Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just reading a few posts down about baby chams being scared of their owners and how they should never be grabbed off of a branch, etc. I am annoyed bc the breeded I bought from picked up all of his chams this way - making them gape; it looked traumatizing for them. At the time, I didn't know any better, and just passed it off as being a bad, but necessary way of handling them. I was reading in a previous post how this could possibly have a permanent effect on a cham though. I was wondering what some more experienced keepers thought, because I've had my panthers from 2 weeks to 3 months of age. I have never handled the female, and I've handled the male once. Every time I try to handle these guys, they are terrified of me. I am very slow moving, and I gently try to coax them onto my hand but they are just terrified and run. I was wondering if this could be due to their breeder's rough handling, because like I said I have always put their health before my desire to handle them. They get so stressed out when I try, that I just let them be.

.

Hmmm... It depends on how the chameleon was handled. Being pulled off a branch or holding it too tightly can hurt them, their joints mainly. It's very likely that your chameleon is extra scared of you because of rough treatment in the past. Your continued kindness and wonderful care might calm him down but I don't have any first hand experence with this. I was lucky to get a chameleon that it totally unafraid of people and loves to come out of his cage and just sit on people (he gets scared if taken too far away from his shelter). My suggestion is when feeding, put the feeder into a cup, tilt it and make sure they see the feeders in there. They will look from you to the cup. Place the feeders how you normally do, free range or otherwise. They will begine to get the idea that you = food and look forward to seeing you. How long this will take, no idea. Just my two cents (or maybe dollars by now lol) Your babies look just wonderful, btw!

Our veilds seem to know when its time to feed. At night, just toward teh end of their light cycle, I open the cage and the feeding will begin. My girlfriend noticed they both puff up their throat when this happens, they both did it tonight, and they don't do it any other time. Possibly they know it's time to eat. And just to make sure I hold a cricket in my hand and feed them one myself. Is it normal behavior just before feeding time to puff out the throat?

A comment on your feeding...did you mean that you feed them before turning the lights out for the night? It's not a good idea to feed them before sleeping, as their metabolism shuts down until the next morning and stomach contents just sit and ferment undigested. It might cause you some problems over time.

Ya. So I should switch to midday/morning. Thanks.

chams are truely a look but dont touch pet. some chams will tolerate handling in small amounts, but most do not like it at all, and it can be very stressful on them, especially on babies. i really don't recommend handling, I never really handled mine either, unless it was absolutely necessary, for example, getting them out for a few minutes to clean their cages.

if you can avoid it, let them be. they will be much happier.

When i had my first vieled cham (4years ago) I took him to the vet perching on a little potted ficus, the stupid vet picks him up by his belly with all 4 of his legs gripping branches. and doind this his let go of 3 hand but on didnt wanna come off so the vet gave it a littl tug and it broke my chams leg right there! ive never seen a cham express that much pain. yes he did have MBD. but he didnt deserve that..

My 4 month old panther doesnt seem to mind it when i take him out of his cage and handle him, probably because he knows when i get him out of his cage it means hes about to go outside for some authentic sun.. plus i got my cham from Kammerflage Kreations, which are really nice people and know what there doing..

-----
"Master Shake" CARE & SETUP INFORMATION
4 Month Old Ambanja Panther Chameleon < Male >

Ocala Florida

--24 x 24 x 48 -- All screen Enclosure
--Pesticide-Free 3' Potted Ficus Tree.
--RepCal with D-3 Twice a Week
--Mineral Twice a Week
--16" UVB 5.0 Bulb (Waiting on a 10.0)
--100 Watt Basking Bulb
--Mr. Moisture Stystem - 3 Times a Day with Distilled Water
--Digital Timer On Lights 8:00AM - 8:00PM
--Digital Thermometer/Humidity Indicator
--55%-65% Humidity
--78*-87* Room Temp.
--95* Basking Temp.
--Eating 3/4" Crickets and Large Houseflys
--Gets to go out in his outdoor enclosure often to enjoy some Florida sun =)

XxKRYMZxX @aol.com - Im always willing to chat about Chameleons

Wow, there are some really gruesome stories circulating. That is awful what that vet did. Yikes!

Mister pokey thats horrible that the VET did something like that, some people need to understand that chameleons are very delicate and mostly solitary animals.

I've seen several of those Animal Planet reptile shows where the herper (animal pesterer, irritating jerk, clown, whatever you care to call them) travels to Madagascar, finds chameleons, and handles them totally wrong. That idiot the Croc Hunter was handling two panthers who were biting, gaping, hissing the whole time. If this self proclaimed expert knew what he was talking about he would have known that a) holding chams around the body is asking for a bite, and b) holding two males in close proximity is also asking for a bite. I hate these shows that irritate wild animals just to show off or amuse couch potatoes. I've picked up quite a few chams in the wild with hardly a gape.