How to Catch and Hold a Chameleon

Chameleons are quite calm animals and do not proactively interact with humans unless they are forced to. In the wild, they are very efficient in escaping human attention - they are masters of disguise. In captivity, they are not true pets; they are pets for observation, not for handling, and certainly not for cuddling. Chameleons exposed to heat, and specifically exposed to UV rays (the natural sun is more efficient than artificial UV sources), they might get surprisingly agile, unexpectedly quick or even aggressive.

Catching a chameleon can be challenging. You can try to let it crawl onto your hand, and it may be okay in many cases, but some will try to escape. They can perform surprising speed, or they might try to bite. The bite can be quite painful, and in the bigger species, it cam be really harmful, so it is a good idea to avoid it. Therefore, it is best to quickly grasp the chameleon with your hand from the back and secure its head with your thumb and index finger just behind the eyes. In this position, regardless of whether the chameleon tries to bite or open its mouth or not, you are safe.

You can then inspect the chameleon, handle it, and, if necessary, administer medication or force-feed or force-hydrate it safely. While doing this, be as gentle as possible, but do not worry; chameleons are not made of sugar. For the sake of the chameleon's well-being, you should limit the unavoidable stress from the manipulation to time as short as possible. When you are done, place the chameleon's feet on a branch, wait until its feet are secured, and then release it. Enjoy observing how it escapes in its environment.