introducing a new cameleon to an old one

[joyus557]

We got a baby veiled cameleon yesterday,we already have one. jack is abbout 3 inches long and about 4 months old.Jill(new) is about an inch and a half long and 1 month old. we put her in the cagbe with him and he tried to eat her. is this normal because she's so small? we took her back out rigbht away and got her own cage and light ,buy i was just wondering if anyone else had this happen to them. have a nice day and thanks for all the input.
joy

 

[Heika]

Hi Joy,

That is completely normal behavior for a cham. They aren't social animals and can't be housed together. Glad to hear you bought a new cage. Even the sight of another chameleon can cause stress, so if the cages are within eyesight, you should put in a barrier of some sort.

Heika

 

[joyus557]

thanks for the info,we thought that since we see so many others together that it would be ok. thank you for the info very much ,i just want jack and jill to be happy.

 

[Heika]

Hi again Joy,

Yes, some people do risk their animals and put them in cages together. Was your little female injured?

Heika

 

[joyus557]

no she was not injured,just scared.she seems fine today.thank you again for the info.'joy

 

[fullhouse]

our cham ate an iguana

When we got our chams they were given to us with a bunch of other reptiles including 4 anoles, 2 tree frogs, an iguana hatchling, a green snake (and the chams - 1 adult veiled, 1 young veiled and 1 young panther). The previous owner had all of the above animals in two relatively small cages. We didnt know any better and assumed that the previous owner had put some thought into how to cage the animals and since we were only supposed to be keeping them until he came back we didnt want to make any changes. WRONG - the adult veiled ended up eating the iguana and it traumatized my 4 boys who came screaming to me " Mommy -- the chameleon is eating the iguana!!!" This was after we had had them for about a month and it seemed that the two got along well -- again WRONG. The iguana's body was about 5 inches long and its tail another 6 inches. The Chameleon swallowed it whole - When I got upstairs to see what the boys were screaming about it was too late - all that was left of the iguana was its tail sticking out of the cham's mouth. Obviously a bad day for the iguana. Also, after that the Cham didnt really eat much - I guess he was pretty full. He ended up dying a few months later. We dont know why he died. He may have been old. We were wondering if eating the iguana could have eventually killed him b/c he never really ate well after that. It could also have been our inexperience with Chams. Anyway, our current menagerie of reptiles and amphibians are all housed properly and well cared for by our 4 boys, my husband, and me. I will never assume that just b/c someone else is caring for their animals a certain way that that is the correct way - good luck w/ your new baby cham.