Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 4-5 month old Ambanja Panther that is fairly aggressive for it's size. It extremely aggressive when i go to handle it. Hissing and attempting to bite but once i get it on my hand it calms down and ok with me petting it and handling it. I've tried to hand feed it to get it used to me and show it that I mean no harm but it won't go for the food. I've raised a veiled from a baby it it ate out of my hand the first time i tried. And although Veileds are know to be aggressive mine is absolutely adorable. He even climbs onto my hand sometimes when i reach in the enclosure. Does anyone have any tips on calming my Panther down and get it to trust me? PLEASE HELP!

Your situation is identical to mine. I have an Ambilobe Panther, about 4-5 months old, and it is super mean, biting and hissing whenever I get even near it. I have recently given up and figured he's beautiful enough to look at. I also have a veiled, which are notorious for being mean, but he's the man, totally calm. So, I can sympathize with you, but no solution. Good luck!

Well mine was great at 1 month old and 2 month old...i could reach my hand in his cage (18"x18"x36" with all 5 fingers out and he would climb right on..sometimes he would kinda walk away but I would eventually get him and he never hissed or tried to bite.

Now at 3 months....whenever I stick my hand in there he runs away very fast, poofs out his neck and spikes and hisses (high pitch..its kinda funny) and tries to bite. Once I finally get him..he calms down. I've cup fed him since he was a baby, along with free ranging...I've tried to get him to eat from my hand but the crickets always seem to jump off my hand or he is not interested in the food. Once he is on my hands he's great nad climbs all over me. I don't pet him or stroke him or anything either..

Very strange> I guess its just growing and his raging hormones as he develops. When he was a baby I'm guessing he was so young that he trusted anything. Now he probably feels threatened very easily. HOpefully he will become tamer. I've tried to handle him once a day for about 15 minutes or so to tame him..but I guess now is not the time.

But don't worry guys..its not your panthers..its those dang chameleons!!
-----
1.0 Baby Sunburst Veiled Chameleon -- Dexter

He may calm down some as his hormone flood eases with age, but don't count on it. He's right at the age where he's testing everything and finding his place in the local hierarchy. Chams really are individual. I also had a nice mellow veiled. I would not handle him much if he reacts so severely and just hand feed or offer him your arm as a route out of the cage if he wants it. Just because he allows you to "pet" him once he's out of the cage doesn't mean he's really OK with it. At that time he's out of his territory and will naturally be more subdued. Enjoy him for himself and you may find he is more tolerant later.

My male veiled i've had since he was 2 months has always taken to me, eats crix from my fingers etc. My female I got when she was 4-5months, hisses and the like, and always has that watchful eye, very hard to handle her when i have to, so to keep her at ease i try not to as much as possible. I've heard that chams can even take to different people differently, she seems to not be as aggressive to my gf, but then my gf doesnt handle her as much. So really I guess i'm just saying that you need to handle each cham individualy because like carlton said they are individualistic.
Travis
-----
Lex and Cecily sittin in a tree.