Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If you havnt already read, I acquired yesterday, a 4 month old Sambava. The peoples from who I got it from never handled him so if I even approach he runs and hisses. Handling him is out of question, he wouldnt dare approach my hand. So far I've fed him about 4 crickets by holding them by the hind legs and offering them to him. He usually takes some time but once he notices it he zaps em from my hand. There anything else I should do. Also I watch him about 2 hours a day just staring at him so he'll get use to me.

He's not going to get used to you if you sit and stare at him. That is a threat or at least a stress for most chams especially a reactive one. He can get used to you by getting used to your daily routine around his cage...misting, cleaning, feeding, adjusting lights etc. Give him lots of hiding area in cage foliage. If he feels he can hide from you easily he may not be so aggressive. Aggression is often just fear and anxiety. Try not to stare at him directly. Wear cool duller colored clothes around him. Hand feeding like you are doing is fine and should help over time. He's new, and chams take some time to adjust to change. They are not brain surgeons after all. He may just be a nasty guy so there won't be all that much you can do to change that. Sometimes chams mellow a bit after maturity hits and their hormones settle down with age.

I read your message again...he's not nasty, he's scared as a result of his little world changing. A 4 month old is just a young teen, not mature enough to understand everything. A nasty cham would run up to you and try to bite!