Myth 138: “I Have a Bond With My Chameleon”
If you try to explain to the public that chameleons should not be "tamed," you might get the following emotional reactions:
This is not true.
Ours has clearly bonded with us.
Maybe people need to spend more time with them from a young age and learn how to understand them and what they want.
When someone new walks into our house, you can tell he is put off and wants nothing to do with them.
He will even come to us to be picked up.
This is exactly the anthropomorphy spread across the hobby. People swear they have a bond. You are mistaken. The fact they recognize you and are shy in front of newcomers proves only that they have learned from exposure with you that you are not a danger, while newcomers are unknown.
The tendency to climb on you is explained by cages that are too small, often with less‑than‑ideal conditions, and their need for space.
Do yourself a favor: take them outside and find a bush or tree. Put them there and stay away for five minutes. Your theory about a bond will collapse. They will not want to go to you. They will escape. And if you are not careful, you will never see them again. This is the quality of the misinterpreted "bond."
I keep my chameleons in humongous cages fully imitating their biotopes, with bushes, trees, and grass inside, sized 3m × 3m × 3m. No single chameleon wants to crawl on me.
Try to give them ideal conditions and let them perform their natural behavior. Even in captivity they feel free. You will enjoy their personalities and beauty far more than living under the fake impression of a "bond" created by compromised small spaces and anthropomorphic misinterpretation of escape behavior.
Myth Verdict
The belief in a "bond" with chameleons is a projection of human emotions onto instinctive animal behavior. What keepers interpret as affection is either recognition of safety or escape from inadequate housing. True respect for these reptiles lies not in forcing interaction, but in providing space, naturalistic environments, and freedom to express their wild nature. Only then can their authentic personalities and beauty be appreciated without illusion.