I have an adult male chameleon that has never been particularly friendly; of course I don't expect him to be handled much or to enjoy it, and generally avoid coming into contact with him and stressing him out. But sometimes it is necessary, for example when I clean his cage or take him to the vet. I've tried gradually getting him to warm up to me by placing my hand non-threateningly nearby and feeding by hand, but it hasn't made a dent in his ferociousness. He is impossible to hold and I'm very sure he would bite him if I pushed it. I had a female veiled a couple years ago who was completely fine with being held, but she was a baby when I got her and had time to warm up to me. Unfortunately, this guy (his name is Ares, somewhat fittingly) was purchased as a sub-adult and was shy of humans from the get-go. Any suggestions on getting him to be a bit more calm? I know some owners have managed to get their chameleons to actually come to them and climb onto their hands, but I would happily settle with just getting him to tolerate being moved from his enclosure to another box. He needs a vet appointment within the next year and I'd really like for him to be minimally stressed by the experience. Thanks!
Well, I would try the same thing I use with any other lizard: food. Due to their hunting methods, you can't really tong feed them like you could other species, but you could put one bug in at a time, let him eat it, then add the next, so he gets the idea that your hands or tongs mean food. Or maybe even a stick with something on the end that you could put a bug on. I have a friend that breeds panthers that lets his game bugs right off his fingers, little danger of a bite since they do it remotely, so to speak. It will take time and a lot of patience from you, but most will at least calm some once they see you as the food source.
When I had my Chams it seemed to work to have them in an area where they can watch you to see what's going on. They do need a visual barrier though to hide behind. Lots of foliage.
