Is it a ok to have 2 chameleons in one cage?

Hi guys just wondering if it is ok to have 2 chameleons in one cage.... But not when they're adults. Like would they like each other when they are young and shared a cage till they are adults?

removed, got the wrong person........

But here's a link to some other random persons thread if you like...

https://www.chameleonforums.com/two-one-cage-63300/

It is very unlikely that they will get along as adults so: no, except for they are pygmys, you ahould DEFINITELYN NOT keep two chameleons in one cage!!

lumbasammler said:

It is very unlikely that they will get along as adults so: no, except for they are pygmys, you ahould DEFINITELYN NOT keep two chameleons in one cage!!

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Unless they are babies from the same clutch - up to 2 months is never going to be a problem..........or are you extra careful about this too?

Hello David,
no i´m not Keeping them together until they´re 2-3 months old is absolutely okay.
But the starter asked, if it would also be okay to keep them together as adults which is way to risky, especially for beginners who are not abled to see when their chams are stressed.
You can never be careful enough when it comes to your beloved pets, especially when they´re as sensible as chameleons are.

lumbasammler said:

Hello David,
no i´m not Keeping them together until they´re 2-3 months old is absolutely okay.
But the starter asked, if it would also be okay to keep them together as adults which is way to risky, especially for beginners who are not abled to see when their chams are stressed.
You can never be careful enough when it comes to your beloved pets, especially when they´re as sensible as chameleons are.

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Actually the OP specifically said 'But not when they're adults' - Is it because you are German, or did you not read so carefully

SomeRandomPerson said:

Like would they like each other when they are young and shared a cage till they are adults?

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I thought this means that he would like to know if it is possible to keep two adults in one cage if they had been raised together.
If i got that wrong, okay

You might find this older thread interesting. The pictures of the poor animals or no long there. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sad-tale-2-chams-housed-together-14453/

Just to clarify, Meller's chameleons do like to be in groups, and certain other species can cohabitate given a large enough enclosure. For the most part though, no, chameleons can not be housed together.

Hello,
yes, i heard about that,too. It´s sometimes possible with Parson´s, too.
But you always need to have two proper cages available just in case.

lumbasammler said:

I thought this means that he would like to know if it is possible to keep two adults in one cage if they had been raised together.
If i got that wrong, okay

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Actually, with the way the question is written, it's a bit ambiguous........
You didn't get it wrong, but I think he means to separate them as soon as they become adults.....

Alright, thanks for telling me
Guess it should be okay then

only time i house chams together is on HUGE free ranges, with multiple basking zones, and plenty of cover (visual barriers)..it just doesent work to "cage" them together..

Some chams can be housed together in pairs as long as it does not cause stress but like someone said before I don't believe any novice would be able to tell that level of stress before it caused a problem, I know I wouldn't... But really for any of the common hardier chams, even if they are housed together starting at day one... Most will STILL become aggressive and territorial... Most people who do in fact though keep either like species, or like age groups together until about 2 to three months to monitor eating habits and because to that point they are LESS LIKELY to be aggressive against each other... But honestly I wouldn't put any cham with another cham (excluding 1-2 mo. ) because it seems unfair to limit their space.. They flourish with more space and less stress

sdheli420 said:

only time i house chams together is on HUGE free ranges, with multiple basking zones, and plenty of cover (visual barriers)..it just doesent work to "cage" them together..

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Again, it boils down to stress levels. I have had my pair of jacksons together for almost 3 months and they sleep together nose-nose, I always hand feed them and ensure nobody becomes a bully. It CAN be done, but it's not for a novice.

Lizardlover said:

Again, it boils down to stress levels. I have had my pair of jacksons together for almost 3 months and they sleep together nose-nose, I always hand feed them and ensure nobody becomes a bully. It CAN be done, but it's not for a novice.

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ya i would never reccomend keeping more than one in a cage, and also dont reccomend freeranging for novice as well (actually i dont reccomend freerangingtill you get at least 10 years of husbandry knowlege on your belt)

It depends on the chameleons. My two male panther chameleons get along, Nosy Be and Nosy Mitsio. I keep them in the same tree once in a while outside or in the shower, or put them in the same cage while I am cleaning. They've never even displayed at each other.

This is really an anomoly though, most chameleons are solitary. I have met a chameleon keeper who had well over 10 species, and he had a large enclosure for his veileds, in which he kept 1 male and 2 females without a problem.

At the Amsterdam zoo last Fall, I saw really well done cages that had 10 male, very large adult, veiled chameleons. The cage next to them (visually blocked of course), had 10 female adult veiled chameleons. There was no signs of stress, intimidation, dominance. They were all very fat and healthy in relaxed coloring. This was a large cage....about 5 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and several feet deep.

There are often stories of chameleon expeditions, and they will find trees that have one male and two or three females in one tree, and it seems to be quite common.

I remember a thread several years ago about someone who had a male panther and male quadricornis living in a free-range setup together, and would often hang out together in the same spot.

It depends on the species, the dynamics of the relationship (were they raised from hatchlings together?), the individual personality, and the cage setup.

For the record, I've always kept them individual. I have seen them kept successfully in both small AND large groups.

Perhaps anyone from the Netherlands can chime in on how the Amsterdam zoo does it? Is this more common practice in Europe?

Uploaded some pics of the veileds cages @ Amsterdam zoo.

I´m not from the Netherlands, though i can say that we guys from europe do not use to keep chameleons in groups at all. There are some experienced people who do and are succesfull and, of course, there are always newbies who do so because they know any better, but normally we keep them solitary.

Brock said:

At the Amsterdam zoo last Fall, I saw really well done cages that had 10 male, very large adult, veiled chameleons. The cage next to them (visually blocked of course), had 10 female adult veiled chameleons. There was no signs of stress, intimidation, dominance. They were all very fat and healthy in relaxed coloring. This was a large cage....about 5 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and several feet deep.


Perhaps anyone from the Netherlands can chime in on how the Amsterdam zoo does it? Is this more common practice in Europe?

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I don'y exactly tour zoos, but I've been to a few (one in spain with a quality reptile house - the size of the crocs!). I've never seen any Cham in a zoo in England (or spain)......pet shops hardly have them, usually only specialist ones.......