Chameleon living together

Lornake

New Member
Can 2 female chameleons live in the same cage if it is big enough? What if they are two different species? How about 2 males of different species living in a big enough cage?
 
Can 2 female chameleons live in the same cage if it is big enough? What if they are two different species? How about 2 males of different species living in a big enough cage?

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.
 
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
 
I was woundering if it was fine to keep 2 female Pigmy chameleons together.

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.
 
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.
 
i was in a shop today...
the "special sale" was a 2x2x4 cage
with 2 female veileds :eek:
i talked with them for a bit and the reason was
they just have too many females...:eek::(
 
I would never put chameleons together in a cage. I free range all my chams and at one time had three different free ranges in a bedroom where three females lived. I watched them VERY closely the first few weeks and they all got along fine together.
 
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