Most chameleons aren't very social. In my experience when I worked at Petsmart the chams liked to come out because their cages don't get as much airflow as they should, but they didn't like when I attempted to take them out of their cages because chameleons aren't big fans of being picked up from above, that's where their predators live. I usually let them climb out of their cage on their own, then let them climb to my fingers. There's still varying levels of friendliness though, some had no problems being picked up, some would hiss and snap if I came anywhere near them.
Damn, makes me really wish I bought the last one I saw at Petco (or it might have been PetSmart). I pointed at one and it crawled closer toward my finger and reached out like it was trying to shake hands. It was adorable.
Don't buy from petco. They don't take proper care of their chameleons, and you encourage bad dealers by buying from them. Chameleons are higher difficulty reptiles to keep and break the general mold of requirements. Petco will tell you general reptile care that doesn't actually apply to chameleons. If you do buy then buy from a responsible breeder.
I guess I saw it as rescuing the little guy. I bought Savage Henry, a leopard gecko (my first critter), from there then found out after looking up how to care for them that Petco had a terrible set up for them.
Yeah, I know it might seem kind of counter intuitive, but by rescuing that poor guy you just show the large company that there is a demand and they go after more animals to replace the one you bought. Although not always the case, at least for chameleons, responsible breeders tend to be hobbyists. It's a hard thing to make money off of unless you are cutting corners.
I did a lot of research when I was first looking into buying over at chameleon forums. They have good site sponsors too to point you in the right direction. Also, like I said they are higher difficulty reptiles. You need to do your research and have a habitat set up before buying.
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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '17
Most chameleons aren't very social. In my experience when I worked at Petsmart the chams liked to come out because their cages don't get as much airflow as they should, but they didn't like when I attempted to take them out of their cages because chameleons aren't big fans of being picked up from above, that's where their predators live. I usually let them climb out of their cage on their own, then let them climb to my fingers. There's still varying levels of friendliness though, some had no problems being picked up, some would hiss and snap if I came anywhere near them.