Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering if anyone has ever been bit my a chameleon before? I have a 5 month old and he has hissed when I have tried to pick him up. I am sure he will be fine as soon as he is picked up, but I am a little scared to try just because I don't know if his bite will hurt or not.

I've been bitten, and its not too bad when they are young. But an adult will do some damage.

Did anyone see the Crocodile Hunter Episode when Steve Irwin
was in Madagascar, hunting down chameleons? It was a good one.
Anyway, he comes upon a big male Panther crossing the road
and picks it up. Immediately it bites his hand REALLY hard.
It hangs on to his hand with its jaws and twists and shakes it head, trying
to rip his flesh on the back of his hand right off, and will not let up. It looks like it hurts really bad, but Steve justs says "ouch" a few times and just lets it continue to tear into him. What a freak. My Jackson's bit me once when I first got him and it was "cute". But I'm sure the bigger, more agressive species (Panthers, Veileds) could tear you up a little if you let them.

My dad has been bit twice apparently...the best one though was when my dad was feeding Gene and dropped a cricket into his cage, he bent in to grab it again and the chameleon latched onto his ear! I was at college and I got a call from my mom *giggling madly* asking if chameleons were poisionous... Apparently it bled a bit but he said it wasnt too painful, and he was full grown so *shrug* I think it just depends on how serious they are about it. Good luck!!

Erin

Hey there: I got bit the third day my 7 month old Panther arrived. Surprised the heck outa me! Didn't hurt a bit. Felt like someone jammed the side of a credit card onto my finger. No marks, no pain, just surprise. My feelings were hurt more then anything else. Well, now I pick him up using a stick to reach into the cage and then slowly inch the hand I'm holding the stick closer to him until he will walk volunteerily onto one of my hands. You're right, they seem ok after they are on your hand, its getting them initially that seems to get them all fired up. But after working with him 3-4 times a week, he stopped hissing while standing on my hand, and relaxs a little while I sit there for 5-10 minutes looking as un-preditorish as possible. I figure I need to get him somewhat used to me before he gets older and can really hurt me if he wanted to.

Maggie

Yes, I've been bit a few times. By jacksons, panthers, and veileds. Did it hurt? Yes, and no. More of a surprise. The veiled really dug in, drawing blood. I'm not a good indicator of pain, as I have a high pain tolerance.
If you don't want to get bit, heed their warnings. But don't show fear, either. And if you DO happen to get bit- best thing to do is NOT to jerk your hand away, nor to scream out. Just stay still and try to soothe your chameleon. Believe me, he's the one who will be more hurt in the end if you react to his bite!
Last thing- make sure you wash and clean your hands before AND after handling your cham. Last thing you want to do is give your cham a mouth infection or worse by allowing it to bite your dirty hands.
Just my opinions.
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Heck, yes!! My big veiled is so bad I have to wear heavy work gloves when ever I have to get him out to clean his cage. They can exert an incredible amount of pressure with those jaws. Everytime he even sees me he swells up, hisses and lunges. I got bitten once without the gloves and never want to repeat that experience. He drew blood! I have been bitten by my boas and even a 10 foot anaconda and they were nothing compared to ol' Ichabob. Hope this helps...*grinning*

Marilyn

Man, those Veileds can be stinkers. Has anyone ever had a very placid, easy to handle male Veiled? Seems like 9 out of 10 want to kill their owners.

my 9-10 month old veild has bitten me a few times, but he has never drawn blood. he is ususally pretty calm. his nails on the other hand get pretty sharp.

I have one veiled right now, he's all that's left from little breeding eperiment (sold the rest, gave some away).

His mother bit me, and yes, it did hurt. She tore in there pretty good, drew blood, etc...

That's the only time I've ever been bit by a chameleon. I've been bit by many other reptiles though, most were small ones that I let bite me, but there were a few (like the 7 foot reticulated python) that caught me by surprise.

Surprisingly, though the retic drew a lot more blood, it hurt a lot less than the chameleon bite. Probably because they just bite and withdraw, whereas the veiled bit in a tore.

Not to scare you, I still hold my chameleon, and held his mother too. They freak out when you are reaching for them, but once you get them on your hand, they tend to calm down. Well, most do.