Veil Chams have such a bad reputation !!!

[ogomogo]

I just got a 2 month old veiled Ive had for about a week now. He runs every time I get to close to the cage, if I open the door to put food in, and he heads for the hills when I mist his cage. Very shy around people. Any suggestions to get him to relax when people are near or in his cage?

It's same as my baby but i have him for 24 days. He eats/drinks well but he is so shy. When i get near the cage he dissapears.

 

[Jamall]

My chameleon rufuses to wake up (i turn his lights on at 9am and off at 9pm) this mornign and yesterday he didnt eat till 9:30 because he refused to wake up!!) Eyes stayed closed and all, through dog barking and the crickets chirping...

I'm glad you have such a bond with your Cham, thats really beutiful, you must've gotten lucky on the breeder, im jelous he lets you rub his tail, i have to rub Kilo's chin, he hates his back touched.

They can't hear fyi

 

[joeandsoph]

Tilly used to be a right hisser. She got mad at everyone and everything and now she's gorgeous! And super nice a lot of the time. She can still have he moment's but don't we all!

 

[showjet95]

Mine was friendly also at 2 months old by the time he was 6 months he would repeatedly try and bite me whenever I tried to hold him or clean his cage. My female was the same way. They are a beautiful species, but that is the one thing I hate about veileds, that along with how skittish and shy they are. I would say the vast majority are nasty tempered.

 

[Jon114]

Chameleons always struck me as "Look, don't touch" pets. So I really could careless if I had the sweetest cham in the world, or the nastiest. I wish I could afford a panther though.

 

[jshaffer740]

Mine was friendly also at 2 months old by the time he was 6 months he would repeatedly try and bite me whenever I tried to hold him or clean his cage. My female was the same way. They are a beautiful species, but that is the one thing I hate about veileds, that along with how skittish and shy they are. I would say the vast majority are nasty tempered.

The sad thing is they are the most commonly sold species to the general public. I wonder if this sort of behavior leads to some of the neglect we see from people who take them on as pets?

 

[Miss Lily]

I have had 3 Veileds and all have been really sweet and calm. My first was a female that I got when she was 6 months old. She had been handled pretty much daily as she was kept in a reptile shop. She was used to seeing people and having people looking at her all the time.

My second female was 3 months when I got her and she was more of a challenge! I had to earn her trust and she also became very friendly and happy to be handled.

My 3rd Veiled was a male that I got at 18 months. He had been passed around and I was his fifth owner. Even though the person I got him from said he had bitten him, I never once had Tommy his or gape at me. He was the sweetest, friendliest boy ever.

 

[kuskye25]

i dont handle my cham much, my cham is a little sweatie, so personally i wouldnt mind having a huge dominate male....

thats just me though, i also have tarantulas, piranha, cichlids, and scorpions, and they dont really like anyone, so i like aggressive animals...

 

[JoseBean]

Like the previous posters said I think part of the reason is that they are such a common breed of cham that more people talk about them. With any animal, I beleive, that at like 75% of it is up bringing. If you have them from a baby and let them grow up with you they will behave different.

Also, since they are such a common breed other problem may be that they are not as well taken care of due to people be able to pick them up from pet stores and they "normally" will not have all the information they need. That is why we hear horror stories and people are able to correct it.

 

[TiffanyMariexo]

I have had 3 Veileds and all have been really sweet and calm. My first was a female that I got when she was 6 months old. She had been handled pretty much daily as she was kept in a reptile shop. She was used to seeing people and having people looking at her all the time.

My second female was 3 months when I got her and she was more of a challenge! I had to earn her trust and she also became very friendly and happy to be handled.

My 3rd Veiled was a male that I got at 18 months. He had been passed around and I was his fifth owner. Even though the person I got him from said he had bitten him, I never once had Tommy his or gape at me. He was the sweetest, friendliest boy ever.

- that's awesome
I think it all depends how they are brought up !!! No animal is born naturally agreesive.. People have had pet lions for godsakes who have been complete pussy cats.

 

[PattyCake]

Chams have different personalities...Ark is a little finnicky when I pick him up and never stays in the same spot for more than 1 sec