Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, some people say that handling your chameleon (specifically veileds) moderately is ok, but then some say that they should be interacted with hands-on, as little as possible. It seems to me that it would depend on your chameleon. If you have a chameleon that hisses at the sight of you, you're obviously not going to handle it very much. However, some chameleons act like they'd rather be handled and are more active than in their natural enviornment. Does anyone have an opinion on this subject?

Handling chameleons is fine. If its very young however you should handle them as little as possible. I have a 2 month old veiled and i take him out twice a day to hand feed him crickets. I do this in the hope of him becoming a very friendly adult. its important to remember that handling chameleons can stress them out, but some stress is ok. i suggest you keep stress to a minimum, but still handle your chameleon daily. maybe just not for very long at first. Your chameleon should become used to being handled after a while. I've even known some chameleons to like to be petted. Remember to look at the colors of the chameleon as this is his way of communicating his feelings. Dark patterns with agressive behavior means i'm stressed and pissed off. dark patterns with submissive behavior however means i'm excited or i want food or pet me. A Happy chameleon at rest should be light green.

"Dark patterns with agressive[sic] behavior means i'm stressed and pissed off. dark patterns with submissive behavior however means i'm excited or i want food or pet me. "

It is highly, highly unlikely a chameleon's brain has evolved enough to desire to be petted. A reptile will never be a fluffy dog or cat. It is also a bit presumptious to assume to be able to read a reptile's mind, don't you think? Most likely, if you ask any behaviorist, scientist, or zoologist that has observed chameleon behavior, that submissive behavior (ie, remaining perfectly still) is a strategy to survive by not being noticed by a predator (that's you, that handler). Until your chameleon smiles at you, or wags its tail, or offers to shake hands, or otherwise gives a definative offering of friendliness, you'd be best advised to leave it alone as much as possible. It is stressful enough just keeping it in a cage in artificial "weather", virtually no seasons, monotonous foodstuffs, etc.; yet expect it to cycle normally, remain perfectly healthy, *and* be your friend. I personally think its hard enough to keep them healthy and happy that I don't need to add any undue stress by handling them just to satisfy my need to "bond" with the chameleon. But hey man, its your chameleon.

Thats not what i was talking about at all. I wasn't suggesting that you take your chameleon out and give it a hug like it were a cat or bunny. The fact remains though that chameleons show emotions through color and pattern change. this is my opinion but i believe that dark patterns with submissive behavior does not show stress, but excitement. When chameleons are stressed they show it and i think all chameleon owners can agree with that. the gapping mouth and hissing is never a good thing. When i said some chameleons might like to be petted that was just a hypothosis and maybe they just put up with it rather than like it. I've never heard of a chameleon just "standing still" when it thought that it would be eaten. this is a subject that can't be proven though so i don't think we should argue, just give your opinion and thats that.

Handling is ok as long as you know when enough is enough. Most new owners don't know that. I would say taking out a 2 month old cham 2 times a day is too much. I would say if you are trying to in a sense "tame" it then you need at least 5 minutes of handling a day with 20 being the max. Like dragon says it all depends on the chams personality
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1.0 veiled chameleons(Rocket)

I have to agree with twinoats and I think she put it quite well. Also, keep in mind that no matter how "tame" they may seem in thier earlier months once sexula maturity sets in things will more than likely change. Even my lovable Luna got a bit pissy about a year ago. She tolerates me taking her out to weigh her or get her on her gym so I can clean the cage, but some of the childhood sweetness is long gone - and I have to respect that.

"Emotions" are a mammal/human thing (some would argue that other mammals beside us do not have emotions like ours, but that is for another forum ). Cham responses are more automatic, or mechanical, (lack of better term). People always want their pets - regardless of kingdom or species - to have human attributes (anthropomorphizing)such as: emotions, intellectual thought, etc. and they simply do not.

OK, I'm done

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

i think its a mistake to say that animals other than humans don't have emotions. I have bred box turtles for years and i can tell you that if you don't think reptiles can show emotion you are wrong. My box turtles will acctually follow you around wanting food and even seem to reconize their names or atleast come towards you when you make noise. Some will also stick their necks out to get the under side of their necks scratched, this is most commonly seen in some of the bigger tortoises. i've only had my chameloen for a couple months but he seems to be no different from my turtles as far as emotions go. Don't under estimate your pets!!! they are incredibly smart!

