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Old 11-17-04, 06:21 PM   #1
Roadracer
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Question Questions about aggressive behaviour? Need Help!

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.
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Old 11-17-04, 06:34 PM   #2
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Congrats on your chameleon

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
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Old 11-17-04, 06:54 PM   #3
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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.
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Old 11-17-04, 07:00 PM   #4
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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...
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Old 11-17-04, 07:11 PM   #5
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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.
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Old 11-17-04, 07:13 PM   #6
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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...
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Old 11-17-04, 07:24 PM   #7
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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.
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Old 11-17-04, 07:52 PM   #8
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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...
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Old 11-17-04, 08:05 PM   #9
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Chameleons are more display animals than anything
Regaurdless starving an animal to get it to 'do tricks' is inhumain
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Old 11-17-04, 08:18 PM   #10
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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...
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Old 11-17-04, 08:57 PM   #11
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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
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Old 11-17-04, 09:07 PM   #12
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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.

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Old 11-17-04, 09:12 PM   #13
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Does it really matter ydnic, the chameleon is fine, so there are no problems

Hehehehe
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Old 11-17-04, 09:13 PM   #14
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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
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Old 11-17-04, 09:18 PM   #15
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Quote:
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
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