Thanks John. Normal chuck behavior in my opinion is somewhat different from the often variable temperaments that chucks will exhibit. That holds true for many lizard species (green iguanas come to mind) as well as many other animals.

When I used the words "laid back", I think you might thinking "lethargic". Nothing could be further from the truth. He was very active. I just meant that he had a great temperament (not skittish or aggressive in the slightest). He simply acted like a lot of people describe their captive born chucks. I know others have encountered WC chucks that are similar, just a different genetic makeup from other wild caught chucks that might be flighty or aggressive. All of the chucks that I brumated were extremely healthy and ate like pigs. Why the two males died during brumation remains a mystery. Of the four wild caught chucks that I brumated (2 males and 2 females), only one of them (a female) is flighty. The other three had very calm temmperaments. Those three hand fed from me all the time and would eagerly climb up my arm. They would not hiss, gape or even puff up when I picked them up.

Over the past 20 years or so, I've also kept over a dozen species of chameleons and bred many of them. Some of them even have a reputation as being a shy species, but as with chucks, I consider "calmness" (again, not to be confused with lethargy) to be a more desirable trait than coloration when looking for breeding stock. I look for that trait simply because, in my experience at least, I find that calmer individuals adjust better to captivity and make for better long term captives.

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