How to introduce a new cham to Maxie

[Maximillion]

I am wanting to get a very small baby boy cham that is up at pet smart before he becomes ill in that small cage. How do I introduce him to Maxie without stressing her out or them hurting each other. I would also like to breed them if possible when he grows up?

Thanks,
Maxie's Mom

 

[ispeedonthe405]

You'll want to wait until he's too big to look like food to your girl.

 

[Carlton]

You were not planning on housing them together, right? Chams, especially veileds, don't share space well. They are very territorial. They don't form social bonds, so introducing them early really doesn't accomplish much. When they are both of age and in condition to breed you can let them meet, but they won't want anything to do with each other the rest of the time.

Oh, one other thought to consider. You mentioned buying the new cham "before it gets sick in that small cage" at PetStupid. By "rescuing" it you are basically rewarding the shop for caring for their animals incorrectly. Did you realize that the majority of pet shop animal purchases are made out of pity? MOST pet shops don't always set their animals up correctly nor do they give them proper care. Customers feel sorry for the animals' condition and buy them. Then the shop keeps replacing them with new animals that suffer the same or worse fate.

 

[Maximillion]

You were not planning on housing them together, right? Chams, especially veileds, don't share space well. They are very territorial. They don't form social bonds, so introducing them early really doesn't accomplish much. When they are both of age and in condition to breed you can let them meet, but they won't want anything to do with each other the rest of the time.

Oh, one other thought to consider. You mentioned buying the new cham "before it gets sick in that small cage" at PetStupid. By "rescuing" it you are basically rewarding the shop for caring for their animals incorrectly. Did you realize that the majority of pet shop animal purchases are made out of pity? MOST pet shops don't always set their animals up correctly nor do they give them proper care. Customers feel sorry for the animals' condition and buy them. Then the shop keeps replacing them with new animals that suffer the same or worse fate.

You were not planning on housing them together, right? Chams, especially veileds, don't share space well. They are very territorial. They don't form social bonds, so introducing them early really doesn't accomplish much. When they are both of age and in condition to breed you can let them meet, but they won't want anything to do with each other the rest of the time.

Oh, one other thought to consider. You mentioned buying the new cham "before it gets sick in that small cage" at PetStupid. By "rescuing" it you are basically rewarding the shop for caring for their animals incorrectly. Did you realize that the majority of pet shop animal purchases are made out of pity? MOST pet shops don't always set their animals up correctly nor do they give them proper care. Customers feel sorry for the animals' condition and buy them. Then the shop keeps replacing them with new animals that suffer the same or worse fate.

I know you are right but I just want to cry every time I see the little guy. I have a completely different habitat for the young guy Maxie is far to mean to house with anything lol. So I was going to keep them apart until he got his first doc visit to be sure he is ok. I got Maxie from Pet Stupid and she was already ill when I got her. We almost lost her the first month. Maxie has already laid her first clutch of eggs how old should the boy be before I put them together? I have since found a place on line to purchase all of my chams needs so I won't be going back to the store any more I just need to get him out of hell before to much longer.

 

[FlChamMom]

When the male starts expelling sperm plugs he is sexually mature and could mate with your female. Other than mating purposes the male and female don't need to see each other. You need to put a barrier in between the cages such as plywood or an opaque shower curtain. Another thing to consider is after you breed them and you have 30-40 (or more) baby veiled chameleons. I'd be afraid that I would end up having to sell them to a pet store...
It is hard to walk by those tiny cages but Carlton is absolutely right about pet stores selling to our pity. I wanted a tortoise, already had the setup ready and was looking at breeders online. Went to PetSmart for crickets and saw a Russian tortoise pawing at the glass in one of those tiny tanks, dry food, wrong setup. Long story short, I ended up at the checkout line, tortoise in a box. I love my little guy and am absolutely glad I got him but a week later I went back and there was another Russian in the same tank pawing at the glass. One of the workers saw me looking at him and commented "We never got tortoises but we tried one and it sold after two days so they sent us another one".

 

[Carlton]

I would also question whether you should even consider breeding your veileds. We know they get poor care at the shop, but they may also be raised by a pretty careless breeder and have congenital defects you don't want to reproduce. And, breeding and egg production does have its risks for the female. If she doesn't happen to be completely healthy she could have serious problems. There is no requirement to breed at all.

 

[Maximillion]

When the male starts expelling sperm plugs he is sexually mature and could mate with your female. Other than mating purposes the male and female don't need to see each other. You need to put a barrier in between the cages such as plywood or an opaque shower curtain. Another thing to consider is after you breed them and you have 30-40 (or more) baby veiled chameleons. I'd be afraid that I would end up having to sell them to a pet store...
It is hard to walk by those tiny cages but Carlton is absolutely right about pet stores selling to our pity. I wanted a tortoise, already had the setup ready and was looking at breeders online. Went to PetSmart for crickets and saw a Russian tortoise pawing at the glass in one of those tiny tanks, dry food, wrong setup. Long story short, I ended up at the checkout line, tortoise in a box. I love my little guy and am absolutely glad I got him but a week later I went back and there was another Russian in the same tank pawing at the glass. One of the workers saw me looking at him and commented "We never got tortoises but we tried one and it sold after two days so they sent us another one".

I know you are right but I have a whole room that has multiple Habitats set up in it for just that purpose. I wouldn't really care if none sold lol I love them a great deal..I had already decided that in order to purchase one from me the person would have to take at least a small test on their care that I have put together. Even if they have to look up the answers at least they looked them up and read them.. They would also have to be aware of the high maintenance that's involved in keeping one healthy. I know I sound silly my husband tells me that but they are that important to me...

When the male starts expelling sperm plugs he is sexually mature and could mate with your female. Other than mating purposes the male and female don't need to see each other. You need to put a barrier in between the cages such as plywood or an opaque shower curtain. Another thing to consider is after you breed them and you have 30-40 (or more) baby veiled chameleons. I'd be afraid that I would end up having to sell them to a pet store...
It is hard to walk by those tiny cages but Carlton is absolutely right about pet stores selling to our pity. I wanted a tortoise, already had the setup ready and was looking at breeders online. Went to PetSmart for crickets and saw a Russian tortoise pawing at the glass in one of those tiny tanks, dry food, wrong setup. Long story short, I ended up at the checkout line, tortoise in a box. I love my little guy and am absolutely glad I got him but a week later I went back and there was another Russian in the same tank pawing at the glass. One of the workers saw me looking at him and commented "We never got tortoises but we tried one and it sold after two days so they sent us another one".

 

[Maximillion]

I would also question whether you should even consider breeding your veileds. We know they get poor care at the shop, but they may also be raised by a pretty careless breeder and have congenital defects you don't want to reproduce. And, breeding and egg production does have its risks for the female. If she doesn't happen to be completely healthy she could have serious problems. There is no requirement to breed at all.

I will take him to the vet for a complete check up before ever putting him in the same room with her.. Would it be better to purchase one from a breeder? If so do you know one you could recommend to me?