very healthy looking though. Color is just barely visible sometimes. What is the best way for me to go about training him to come to my hand or going outside ?