help w/ housing multiple chameleons

[impohse]

hello im new to the site and sort of new to having chameleons I have pretty big cage I made so I could get my son a chameleon. I got one about 3 months ago. after awhile we wanted to get a male also. I read a lot and everything said they were solitary animals but I decided to get a second anyways. they have both been eating and haven't really seemed to fight but the female (first one we had) has been dark brown ever since we got the male, how do I know if they are ok with each other or if I need to separate them or get rid of one. any help is much appreciated thanks.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Short version. They need to be in separate cages and unable to see each other for long term success.

Take a look at the Dragon Strand cages. You can have multiple cages right next to each other and the animals can't stress each other out. I use them myself.

 

[werecat]

If the female is dark brown all the time it's an indication that she is stressed. The best option is to separate them. Even in a very large cage, keeping these animals together often does not work out.

 

[carol5208]

Agreed with the above.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Sorry to state the obvious but after a little research most threads on here report the negative results of keeping chams in the same enclosure. In my experience you can house chameleons together when in free range but usually opposite sexes of the same species do not work out as stated.

Dark coloration is a immediate sign of stress.

You dont need to get rid of one, just get another cage. The female doesnt need the big cage.

 

[Montium]

If the cage is very large you can divide it but make sure they can't see each other. Stress will kill chameleons and constant dark color on chams that are not normally those colors, is a big stress signal. Divide the cage if it's big enough or get another cage.