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[Oliver]

Hey, i am new to this forum and to the chameleon world. I will be ordering two baby chams from Mike at FL Chams in about a month. So in the next month i will be setting up my new cage and making sure that everything is perfect for these little guys.
My cage is a 260 gallon Reptarium and i was wondering if anyone had any tips on hanging up branches and vines and potted plants. I have read several dozen different care sheets on chameleons so i pretty much know everything that i will need to make these guys happy.
I will be feeding them from a feeding dish, so with that being said, would it be alright to have a natural moss substrate to aid in humidity levels? I read on several care sheets that this would be alright as long as i cup feed them.
Thanks for all your help!

 

[Julirs]

That cage will be too big for babies! You need to start out with something a little smaller? Were you planning on housing them together? That is not a good idea. What kind of chams were you planning on getting? Substrate is a BAD idea no matter if you cup feed or not. Chams will still "taste" things out of curiosity-the live plants will help with the humdity.

 

[Oliver]

I plan on getting a male and female veiled chameleon, the breeder told me that the cage would be fine and that it would be possible to house them together, however i have not ordered the chams yet. This is why i joined this forum is so that i could get some expert opinions to help make my new chams happy.
If this cage is too big, i can always put a nylon mesh barrier in the middle of the cage so that it would only be 36 inches or so tall and then take that barrier out as they get bigger.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums!!!!!! You are very wise to come here and do some research BEFORE you get your chams. This is a great place for chameleon info. Below is a really helpful blog for raising Veiled chameleons. Jann
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[Kat77]

Generally speaking, housing chameleons together is a bad idea, regardless of the gender. Although it is more likely that they will be housed happily together as a male/female pair than as a male/male pair, the situation can cause a number of problems. Most of the members of this forum will tell you that they house their chameleons, regardless of gender, separately.

The reason for this is, if one of them (more than likely the male) is more dominant than the other, a number of things will occur that adversely affect the health and well being of the submissive chameleon. The prime basking spots can become battle grounds (which can cause ALL sorts of problems), the dominant chameleon can bully the submissive chameleon, not allow feeding, and just generally make the life of the other chameleon miserable.

While this doesn't always happen, you really need to know what to look for and be sure that you have a way to separate them immediately at the first sign that a dominant/submissive situation is in evidence. Otherwise things go downhill quickly for the submissive party. And sometimes it takes a trained eye to know what to look for. Something to chew on.

My advice to you: Get two enclosures. You can give housing them together a try (at a young age, it wont make any difference), but make sure you are prepared, and have everything you need in advance to house them separately. You will probably need it.

 

[Julirs]

Oliver-you can house them together until they are about 4 months old, but then they start breeding. Of course one could argue that they would breed this young in the wild, but so can 12 year old people and I think we all agree that this is not the best thing either. You want to let them grow and mature. Then there is the whole issue that once they breed the female will become territorial, and then she will want her privacy to lay eggs. In fact, starting out with one is a best case scenario to tweak your new keeping skills.

 

[Kat77]

Oliver-you can house them together until they are about 4 months old, but then they start breeding. Of course one could argue that they would breed this young in the wild, but so can 12 year old people and I think we all agree that this is not the best thing either. You want to let them grow and mature. Then there is the whole issue that once they breed the female will become territorial, and then she will want her privacy to lay eggs. In fact, starting out with one is a best case scenario to tweak your new keeping skills.

I agree 100%. I thought my post would start looking like a novel if I went into all that too!

 

[Oliver]

Thank you for all the help and information. I am really excited about getting my first chameleon. I have and have had several different species of lizzards, snakes, and turtles so i am pretty well informed about general care of reptiles.
As much as i do want to house two chameleons together it sounds like the smart and safest choice would be to just house them individually.
In several species of reptiles it is safe to house females together without any problems. Judging by the previous posts, it sounds like it is not wise to house two female chams together either.

 

[Kat77]

Hey again, Oliver! You will find that with chameleons, nothing is really even close to general, standard reptile care. Which is why pet stores usually do so badly with them.

You're going to love getting into the world of chameleons. You'll have two, and all of the sudden, you'll be converting your dining room into a chameleon room and moving out all of your furnature to make room for more cages.

I'm glad you're chosing to house them separately. And just think; they'll LOVE those big reptariums when they have them all to themselves!

 

[Oliver]

ha ha
Sad thing is, you're right! earlier i was already trying to figure out possible ways to convert this computer room into a jungle-like chameleon room!
Yes i am super excited though and honestly can not wait until i get my chams.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hey, i am new to this forum and to the chameleon world.

Welcome! I believe you will find the information and support of this site quite useful (I have). Its wonderful you are doing plenty of research before they arrive, and that you are heeding the advice to house them individually.
enjoy!

S

 

[Oliver]

Oh yeah i have done lots of research, i have pretty much memorized the general care sheet for chameleons!
Man and i still have to wait till the end of Novemeber to get them!
this is gonna be a loooooong month!

 

[summoner12]

True:

Generally speaking, housing chameleons together is a bad idea, regardless of the gender.

False:

Although it is more likely that they will be housed happily together as a male/female pair than as a male/male pair, the situation can cause a number of problems.

True:

Most of the members of this forum will tell you that they house their chameleons, regardless of gender, separately.

Most species of chameleons in general want to live alone. So lets concentrate on a more specific species, say something relevant like the kind you'd like to buy: Veiled chameleons.

Veiled chameleons live together fine, as babies and young juveniles. Once they reach the age of about 3-4 months they need to be living separate from other males and females. Veileds love to have their own space. They do not tolerate anyone or anything in their territory once they have established it. You will find that as your veiled ages it will not be friendly to you when you try to remove him or her from it's cage. Once removed from the cage the cham will calm down, this is a sort of defense mechanism. This isn't to say all Veileds are mean. The next time a male should see a female after leaving his brothers and sisters, is when he is to be mated to a female of age. This should be closely watched to be sure the pair are compatible and ready to mate.


Bottom line? Don't keep veileds together. If you are purchasing at a young age smaller reptarium (16"x16"x30") cage for each is a good idea until they reach the age of maybe 8 or 9 months. Then a larger cage (24"x24"x48") will be a good size cage for the adult male and you could use a shorter cage for the female if you have room restrictions. You should also not allow them to see each other. Put up a visual barrier between the two cages.

Good luck, you will find lots of useful info on this forum.