Questions about aggressive behaviour? Need Help!

[Roadracer]

I have a 6 month old male panther and he is really aggressive, I've had him since he was about 3 months old and I've never been able to hold him other than when I first put him in his cage.

Anytime I stick my hand anywhere near him he either runs away as fast as he can or gapes at me and will try to bite if I get too close. This has made cleaning his cage difficult to say the least, even putting in food is a challenge. I'm worried what this will be like when he gets to be full grown. Even when I open the door to the room I keep him in he usually scurries off and hides.

The living conditions he has are excellent, wish I lived so well, so it can't be anything to do with husbandry. He's in excellent health, eats well and is very active....maybe he's just a mean little *******. I'm wondering if anyone has come across this problem and found a way to make a cham more tolerant of people, is it possible to train a cham?

If anyone has any suggestions or info they could give me I would really appreciate it.

[HeatherRose]

Congrats on your chameleon :D

Generally, chameleons are not often all that handleable, but it varies from individual to individual as with any animal. Most chameleons do best as display animals, but if you need to take him out of his cage (showers, cage cleaning, inspections etc.) feeding him first is the way I'd go about it. If I need to take out my chameleon I let him eat a few mealworms/silkworms from my hand first, then generally he lets me take him out without gaping or hissing at me...

Good luck :)

[Roadracer]

I've tried that but he won't eat from my hand, he won't even eat if he can see me in the room.

[peterm15]

the advice i got from a breeder is just dont feed him till he takes it from your hand... if he wont take it hell learn... that and just try to keep your in the cage for like ten min a day... how big of an enclosure is he in... and what type... my veild tolerates me now and he was basicly the same... i cant hold him yet but sometiimes i can get him to walk on my hand...

[Manitoban Herps]

Well it took a couple months for my chamleon to adjust to me, he wouldn't eat enless I layed down hidden under a blanket and he wouldn't eat from my hands, now he trys to get my fingers when I am cleaning his cage.

[peterm15]

mine does the same thing... but if he didnt eat outta my hand he didnt eat... it actually worked the third night... he ate right from my hand now i can barely get the food into the cage before hes snatching it...

[Manitoban Herps]

I don't think that is right, a chameleon can only last 2 wweks without food, if my chameleon wouldn't eat from my hand I would still feed him, he needs to grow.

[peterm15]

oh ya i agree i wouldnt have let it go beyond the 4 day mark... on the forth day i would have just given it to him.... if your feeding cricketes hold the 2 back legs and allow it to strugle...

[ydnic]

Chameleons are more display animals than anything
Regaurdless starving an animal to get it to 'do tricks' is inhumain

[peterm15]

no no no... your misunderstandin me... i never starve my animals... there always well fed... for me i had no choice.... to feed my cham he had to hand feed... the cage will alow all the smaller cricketes to escape.... i would never sugges starving an animal but i was told by a breeder that a few days wouldnt hurt... that is the only reason why i did it... if you dont wanna hold out on food just try holding it in the cage for like 10 min and if he doesnt take it then feed him as you should.,... eventually hell just take it outta your hand...

[ydnic]

its not the chameleons fault you had him in a cage that his food was escping from -

'on the forth day i would have just given it to him'

What would you mean by this statement if you had no choice

[Ptindy]

I would say, let him bite you! Maybe he'll realize that you'll still grab him to take him out for cleaning purposes and he'll just give up. I'm trying this method with my Jungle carpet but it isn't working to well haha.

Mike

[Manitoban Herps]

Does it really matter ydnic, the chameleon is fine, so there are no problems :)

Hehehehe

[ydnic]

lol-

thats what I usually do - I go for the bite

Many reptile with show agressiveness to get 'their' way
If you (politely) show that their antics are far from bothersome they tend to cool down

Its a lot easier to grab a big snake from behind the head than it is with a little lizard though

[peterm15]

Originally posted by ydnic
its not the chameleons fault you had him in a cage that his food was escping from -

'on the forth day i would have just given it to him'

What would you mean by this statement if you had no choice

he took it on the third... so that wasnt a prob... i would have probably given it to him that night.... ... i got the hunting prob fixed... i have small containers scattrered throught the cage that i pop a few cricks and mealworms every night.... he usually leaves about 4 that he eats the next morn

[ydnic]

no it doesn`t really matter - i`m just wonder what I misunderstood is all - sorry to come off otherwise

cindy

[peterm15]

i agree... just dont abck off right away if he hisses... itll just show him if he does that youll leave him alone... i still cant hold mine but i can tyouch him...

by "i had no choice" my parrents said either hand feed or dont get it... they dont want alot of loose cricks... but stupid me i figured that prob to... i dont hand feed all the time but he doesnt hesitate

[peterm15]

no no i took no offence.... just explainin myself.... lol... you know how it is..... i think my cham may be gettin a little 2 fat now though...

[Manitoban Herps]

Originally posted by ydnic
no it doesn`t really matter - i`m just wonder what I misunderstood is all - sorry to come off otherwise

cindy

You never came on strong or anything, I just never wanted anything to "exploed"

[drewlowe]

I have a VERY aggressive male veiled cham. and i just let him be the way he wants and work around him.

Anytime i open the cage i know to be prepaired for hissing and lunges. If i ever do need to take him out (vet visits and showers) i have a thick pair of black gloves i wear. I know it seems wiered but i think he knows what they mean. When i have them on he usually goes right to them, but if it's just my bare hand i better be prepaired for some bites.

Jamie

[peterm15]

Originally posted by drewlowe
I have a VERY aggressive male veiled cham. and i just let him be the way he wants and work around him.

Anytime i open the cage i know to be prepaired for hissing and lunges. If i ever do need to take him out (vet visits and showers) i have a thick pair of black gloves i wear. I know it seems wiered but i think he knows what they mean. When i have them on he usually goes right to them, but if it's just my bare hand i better be prepaired for some bites.

Jamie

so he doesnt mind being held with the blask golves... hes been tought... lol

[eagle]

Hey Road Racer

I think I am the guy who sold you the cham. Anyways sounds like he is doing great, I would love to see pics of him. Almost all male Panthers at that age are very aggressive, they tend to settle down a bit after 1 year old. If your scared of the bite, try putting on work gloves, most males are aggressive inside thier territory, but once you get him out of his cage he will be a shy little baby.

[Roadracer]

Hey Eagle, yes I did get my panther fromy ou and he is doing great...other than his attitude problem. lol
I'd like to send you pics if he was easier to get a decent shot of, maybe in a few months if he settles down I can take a better picture of him. He really hasn't changed much, he looks exactly the same but a bit bigger.

He had me a bit worried at first, wouldn't eat very much and was very shy which I think made him a bit smaller than he should be but now he's eating lots and looks really nice. He hasn't gotten any colors yet, he's basically the same brownish color since I got him.