Taming(chams) - Page 2

Reptayls · 07-01-03, 02:54 PM

Hi Offspring,

Here's a little trick I learned a couple of years back...
If you have a cham that hisses and strikes at your hand - wear a long sleeved shirt - and pull the shirt down over your hand, offering him a stump. Then with the other hand, herd him onto the covered arm..... He will be paying the most attention to the visible fingers, and most likely walk onto your covered hand. Once he is out of the cage, you can transfer him to a branch or something to sit on.

Be sure to always reach under a cham - not reach down like an eagle's claw coming to grab him.

Once they get out a few times and get used to you, it is easier to offer treats on your cupped hand. With some of our aggressive males, I put a silkworm on the back of my hand (fingers curled under). They will take the worm without much hesitation. Other take the treats from my finger tips - they all have different personalities!

Good luck,
Morgana - Reptayls, Ltd.

offspring · 07-01-03, 03:13 PM

ya iv tryed that befor but he runs away from my hand and the cricket
-offspring

Collide · 07-01-03, 04:32 PM

My one year onld male veiled can be coaxed out with food but once that food is gone you have your hand in the cage because he will litteraly jump off of me. I got him out one day and was feeding him meal worms when i went to get anothe worm he jumped off my hand luckely he landed on the bed but it would have been a long fall to the floor. They all have different personalitys. Sometimes they change. My femal veiled is such a pig she sees my hands as food bearing and now she will hit my hand when i open the cage even when their is nothing in it lol. She ususlly gets my finger and once its in her mouth she lets go. she is scary she tinks she can eat the cats too. lol the rest of the chams freek out when they see a cat she just trys to aim.lol Crazy girl.

geckoguy157 · 07-02-03, 02:50 AM

charm paradise how would gloves strees the chameleon out

holding a chameleon strees's them out even if you are wearing gloves or not all the gloves are for is so you can get your chameleon to move while cleaning his or her cage without getting actualy bitten on your bare skin

Trace · 07-02-03, 08:13 AM

Quote:

without getting actualy bitten on your bare skin

Don't tell me your are scared of a chameleon? They have very sharp acrodont teeth and a powerful bite, but you won't loose your finger, you won't need stitches, and you won't die from massive blood loss. The worst they can do is break the skin.

I agree with John... no gloves! They don't know what it is and their instinct is to protect themselves from it... thus biting. I have never used gloves and never will, even with my highly aggressive males here.

Trace

geckoguy157 · 07-02-03, 12:43 PM

trace why would you want to grab a chameleon who is very agressive has a big mouth heavy jaw and sharp teeth if all as you are doing is moving it for cleaning

by the time i actualy get him he's bitten me 10 or 15 times or the stick im trying to get him onto and i dont wear gloves it i just put my sleve over my hand wearing gloves was just a sugestion for moving him while you are cleaning the cage

Trace · 07-02-03, 10:41 PM

Meh... I just clean the cage while he is in there. He can bite and hiss all he wants. I guess I'm just used to working with larger reptiles that could potentially rip my arm off or swallow me whole, so when these little guys give me attitude, I just laugh at them! You've got mostly geckos that are generally good natured and probably wouldn't bite to save their lives, so I guess your male Veiled can be quite intimidating at times.

Good luck with him!

Trace

geckoguy157 · 07-02-03, 11:12 PM

not intimadateing just anoying il be cleanign his cage and he'll decide to start biteing my arm lol but this morning he managed to go through the top of his cage and get in with one of the females and i think he bred with her cause she has some black scratches on her she is olny 4 and a half months old maybe 5 so i hope they didnt breed

Trace · 07-02-03, 11:40 PM

EEP! That's not good!

Don't worry about the scratches you see, they will go away in a few days. You don't have to put anything like Polysporin or Betadine on them.

As for the potential breeding... it's too late now if they did. You can only hope that she managed to escape from him as she is a bit young for mating and laying eggs. Just keep your eye on her for any developing eggs and gravid signs. It's the best you can do.

Good luck!

Trace

geckoguy157 · 07-03-03, 02:32 AM

yup i know the scratches go away i used to have two older female veilds one died because i did not breed it so i took the other one 2 a breeder i know to try and breed it and she got realy scratched up and had 3 broken ribs which wasnt good at all she's all healed up now. o and my female that the male got in with all day today she has been a yellowy green ive never seen any of my other ones do it do you know why she might be doing this

Trace · 07-03-03, 07:40 PM

Hey Geckoguy... sorry I haven't replied sooner!

Is she still pale coloured? Or back to her normal self? Do you think she may have sustained any other injuries from her adventure with the male? Any bruises?

How hot is it where you are? I'm suffering through an awful heat wave here and all of my chams are a little lighter in colour today so they don't absorb as much of the heat.

I wouldn't be too worried about her colour myself, as long as she's acting normal and eating and drinking well.

Maybe she just wanted to wear a different coloured outfit today! LOL!

Good luck!

Trace

CDN-Cresties · 07-14-03, 09:13 PM

I think that it might be a bit to late for this Cham to become use to handling. Your best bet it the favorite treat method. A younger cham would give you a better chance to handle him/her.
Good Luck