Veiled Chamaleon Handling

A

Ant0n101

New Member
Hey guys. Yesterday was my brother's birthday and he has wanted a Veiled Chameleon for some time now. Eventually, me and my family got enough money to get a baby Veiled, 3' x 3' x 3' cage, branches, foliage, heat lamp, and dripper. We got him (he's a male since he has spurs) today and set him up today as well. We asked the man at the pet store who has had several Veileds about handling them. He said "The more you handle them, the better they will be with handling". I want to make sure what he said is true. He was showing some signs of agression today (opening his mouth, but no hissing) when my brother was handling him before putting him in his cage. I understand the chameleon (now named Crank) has gone through alot of stress and we will not handle him for several days while he gets settled in. I am just making sure my brother can handle him comfortably. Thank you :)
 
My son (11 years old) handles his chameleons all the time but at first the male was MEAN and ALWAYS hissed at him and changed colors, but the more he handled him the less he hissed and opened his mouth. It has been over a year and the male hisses at him every now and then but not like he used to. And he doesn't change colors anymore i.e. black..

As for the girl veiled she is a doll she has NEVER hissed or opened her mouth I think the girls are much calmer and easier to handle OR it could be because we got her directly from the breeder, the male came from a pet store..

But I do know you cannot handle them often because it can stress them out, its going to be a looooong time before the little guy is comfortable. Just hang in there :)
 
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veileds are known for being quite cranky chams. i have super nice chams and super grumpy chams, more handling may help but you have to consider the fact that they get stressed out very easily and stress is bad for the health of these animals. Constant stress can lead to things like hunger strikes and that just gives you more problems.
 
i cant even get within 5 inches of my female..shes evil... my male is quite chill however... they all have their own personality's...
 
Only time will tell, how each chameleon will deal with handling. Some enjoy coming out of their cage and tolerate us keepers and some prefer to be left alone in their cage. If it gives you the signs that he wants to come out, by all means, let him out :D
 
Don't force handle him. He will get used to you on his own. My one Veiled doesn't like me taking him out... he comes out when he wants... or if he happens to be low in the cage I can pick him up. But if hes high in the cage, he won't let me. The other veiled male will come out whenever I open the cage. They do thier own thing.
 
Ant0n101 said:
Hey guys. Yesterday was my brother's birthday and he has wanted a Veiled Chameleon for some time now. Eventually, me and my family got enough money to get a baby Veiled, 3' x 3' x 3' cage, branches, foliage, heat lamp, and dripper. We got him (he's a male since he has spurs) today and set him up today as well. We asked the man at the pet store who has had several Veileds about handling them. He said "The more you handle them, the better they will be with handling". I want to make sure what he said is true. He was showing some signs of agression today (opening his mouth, but no hissing) when my brother was handling him before putting him in his cage. I understand the chameleon (now named Crank) has gone through alot of stress and we will not handle him for several days while he gets settled in. I am just making sure my brother can handle him comfortably. Thank you :)
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Do you have a UVB lamp? Supplements? These are also both important parts of , NO-essential parts of-keeping chameleons. IF it is a small baby that is a terribly large cage for now. This is an easily stressed animal and handling should never be forced as stated above. I would give him a few weeks to adjust before even trying.
 
We are going today to get calcium to sprinkle on the crickets and more cricket food. So just give it some time before handling him?
 
Ant0n101 said:
We are going today to get calcium to sprinkle on the crickets and more cricket food. So just give it some time before handling him?
Click to expand...


What do you need to handle him for? Chameleons are pets that you should enjoy by watching them. Watch them eat, change color, move around the cage. They are pretty interesting to keep and care for. As they watch you move around they will decide if they trust you. The more they see you the more the get used to you. That doesn't mean sit infront of the cage all day so he knows your face. When I first moved my boys from reptariums to screen cages they were stressing out a bit because they could see us and knew we could see them. For about a week or two they didn't want to eat and would hide if my GF or I walked past the cages. Soon, not sure why but Fred became very friendly and would wonder out onto a stick if you offered to him. Jake has never really come out willingly, like walking out onto sticks. He only comes out if I catch him walking around the bottom of the cage, I just pick him up and he has no choice:D. I am just blabbing about my experience because every cham is different.

If you need to handle him to clean his cage. The best way I have found that works for the chams I have kept, is be slow and gentle. You should place your hand into the cage behind him and place another hand infront of the cham but kinda hidden. When you place the hand behind him he won't be watching you other hand. Move slowly while doing all of this, you do not want to statle him. Once you have a hand behind and a hand infront slowly move the hand behind the cham towards him and shew him onto your hand. He prolly won't notice your hand isn't a part of his tree or vine and step onto it. Once you think he is stable enough pull your hand out of the cage. He will be all mean and mad inside the cage, but once out of the cage he'll calm down as long as you don't taunt him. Just keep him up above your face so he feels secure. Chams like to be high in the are so that they feel in control and secure that preditors can't get to them.

Good luck
 
I am going to tell you... What is probably the last thing you want to hear. This is effort to save you future headache... Not trying to come down hard on you.

"We asked the man at the pet store"...MISTAKE!!! Always do research with books, interenet, and with actual cham keepers(This is site is great for that. The guy at the pet store is going to tell you whatever he thinks will make the sale... regardless of if it is good info or not.

"The more you handle them, the better they will be with handling." See I told you the first thing was a mistake...This is bad info... Im some cases this does work, But in some cases it is the exact opposite.

This is what the guy at pet store should have told you...
Chameleons are very touchy animals that are exteremely suseptable to stress related illnesses. If you are looking for a lizard to interact with and handle constantly, then a Chameleon is not the right choice. They are great animals to be kept and observed... but handling, especially by a child, can be very stressfull for them. It is recommended that you give your cham space... and handle them only when necessary... or if the Cham readily accepts contact with no signs of stress. I hand feed all my chams daily. I find that this helps get them used to my presense and occasioanlly a cham will get to the point where they will crawl out onto my arm on their own to eat. It is a great feeling to intereact with them this way, since I did not have to force them to do anything, and I know the cham is comfortable with me. With all the time money and effort we put into them, to over stress them for no reason, possibly taking years off their lives, would be a real shame.

Chams are an exteremly demanding animal to keep, A lot of Research is in order, and while it is an awesome gift to get, make sure he understands that it comes with a HUGE amount of responsiblity making sure he is caring for the animal properly.

~Joe
 
Oh ok. I want my brother and I to be able to hold him a little. I'm not looking for him to be our constant companions on our shoulder, but just an ocassional time to hold him. I understand it could be very stressful for the chameleon, but we will give him some time to himself for awhile. Thanks alot
 
Some chameleons are ok with being handled from time to time. A few could even be called outgoing. HOWEVER always follow your chameleon's lead. Respect his privacy and only take him out of his cage when he's calm and relaxed.
Hand feeding will help with getting your cham to trust you. Handfeeding him while he's sitting on your hand can help even more.
Just keep in mind that every chameleon will respond differently and that the sings of stress can be very subtle.
 
Veiled chameleons will eat some veggies, but like other chameleons they are mainly insectivores. Veggies are an optional part of their diet IMHO.
 
Sepioteuthis said:
Veiled chameleons will eat some veggies, but like other chameleons they are mainly insectivores. Veggies are an optional part of their diet IMHO.
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I would agree. It is why the plants inside the cages need to be edible!

And for those trying to hand feed veggies.... I hope you have a lot of patience! I would just secure some veggies to a vine or stick and let the cham go after it on his own.;)
 
Both my girls love eatting their hibiscus, the moss from petsmart, and loads of fruit... just not plums, they hate plums lol
 
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