Chameleon living together
- Thread starter Lornake
- Start date
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
When you say "big enough" we are talking room or greenhouse sized at the minimum. It isn't the space or which species so much as the visual contact between them and the inability to get completely away from each other. Chams are basically solitary and territorial. Regardless of space, they are very visual and the sight of a competitor, an intruder, or an unwelcome male is going to stress them unless you are very lucky. They don't have to actually fight to do damage so you need to know the subtle signs of stress in YOUR chams before trying it. You could build a large cage, divide it visually down the center and house two that way.
shaunaroxanne
Avid Member
Even if they aren't aggressive with one another, when you add feeders, and they both shoot for the same one at the same time, the results can be very bad.
As Carlton pointed out, for the majority of species the only cage large enough to house conspecifics is going to be something the size of a greenhouse or bedroom. In a large room-sized enclosure, yes, you could keep multiple chameleons of the same species together, but you'll want to ensure they have plenty of foliage and branches to hide behind.
Personally, I would not mix species, even in a large greenhouse, as they tend to avoid each other when possible in the wild. Even in a large greenhouse, it's not as large as the entire wilderness, and you could be creating a stressful situation for your chameleons without intending to.
-Jen
Personally, I would not mix species, even in a large greenhouse, as they tend to avoid each other when possible in the wild. Even in a large greenhouse, it's not as large as the entire wilderness, and you could be creating a stressful situation for your chameleons without intending to.
-Jen
D
DavidBuchan
Guest
They can be, yes - are you thinking of anything specific or just asking to find out?
D
DavidBuchan
Guest
2 pygmies is no problem at all.....pygmies are often kept in small groups. I don't know details because I don't have them myself.
pssh
Avid Member
Pygmies are considered one of the few types of chameleons that will, generally, live together without issues. Of course, there are some that will not live together peacefully, and males generally will not tolerate each other without sufficient space and females (but sometimes that isn't enough either.) Two females will probably be just fine together, as long as they have enough space, food, and foliage. For bearded pygmies (the most commonly available species) two females will usually be fine living together in a 10 gallon that is well planted. Bigger is always better though, so if you can get/have a bigger cage, they would probably be more comfortable in it. When I have pygmies, I generally try have at least 10 gallons per pygmy.
