Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does anyone eles's cham get man when you clean there chage like try to bit u more than once. Hes a male ambanja panther. Now that i have changed his setup a little bit (added more plants) he is still mad. Will he calm down and settle in?

I think we tend to ascribe human emotions to Chameleons at times. What you are most likely seeing is a terretorial response to your invading his space. The small confines Chameleons are kept in, I believe often hightens this. He just wants you to go away. Not in refernce to you, but people often want to have a level of contact with Chameleons which stress out the animal and will result in a gradual decline in their health. I've keep reptiles for most of my life, mainly breeding king and corn snakes both of which are very handable, yet for the most part unless I was feeding them or changing their cages rarely handled them. In general the ability to accept an animal with it's inate instincts and needs which are often in conflict with our needs for a "pet" often causes disappointment on our side and often worst for the animal. My wife said to me when I got a Veiled Chameleon recently what good is it if you can't handle it. Her needs are best met by our dog and cat.

It's natural for male chams to defend their territory. As for settling down, how long have you had him? It can take a cham a month or so to get comfortable in a new home. If it's been longer than this he's either just a touchy guy or he's being stressed by too much handling or other commotion around his cage during the day. If he is an adolescent he may be feeling his hormones kicking in and be asserting himself. Chams that are being stressed or disturbed too often can be quicker to react to you than chams who feel they have more privacy when they want it. More plants are definitely better, but again, every time you change the cage around he's got to bend his brain around the "new" space. Also, most chams bluff rather than follow through and bite every time. Bluffs work pretty well as you have found out! You can also teach him that you are not a large funny looking predator by offering him favorite insect snacks by hand.

I have had him for about a month now. When i got him the guy said he was about a year and he setteled in very quickly when i got him. this is a pic of him from a couple of weeks ago hes got alot more color now. I don't really handel him unless i have to like get him out of his cage to clean it.

I am not necessarily sure that such behavior is territorial in nature in relation to the size of their enclosure. Most likely it is just responding to you as a percieved threat of something that wants to eat it. In the wild anything that picks it up (Like a Lemur for example) is most likely going to eat it and if you are in close contact to him while cleaning his cage he most likely thinks you want to pick him up. Feeding them by hand does tend to lessen this behavior but it never totally alleviates it. It's just the way chameleons are you just need to learn to adapt to their ways rather than vice-versa