Y'all, I am SO excited!

eahoormann

eahoormann

Member
I know it's a moot point to some, but I've been semi- HA! Semi... I was REALLY- worried about Leif the past few days. Every time I saw him this week, he's been real dark and up in the very tippy corner near his lamp (Not his normal basking spot... he needed to be even closer). Eating all his crickets every morning, normal poo and white urates, everything top notch... just he was dark brown! I've been trying to get him to come to me for a while now- just placing my hand near him and seeing if he trusts me to climb on (Like a magic carpet riiiddeeee... sorry Customer Service Rep by day, Disney nerd... all the time!). I'm not comfortable with hand feeding to gain trust because, well, I'm not used to creepy crawlies yet :confused:.

Any whats-it, tonight I thought I'd give it another shot.... and he accepted!! I was SOOO happy!! We played around for quite a while and I he kept trying to get to my head (y'know, tallest point and all). And he was back to his green ol' self!! Anyway, that's my small win for today!! :ROFLMAO:

#ItsTheLittleThings. #ProudChamMommy. #ImNewHere.
 

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eahoormann said:
I know it's a moot point to some, but I've been semi- HA! Semi... I was REALLY- worried about Leif the past few days. Every time I saw him this week, he's been real dark and up in the very tippy corner near his lamp (Not his normal basking spot... he needed to be even closer). Eating all his crickets every morning, normal poo and white urates, everything top notch... just he was dark brown! I've been trying to get him to come to me for a while now- just placing my hand near him and seeing if he trusts me to climb on (Like a magic carpet riiiddeeee... sorry Customer Service Rep by day, Disney nerd... all the time!). I'm not comfortable with hand feeding to gain trust because, well, I'm not used to creepy crawlies yet :confused:.

Any whats-it, tonight I thought I'd give it another shot.... and he accepted!! I was SOOO happy!! We played around for quite a while and I he kept trying to get to my head (y'know, tallest point and all). And he was back to his green ol' self!! Anyway, that's my small win for today!! :ROFLMAO:

#ItsTheLittleThings. #ProudChamMommy. #ImNewHere.
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wow thats very exciting! sometimes the littlest progressions can mean so much! I too am a Disney nerd:p
 
Yay! I love it when O decided I was okay and walked out on my hand so I could take her out and give her enclosure a proper cleaning. Up til that happened, the farthest she would get would be to hold one of my fingers in her little oven mitt and we would stay that way until my arm fell asleep LOL

Excited for you!
 
GREAT JOB! Building trust is hard and takes a LONG time. It took me two months of CONSTANT effort to get my Panther Cham to not try to bite me. He was super mega aggressive at first (abused rescue) and now he is really chill. I hand feed all the time, and now I fear I have created a monster. He almost refuses to eat unless I offer it to him by hand. He has started opening his mouth and "telling" me to put the food right in. He is ridiculous. But he is also pretty dang friendly so I am stoked.

Congrats! Remember that handling of any kind is usually stressful (even if just a little) and to give him plenty of space in the ofttimes. Chams are very very funny little creatures that are incredibly rewarding to keep!

*For the record, Smaug has NEVER willingly crawled all the way into my hand when I didn't have food, so consider yourself lucky!*
 
Congrats! My Echo has decided that he likes to explore the world outside of his cage. He "asks" to come out all of the time! And quite often, he will come over to the door, while I'm in the cage doing something, and climb right onto me! His most recent thing is to climb onto the sprayer wand, and walk up my arm! I'm in the process of gathering materials to build him a big outdoor enclosure so he can go outside safely and get all of the natural sunlight he needs. I still get watched closely, and if I even breathe wrong, I get hissed at. But he is pretty chilled out when he's out.
 
MedicMan1 said:
GREAT JOB! Building trust is hard and takes a LONG time. It took me two months of CONSTANT effort to get my Panther Cham to not try to bite me. He was super mega aggressive at first (abused rescue) and now he is really chill. I hand feed all the time, and now I fear I have created a monster. He almost refuses to eat unless I offer it to him by hand. He has started opening his mouth and "telling" me to put the food right in. He is ridiculous. But he is also pretty dang friendly so I am stoked.

Congrats! Remember that handling of any kind is usually stressful (even if just a little) and to give him plenty of space in the ofttimes. Chams are very very funny little creatures that are incredibly rewarding to keep!

