Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Now i know that chameleons are not creatures to be cuddled. I also know that individuals often have very different personalities. But generally speaking what are the most docile chameleon species that are available in this country?

Pygmy's are pretty docile. They even roll over and play dead, to avoid conflict.

Haha, i had heard that somewhere but didnt know if it was true.
What about the larger chameleon species?

Many cb panthers are quite docile, almost friendly. Jackson's can be docile, but it may be that they show their stress as shyness and timidity rather than aggression like a veiled might. There is a difference between truely docile (not getting stressed at all) and shy (won't bite or threaten, but still get upset visually). I don't know of any cham that is really docile. They are not social by nature.

I understand that, i just wanted an animal that would receive the least amount of stress from me sticking my hand in the cage to do maintenance, hand feed, or to take the cham to its outside cage. I also like the idea of an animal that does not get so freaked that it decides to take off a small piece of my finger.....
Is there a general noticeable difference in the behaviors of the different panthers?

Personality traits like this aren't necessarily tied to any one species or locale. It seems to be very individual (ie. luck of the draw). I've had 2-3 chams of the exact same species or origin behave totally differently. One wouldn't mind handling and the other would get really stressed. Some are timid and some aggressive. Handling as babies doesn't always guarrantee a docile adult either, and most breeders are selecting for color, not personality (yet). I think the best you can do is select an older juvenile whose personality is starting to show, be consistent in your cleaning and general schedule and chores, hand feed treats, and respect what you end up with.

Thats one of the reasons (but not the only reason) i like buying from shows and not ordering through the mail. When i got my Veiled Chameleon (may he rest in peace) i was able to select the colors and personality i liked from a group of (albeit stressed) siblings. Charlie was a very docile chameleon who had a love of exploration, be it your shoulder, the window, the floor, the garden, whatever. He was always on the move and only hissed when i had to remove plants from his cage for cleaning ("HEY A&^HOLE, THATS MINE!!!!". When he started to develop health problems and i had to handle him in a less gentle way to give him shots or things like that he became less docile (as any creature, man or beast, would). I was hoping that i didnt just get lucky with one cham that docile and that i could find a pair that was at least close to that same personality.
I would like to start breeding panthers maybe next year. Im going to try to make it to a show this winter and get a Nosy Be pair. Hopefully docile, but its not nessesary.

Thinking back to the chams I've had, some of my favorites were the hardest to handle...they had very distinct likes and dislikes and I spent more time trying to understand them and work with them. I also had to pay more attention to their color and behavior so felt I learned more from them. I've had docile chams too, and that's nice for a change, but sometimes "nice" is dull.

Charlie had alot of personality even being docile. It was nice, and i hope i can find that again. If not, i would preferr a docile female over a male if i can only have one. That way she doesnt get stressed, might breed more readily, and dies get bothered if i have to remove her to a egg chamber.

I found that Cbb of anything is calmer then anything wc, thats why its a must to always buy cbb there use to activity and captivity from birth and dont see you as a threat.

Dean

First, thats a beautiful Panther!!!!!
Ive never owned a WC herp because i have never been in the situation where i needed to buy one. I own a kingsnake, a couple of red eyed frogs, some anoles, and some geckos. All of these are easy to obtain cbb. The only reason i would take a chance on a WC animal is if it was something really rare that i REALLY wanted.

Thank you, i have a hatching clutch as we speak. I have a new local panther called Oorana Mena they are WC and they are tougher to keep.

Chameleondean, are you from Screameleons? I've been dreaming of the Oorana Menas for a while, and I thought they were exclusive to Screameleons. If you in fact are, have you stopped coming to expos? I've seen the Screameleons booth at all the shows save the NVRE 3 weeks ago. What about the upcoming MARS and NARBC? I'm interested in an Amblilobe and would like to buy one there. Sorry again if youre not Screameleons! Hope I didnt embarass myself too much!

And about docile chameleons, stick to the commonly availiable species, or at least one you can find guaranteed CB, buy from a chameleon-specific breeder (such as Kammerflage Kreations @chameleonsonly.com, Screameleons@screameleons.com, and FL Chams @flchams.com. Try to avoid someone who doesnt specialize in chams, take my word for it), and at an expo if possible. Buy a male, they are generally more confident and inquisitive. Females are shy. Again, it does depend on individual, but you can incresase your chances of a docile one by following the above. I've seen an adult male veiled who was an angel, let everyone pet him, you know, and I have seen an absolute demonic panther who attacked people near the cage. Good luck in your search!

Ryan

No im not from screameleons but i do know Vince. A small number of breeders in the U.S. do have Oorana Mena im one of them, thanks to vince. And as far as to where to buy a chameleon it all depends whats available and what the chameleon looks like. Buying a new local that nobody has would be WC until somebody captive breeds them.

Dean

The most docile chameleons I owned, until now, was a WC male veields, about 14/15 years ago. Sweet as a bearded dragon. Every single one of his kids was pure evil.

In my experience, deremensis are the most calm, except during breeding season. Others hae had nasty ones, but all of mine woudl hand feed before they were out of the shipping bag.

Hands down, th enicest, most calm, gentle, sweetest chameleons I've seen is my CB melleri, Ardi. He's just shy of 20", and coudl do terrific damage if he wanted. Thign is, they vary. not all are friendly. CB melleri seem to be really good, on average, for being friendly. Especially for being such active, aggressive aniamls. But they're slightly hard to come by...

Funny, my Meller's (Zoe) was an angel when I bought him at a show last Saturday, and since getting home in his temporary cage, he's grown quite unhappy with me. I mean, once he's out he kind of calms down, but getting him out for a cage cleaning... yikes. Mom walked over when I was holding him and she must of startled him because he opened his mouth as big as it would go, puffed up, hissed and half lunged toward us (all while on my hand); She goes "S*** Tiff, I've seen you hold a lot of reptiles and I've never seen you jump like that" (Glad SHE got a kick out of it).
This pic was taken a minute after that...I'll post it here since I already forced it on my collared lizard friends. Hehe. I've gone off on a tangent; I hope Zoe calms down when he gets in a more permanent and appropriate sized cage. My Jackson's were the sweetest chams ever. Even when Caleb got sick and I had to give him 2 nightly injections he was such a good boy about it... I miss him. Wow, I'm borderline lame here, aren't I?
~Tiff

Cami and Caleb the jackson pair.. and Zoe the angry Meller's

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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."