Spikethechameleon
New Member
I was wondering if anyone knew if I could keep 2 females together in a 65 gal. reptarium. I want to start a breeding colony but don't have that much space.
Keeping two female veileds
- Thread starter Spikethechameleon
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Nicodemayo
Avid Member
No, one cham per enclosure unless they're babies under 2months of age.
summoner12
Avid Member
For the size of cage you are wanting to use it wouldn't work. But if you had a larger cage. something wide, You could creat two basking locations and like AFH said put in a sight block. Girls tolerate one another better than males, but ya gotta remember chameleons don't like other chams in general.
Spikethechameleon
New Member
What if I split it in half by putting a barrier in the middle becuase the guy at petsmart told my I could put a sub-adult female I was goingto buy in a 38 gal. reptarium and thats basically half of the 65 gal. one.
Nicodemayo
Avid Member
Have you already bought the chams? The way i see it you shouldnt buy any cham unless your going to provide proper housing for each one of them.
Pashka
New Member
Do not listen to Petsmart people. Most, if not all of them, do not understand Chameleons. I would also not buy one from there because they are kept in horrible conditions and are often not the locale that they are said to be. Do not place two chameleons together in the same enclosure. I do not see the point, even if one has a large cage. Just buy a 24x24x48 Enclosure and house her in there.
summoner12
Avid Member
Can you post dimensions in inches? Not everyone here is familiar with the conversions.
And don't always listen to a Petco or Petsmart clerk. Some do know a thing or two. It is good you are asking around before you make the decision.
Females need a 24x24x36 inch enclosure for sub adult and adult ages. That is a size for keeping one female cham per cage.
summoner12
Avid Member
Nicodemayo
Avid Member
hey now, i work at petco, dont be stereotyping now 
lol jk. There are the select few that work at those stores that know what they're talking about.
lol jk. There are the select few that work at those stores that know what they're talking about.
Spikethechameleon
New Member
I haven't bought them yet but I want to get 2 females from lllreptiles becuase they are having a sale and the dimensions of the 65 gal. reptarium are 16.5"deep x 30" wide x 28" tall
summoner12
Avid Member
hey now, i work at petco, dont be stereotyping now
That is true! My GF did work for Petco and I would relay the knowledge I learned here to her. Luckily they didn't keep too many chams.
I just don't think ANY Petco or Petsmart should have ANY kind of animal that they don't have a 'specialist' at. Just because the store has sold a cham off doesn't mean the should restock it. They should be sure someone at that location knows the proper care and can feed that info to the purchaser.
When I got Fred from Petsmart they asked if I knew anything about chams... I said "yeah a little" the guy started spouting off about the care of them... I nodded and smiled just to hear what he had to say. He didn't have much to say. Just watching him try and fish Fred out of the small tank he was kept in made me stop them from any further contact with him. Everyone in that store was scared of him! It was so funny. Now he is the most chill dude ever.
summoner12
Avid Member
Is this a cage you already have? and why do you want two females?
Spikethechameleon
New Member
yes this is a cage I already have from my male veiled that grew out of it and I want 2 females so I could start a breeding colony.
summoner12
Avid Member
Well... I would keep this cage for a rainy day and start investing in proper cages for your future colony. When you order with LLL order some screen cages. Call them and see if they'll give you a discount. I would get two 24x24x36 cages for the females and one or two smaller cages for the offspring.
This cage would work well for outdoor sunning. As a general rule I wouldn't buy the PVC plastic mesh cages. They block a lot of light and aren't easy to clean. But they do work well for temporary housing for chams who have their cage being cleaned or who are outside catching some raise.
Pashka
New Member
Why do you need two right now? Frankly, I would suggest you one female right now. It seems as though you are rushing into this. Also, how old is your male? How old are the females you are planning to breed?
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
I made my own screen cages, an dwhile I find them superior to reptariums, I 've boguht nothign but reptariums for the past 2 years. just so easy and simple. They work just as well, only they block out more light.
As far as keeping two females in one 65 gallon - there's no definite answer. The answer is: you might.
Depends on the females. I had 4 sub adults in a 38 reptarium for months with no issues. I separated out the biggest one and put her with their mother in a 24"x24"x36" cage, and they were fine - until th emother became gravid - then it didn't work.
You MUST factor that in, that they can decide to hate each other after a while.
While I reccomend a 2'x2'x3' cage for adults, a 38 gallon reptarium is ok for an adult female if it's raised up on a high shelf and well planted. I wouldn't use one for a male, thoguh, not an adult.
I find my females much more stress-free in the reptariums than in the much larger screen cages. The openess of a screen cage and the view that is afforded by them appeals mostly to males. Females like to remain hidden, and under cover - they benifit from the lower visibility of the reptarium construction.
After many years of trying all caging types (literally, all of them), I've come to the conclustion that a 24"x24"x36" screen cage, raised off the ground at least 3 feet, is the ideal minimum for an adult male veiled. A 38 reptarium raised off the ground works well for a female. Juvinile males like to be hidden like females, but when they mature,a nd reach full size and start displaying, they like to see and be seen, so screen is the way to go for males.
I've had much bigger cages, and it clear that the size is less important that the height. In effect, the only practical benifit to a 24"x24"x48" cage over a 24"x24"x36" cage (provided the tops are at the same height) is the ability to use a taller tree - which is a real benifit to a taller cage.
Other posts aboce are correct - usually, if you have multiple animals together, you require more space than if you had two separate cages. With females, this is not always the case. But you simply won't know until you see how they act. Odds are, you will end up with two cages in the end.
As far as keeping two females in one 65 gallon - there's no definite answer. The answer is: you might.
Depends on the females. I had 4 sub adults in a 38 reptarium for months with no issues. I separated out the biggest one and put her with their mother in a 24"x24"x36" cage, and they were fine - until th emother became gravid - then it didn't work.
You MUST factor that in, that they can decide to hate each other after a while.
While I reccomend a 2'x2'x3' cage for adults, a 38 gallon reptarium is ok for an adult female if it's raised up on a high shelf and well planted. I wouldn't use one for a male, thoguh, not an adult.
I find my females much more stress-free in the reptariums than in the much larger screen cages. The openess of a screen cage and the view that is afforded by them appeals mostly to males. Females like to remain hidden, and under cover - they benifit from the lower visibility of the reptarium construction.
After many years of trying all caging types (literally, all of them), I've come to the conclustion that a 24"x24"x36" screen cage, raised off the ground at least 3 feet, is the ideal minimum for an adult male veiled. A 38 reptarium raised off the ground works well for a female. Juvinile males like to be hidden like females, but when they mature,a nd reach full size and start displaying, they like to see and be seen, so screen is the way to go for males.
I've had much bigger cages, and it clear that the size is less important that the height. In effect, the only practical benifit to a 24"x24"x48" cage over a 24"x24"x36" cage (provided the tops are at the same height) is the ability to use a taller tree - which is a real benifit to a taller cage.
Other posts aboce are correct - usually, if you have multiple animals together, you require more space than if you had two separate cages. With females, this is not always the case. But you simply won't know until you see how they act. Odds are, you will end up with two cages in the end.
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
I second this - if you have not kept chameleons before, I would NOT get more than one. If you are certain about breeding them, don't get more than one female.
there's a fine line between feeding enough and overfeeding. With female veileds, that could mean th edifference between 40 eggs and 80 eggs.
20 babies is a handful to an inexperienced keeper - let alone 100+
And you can be sure that if you get two females of a similar age, their offspring will be hatching at about the same time. And pinheads cost about as much as adult crickets.