*For the record, Smaug has NEVER willingly crawled all the way into my hand when I didn't have food, so consider yourself lucky!*
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Oh yeah! I deffo gave him space after that. I put him back in his enclosure right before the lights in the cage and his room (We have smart bulbs in all our rooms so I programmed the room to turn off the same times as his lamps ;) ) and he went straight to sleep- but then I stayed in the office on the computer, in the dark, for a while.. Didn't want to stress him more by keeping lights on. And then he's alone all day. Should I give him more space tonight and maybe try interacting again tomorrow or Saturday? If a cham is willing to interact and it's their terms, is there such a thing as too much? I just didn't want to not try to interact with him ever and then him grow up to be super stand off-ish and aggressive (I know veiled aren't the most chill to begin with.. ha!) But since he's only 3-4 months old, I thought I'd try to handle him some more now.
 
eahoormann said:
Oh yeah! I deffo gave him space after that. I put him back in his enclosure right before the lights in the cage and his room (We have smart bulbs in all our rooms so I programmed the room to turn off the same times as his lamps ;) ) and he went straight to sleep- but then I stayed in the office on the computer, in the dark, for a while.. Didn't want to stress him more by keeping lights on. And then he's alone all day. Should I give him more space tonight and maybe try interacting again tomorrow or Saturday? If a cham is willing to interact and it's their terms, is there such a thing as too much? I just didn't want to not try to interact with him ever and then him grow up to be super stand off-ish and aggressive (I know veiled aren't the most chill to begin with.. ha!) But since he's only 3-4 months old, I thought I'd try to handle him some more now.
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Good job. We have a no lights on rule also when it's the chams bedtime. He lives in a massive cage in our bedroom upstairs, so it's very calm up there for him. As for the handling, here's my basic rule set for my guy. It isn't one size fits all, so you can modify it as needed once you have built a relationship with your chameleon and are familiar enough with his colors and attitudes to understand(ish) what he is telling you. You can then handle him more often and less stressfully.

1. No means no. If he puffs up and acts pissy, then that means no and I give him space. If I want him to trust me, then I have to trust and respect him. He is usually bright and light, so dark colors (produced when bothered) also mean no. Stress is toxic for chams, if he is going to stress out hard, then it is best to leave him alone.
2. Always low and slow. The biggest predator to a chameleon is a bird. They come from the top. I always come at him low, below his level, and very slow. I find this to be the best method to keep him chill and okay with being handled. Most of the time, he's mellow enough with this approach that I can scoop right under his belly and pick him up gently. He has never ever climbed into my hand when I didn't have food.
3. Provide *some* hand feeding. I say some, because, like my guy, they can get dependent on hand feeding. I wish I hadn't hand fed as much earlier on, because now it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat without me handing it to him.
4. Keep handling time somewhat short and fun, and now every day. When I pick him up, I take him outside into the sun for a few minutes, or take him to a warm shower. I try to associate things that are pleasant with handling time. He isn't getting much joy from me handling him alone, but if he remembers; "hey that big guy takes me to the sun overtime he picks me up", then eventually he may be less hesitant to be handled. That is just my hypothesis. I also try to give him off days. Sometimes i handle him for 15 minutes three days in a row, sometimes I don't handle him for two days, and sometimes I alternate days. I don't really have a set schedule for handling.

Chameleons are awesome pets. At the end of the day, you are the one spending time with him and getting to know him. EVERY SINGLE chameleon is different and has a unique personality that you get to learn. Pay attention to his little quirks, colors, mannerisms, and mood swings. Eventually, it will start to click and you'll understand his behavior kind of like a language. That's when you can handle him much more because you'll be able to understand what he is trying to tell you.

If any of that makes sense...
 
This is my lord in his castle. He just got done snacking on blue worms and gracing me with his presence. Off to his chambers he goes, not to be bothered with the human species. Alas, to find a good servant is difficult in these parts.
 

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MedicMan1 said:
Good job. We have a no lights on rule also when it's the chams bedtime. He lives in a massive cage in our bedroom upstairs, so it's very calm up there for him. As for the handling, here's my basic rule set for my guy. It isn't one size fits all, so you can modify it as needed once you have built a relationship with your chameleon and are familiar enough with his colors and attitudes to understand(ish) what he is telling you. You can then handle him more often and less stressfully.

1. No means no. If he puffs up and acts pissy, then that means no and I give him space. If I want him to trust me, then I have to trust and respect him. He is usually bright and light, so dark colors (produced when bothered) also mean no. Stress is toxic for chams, if he is going to stress out hard, then it is best to leave him alone.
2. Always low and slow. The biggest predator to a chameleon is a bird. They come from the top. I always come at him low, below his level, and very slow. I find this to be the best method to keep him chill and okay with being handled. Most of the time, he's mellow enough with this approach that I can scoop right under his belly and pick him up gently. He has never ever climbed into my hand when I didn't have food.
3. Provide *some* hand feeding. I say some, because, like my guy, they can get dependent on hand feeding. I wish I hadn't hand fed as much earlier on, because now it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat without me handing it to him.
4. Keep handling time somewhat short and fun, and now every day. When I pick him up, I take him outside into the sun for a few minutes, or take him to a warm shower. I try to associate things that are pleasant with handling time. He isn't getting much joy from me handling him alone, but if he remembers; "hey that big guy takes me to the sun overtime he picks me up", then eventually he may be less hesitant to be handled. That is just my hypothesis. I also try to give him off days. Sometimes i handle him for 15 minutes three days in a row, sometimes I don't handle him for two days, and sometimes I alternate days. I don't really have a set schedule for handling.

