Handling poll

[wyz]

Here's my 1 year old Veiled.. Boygeorge

Had to change is cage setup this weekend and he got really mad at me :) But his anger brought its nicest colors ever..

I really adore him. He's the only reptile in our collection that we don't handle. I bought him when I was just begining in this life of loving reptiles.

When getting informed before buying him, one person that I trusted alot at this time told me that a Chameleon shouldn't be handled and that doing so, it would increase its life span.

So, I took the decision on sticking to that rule from day 1, and in 1 year I bottered him 3 times (for cage upgrades). He's really wild and doesn't like me opening is cage door, but that's the way I want him. I don't wanna change that.

Once every week I hand feed him through the is cage holes.

Since that 1st day, I had the chance to see and talk to other Chameleon owners and found out that alot of them do handle them on a regular basis without any problems.

I respect anybodys way of caring for their Chameleon, but I'm curious to see how many owners do handle them..

thanks for sharing your experiences.

WYZ

[Trace]

Hey WYZ!

I'm not sure how many chameleons I have at the moment... I guess if one is not sure, then one has too many!

I guess for me, it depends on each individual animal, and I know ALL of my chameleons personalities very well. Some of my guys are WC chameleons and beyond the routine daily maintainance (watering, feeding, cleaning etc) I don't handle them, they don't like it. They are display animals only.

On the other hand, I've got some EXTREMELY friendly chameleons here, some WC, some CCB. They beg to come out of their cages on a daily basis. They scratch at the doors of their enclosures! If I choose to ignore them for whatever reason, they will resort to tricks to get my attention. They will grab one of their sticks with their tails and let go with their feet and dangle back and forth until I come and rescue them. Not a word of a lie!

That being said, when I'm talking to a new chameleon owner, I stress to them NOT to handle their animals. Chameleons don't like it. Yes, I realize that I'm contracting myself by saying that, because I handle mine, but I spend many, many, many hours a day with my collection, so I'm very in tune with my chameleons and their likes and dislikes.

Cheers!

Trace

[Charm_Paradise]

WYZ-

I would agree with Trace, I also have some panthers that LOVE to come out of there cage, and some that don't mind but will if it is a must, and others (females only) that try there hardest not to come out. Out of all my chameleons, my WC Ambilobe is the most friendly. He will jump right on to my arm and crawl up on my shoulder. All I do is put my arm in the cages and he jumps right on, the hard part is getting him back in. But a general rule is they don't like to be held and when you get use to there personality you will be able to tell if they enjoy it or not.

[icequeen]

I handle my cham every day. He is hand fed and watered through a syringe, so I have to handle him. I have been doing this now for almost three months. (He is two years old).
He doesn't resist at all, and will walk right up my arm if I just extend my hand to him. I never have to actually close my hand around his body to move him. While feeding him, he sits still until his tummy is full, and then he will start to explore.
He has only hissed at me a few times since I've had him. Twice the first day I got him, and then just the other day, he hissed at me a couple times as well. I took the hint, and gave him his space. The next day, he was back to his social self, and he hasn't hissed since.

I do believe he is the exception, rather than the rule though.