Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a new baby female veiled and it is very healthy,its just whenever I go in the cage it always hisses,turns brown,and tries to bite.Why is this and is it normal?will it stop.I go in there to take it out to put it outside for sunlight so I do it everyday..thanks guys for the help.

Mike
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3 American Alligators
1.0 Albino Burm
1.0 Green Tree Python
0.1 Veild Chameleon
1.0 Red Eyed Tree Frog
1.0 Bearded Dragon

"Never insult an Alligator until you have crossed the river"-oriental proverb

Hey,
Im not very experienced at this, but ill take a stab at answering and you more experienced people can back me up or tell me to shut up.

Chameleons are, to varying degrees, anti-social. They do not like being handled, though some tolerate it much more than others. You may have just gotton one that is a *&%%$. Turning dark colors, hissing, and biting are all signs of territorial defensive behavior that will probobly never go away. If your cham gets more aquanted to her environment she may begin to be more tolerant of infrequent gentle handling. Having to move her every day, even if it is for her own benifit, is probobly causing her alot of stress and making her act the way she is.

Hope this helps,
Jeff

why are you moving it everyday for sun? A reptisun 5.0 bulb and appropriate supplemnetation and feeder insect gutload will do the trick. As a rule chams do not like to be handled. As Jeff said there may be some that will tolerate it more than others, but none "like it."

You are adding to the stress of it being in a new environment. It has not even had the time to adjust and you are moving it everyday - no wonder she is hissing You need to respect this and let her be. If she is young why not miove the whole cage outside? This is what I am doing with my little guy (well, until tomorrow and he goes in a big cage) when we get a warm day. Once he is moved, I will have a sunning cage set up for him outside and use a branch to transport him - and not every day.

Stress on chams will ultimately cause problems that may not show until it is too late. They are good at hiding symptoms.

How old is she? What sort of setup do you have for her?

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
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0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
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