Well, not to get into a debate here (as I said in post) but everything you described are not "emotions" they are responses, memory - learned behaviors. Also, "smart" is not the same either. However, let me qualify my previous statement - there are basic emotions: pleasure, fear and aggression and all animals instinctively respond to these(approach, retreat, attack). Then there there are "higher" emotions such as happy, sad, love, sorrow and it is questionable that reptiles have these higher emotions.

I have lived with animals my entire 50 years on this earth and am fully aware of their "personalities," inquisitiveness, intellect, ability to learn, etc. - (even among the insects for the latter) so I do not underestimate them nor do I lump them all into one mailbox (so to speak). However, animals are not humans and we, as humans, like to attribute our way of looking at the world to other life as well. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not saying that we are "better" than animals. Personally, I feel a being is a being is a being and all deserve respect and we should always be open to "surprises" if they should present. Hope this clears up my point of view on this for you.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

Hello everyone... I'm a first timer with reptiles and chameleons. My veiled chameleon is about 4 months old and when I first got him I was able to take him out for a little bit. Last week my dad went to take him out and he snapped and hissed at him... We can't even put our hands near him without him backing away and/or hissing. He is usually dark, mostly brown... which i know means he is stressed and pissed and all that. What can I do to lessen this?? Thanks for any help!

Hi and welcome aboard

There have been a few interesting discussions about colors and cham reactions. Red seems to be a color they do not like. I have found that if I am wearing a dark, long sleeve and or "fuzzy" shirt/sweater Luna freaks! I go put on a light blue t-shirt and she is fine! So try a few different things and see if you can see any preferences. Also, has you dad ever handled him before? it could just be a new person, size, etc. that he isn't used to.

Be prepared, when he reaches sexual maturity (a bit young yet) he may be like this all the time Let us know if you find wardrobe preferences LOL!!

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.5 Mad. Hissers
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
?.? Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula (no name yet)

My veiled chameoleon is 3 months and he hasn't really gotten agressive yet. I hand feed him so he is used to be taken out twice a day for a quick 2 minute feeding. some chameoleons are just more agressive than others, but i would just take it slow with yours and try and handle him as much as you can without over stressing him. some stress is ok and also if he is darkish, but doesn't seem "mad" this is ok. its not proven if dark always indicates stress and its my opinion that it sometimes means that they are excited about something like food.

Heya guys,

I have found that in the last 7 years of keeping many varieties of Chameleons that leaving them alone is the best way to get them to "tame". I never handle my animals for no apparent reason. Females get taken out to be placed in a males enclosure or they get moved for cleaning reasons. Chameleons need the time to calm down and get used to there surroundings and especially you. Give them that time and it rewards itself. Sometimes I just sit and read a book in my Chameleon room and my free roaming chameleons will all make there way to my lap. Why do they do this, not because I am the buddy but because they associate me with there next meal. But for a chameleon care taker this should be reward enough. To just see my animals thrive is good enough for me. With the exception of my only Veiled male, all of my animals are non aggresive towards me. And may I add that most of my animals are Wildcaught.

Proud owner of

4.6.0 Furcifer Oustaleti,
1.1.0 Furcifer Pardalis (sambava),
1.0.0 Furcifer Pardalis (ambanja red),
0.1.0 Furcifer Verrucosus
1.0.0 Chameleo Triceros Melleri,
1.0.0 Chameleo Calyptratus.

Just my 2 cents.

Best regards,

René Imming.

I have also had free ranging chams, and how they reacted to my presence really depended on the individual. Those that were more tolerant of handling in general were also more likely to use me as a convenient climbing path to somewhere they wanted to go. I've only had 2 chams over the years who would actually come over to me, climb up a leg or arm and sit on me for a while. It was an incredible "compliment" to be considered a safe branch! Those that were stressy and hard to handle would never voluntarily come near me. For me the real key here is to watch and learn each cham's language and tolerance...those that tolerate handling will react less to being caught or carried around. This changes with hormonal state, maturity, time of year, health, and basic personality. I am not convinced that a stressy antisocial cham can be tamed by handling. The most you can hope to do is teach it you are not a predator and are a source of good things like food. Actually, I don't really want a cham to act unnaturally...many of the behaviors I like to observe would be lost, and much of why I like them as animals has to do with their secrecy, mystery, ability to be totally still, and their ability to disappear from view without doing much of anything. Their whole success and adaptation to the world depends on their cryptic nature...and to be social would fly in the face of this.