Chameleons are awesome pets. At the end of the day, you are the one spending time with him and getting to know him. EVERY SINGLE chameleon is different and has a unique personality that you get to learn. Pay attention to his little quirks, colors, mannerisms, and mood swings. Eventually, it will start to click and you'll understand his behavior kind of like a language. That's when you can handle him much more because you'll be able to understand what he is trying to tell you.

If any of that makes sense...
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Oh thank you so much!! I very much appreciate the 'layman terms' of any info. Since i'm so new, I need it spoon fed. Very informative, THANK YOU! :)
 
Have you considered "hand feeding" from tongs? That may be easier for you if handling bugs creep you out.
I think that reverse tongs, the kind that stay closed till you pinch then, are easier to use than the normal, pinch to open variety.
 
Everything @MedicMan1 said was spot on for sure with handling. I'm a panther guy personally, but it's funny how different Chams are, my first panther will do whatever he can to climb on me, my other is a little shy but relaxed, and my most recent is the first panther I've ever heard hiss, seen lunge, and generally get aggressive.

Could you hand feed with gloves? I have a huge box of latex gloves for handling roach stuff and other junk. I went into cham keeping creeped out by all the feeders, now I'll touch them, you get used to it. I don't like tongs, Chams tongues get stuck to them very easily and can hurt them.
 
eahoormann said:
Very beautiful enclosure!
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Thank you very much! It was a labor of love and a super fun project. I recommend the Dragon Strand cages 100%. If you every have any questions, PM me and I will tell you anything I know.

jamest0o0 said:
Everything @MedicMan1 said was spot on for sure with handling. I'm a panther guy personally, but it's funny how different Chams are, my first panther will do whatever he can to climb on me, my other is a little shy but relaxed, and my most recent is the first panther I've ever heard hiss, seen lunge, and generally get aggressive.

Could you hand feed with gloves? I have a huge box of latex gloves for handling roach stuff and other junk. I went into cham keeping creeped out by all the feeders, now I'll touch them, you get used to it. I don't like tongs, Chams tongues get stuck to them very easily and can hurt them.
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Thanks buddy! Everything I said was just from the top of my head, and was based on almost a year of experiences with my guy. We understand each other pretty well now. It is a funny relationship. I understand when he is NOT okay with being touched, and most days, it only takes me five seconds to learn that. Other days he is very very mellow and I can pick him up. They have attitudes and personalities, and I think that most people don't understand that. They try to snatch them up all the time, get bit, and then blame the animal. Pure ignorance. Some days, you and I don't want to be bothered either. The mark of a good keeper (I HATE the term "owner"), is to understand when their lovingly kept animal needs personal space. This takes time to understand and learn the signals with chams, but is very rewarding when finally understood. My VICIOUS and untrusting animal became quite tame when I learned his personality and worked with him, patiently, ON HIS TERMS.

That being said, he is a lazy bastard. I had to teach him to hunt roaches today because he is so used to eating them from my hand. I am not joking. The poor boy is PATHETIC. I am swearing off of hand feeding for a while, until he runs after them on his own (then I will hand feed like 1 out of 10). He tried to take them from my hand all day and I had to fight the urge to flick him on the nose. He almost ate my thumb twice. He wouldn't eat some of them until I LAID MY THUMB next to the damn bug. It was like a child not eating unless he had his comfort blanket (MY THUMB). I am NOT joking Y'all. FACEPALM.

I am serious when I say that hand feeding should be moderated. It is GREAT at first for building trust, but you have to pull back once trust is built. Otherwise, you get a cham that tries to suck on your thumb at every opportunity and cannot hunt for itself.
 
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so i got inspiration to stick my hand in coopers cage this morning. i knew he wouldnt jump on imedietly (if at all) but the reaction i got from him was bizzare. so since i sometimes cup the superworms in my hand. he thought he shine of my nails were superworms. so he started striking really fast at my hands. then i flipped my hand over. and he stopped. flipped it again and he started doing it again. either he needs to be fed every day of he has an appetite. (fed him yesterday) but other than striking at my hand he was really interested in it and he didnt just run for his life like he normally does. i might add he also yawned while i had my hand in there. (i can tell it wasnt a hiss cause it wasnt hostile and he didnt make a sounds) i can say though that i wont stop this and i will work with him as much as i possibly can to get him to trust me. since he has never really been the kindest chameleon.
 
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He actually stuck his tongue to one once, and all I could imagine was him eating a diamond. Needless to say, that would have been an EXPENSIVE vet trip!! So since then, I don't let him even try any more.
 
Angelwolf said:
He actually stuck his tongue to one once, and all I could imagine was him eating a diamond. Needless to say, that would have been an EXPENSIVE vet trip!! So since then, I don't let him even try any more.
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he stuck to my finger a couple of times and probably striked a good 10 times
 
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