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size matters

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zerpda

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hey there all. I was hoping some of you experienced Chameleon people would chime in with your opinions. I'm wondering if someone can tell me what the minimum size enclosure it would be safe to use to house 2 male panther chameleons? I have two 7 month old chams together now, but am wondering what size cage I should move them up to as they grow to adulthood?

Also if you are using heating lights, what is your wattage? I'm curently using 45w, but it is a regular incandescent. I'm wondering if it would be better to use a heat producing bulb specifically for reptiles, or if those are just more expensive.
 
you need to get 2 seperate enclosures for 2 males as they will begin to get agressive and eventually to a point where they fight. Usually people keep adult males in 2by2by3 or 2by2by4 cages and at 7 months they should be big enough for there adult cage
 
Approaching 7 months and you are still housing them together? That is very dangerous and as others say they will fight eachother at this age.

Chameleons CAN be housed together while they are juveniles, but by the time they approach 5months+ you absolutely should NOT house them together under any circumstances. ESPECIALLY two males. You should NOT even house a male and female together. I know it "seems" normal, but it is NOT. They are very solitary animals, similar to most snakes, and absolutely do not tolerate being with eachother.

ESP 2 adult males under NO circumstances should be housed together. Each fully grown adult male should be housed in roughly a 4'x2'x2' cage.

If you want some more information, check out www.chameleonforums.com


i hope that you have uvb, supplementation, and all that for them as well....no offense but if you are keeping them together it is likely that you are not informed on proper husbandry practices for them.
 
thanks

Hey thanks for the response. No offense taken. Yeah I have all the supplements, lights, everything. I'm actually working with a guy that has been breeding and selling chams for a long time. He houses several male panther chams in the same enclosure without any problems what so ever. I have another month or two before I absolutely need to move them. I watch them very closely and they show zero aggression towards each other. Not that I expect to keep them together. I'm working on an enclosure that is about 6feet x 5feet by 3feet and it will be more than enough space for them with the plants that will be in there. That's why I've posted a couple of other questions so that I can get the appropriate misting system and other things.
 
If the enclosure is big enough and there is plenty of plant/leaf cover to hide behind they will probably be ok, but do realize that Chameleons are prey-lizards.

I'm not sure of your overall experience, but chameleons are especially good at HIDING any problematic signs they have so watch them closely! 6x5x3 honestly probably will be big enough to house them both granted you have tons of plants, but it will also cause them SOME level of stress that is probably not observable.

I don't doubt that it is possible to keep them together, I am simply stating on my experiences and from what I have seen on those at chameleonforums. I personally have not ever heard of a (reputable) breeder housing multiple ADULT chameleons together....that doesn't mean its not possible by any means don't get me wrong; although I think regardless of how you do it there will be SOME level of stress introduced even if its minute/unobservable


your cage seems to be a pretty good size though so I think you will be ok; do check out chameleonforums for tons of useful info in general though :)
 
thanks

Thanks for your info. It's nice to see that someone out there cares enough to response. Yes there will be tons of plants in the enclosure and vines for them. The breeder I got them from has his own awesome enclosure that he has between 5-10 males together and they do great!!!. I've read all of what you said in the books, and specifically asked him about this, and visited his set up as he lives close to me, (very lucky for that). I do know that there is no way that 2 would ever, ever fit in one of the common large screen enclosures that you see, but what mine are going into is at least 4-5 times that size and I will have tons of plants and vines in there with food galore. When I'm all done I'll post some pics.

Thanks again for your replies. I was beginning to think no one knew much here, or just didn't want to share.
 
Yippie first post. Let me tell you, DO NOT HOUSE THEM TOGETHER! I REPEAT DO NOT HOUSE THEM TOGETHER!

Just think of it as this way. Female Chameleons are like drag queens, they don't wanna be touched or messed around with by anyone until they are gravid and for that 1 week span they like to cuddle and get to know a fellow but before and after... She wants to rip your head off :)
 
This is a bad idea. If you have room for 1 enclosure that size. Simply build 2 enclosures that are half the size of the original you wanted. Or build a visual barrier that can be slid into place seperating the sides. Your exp level is not sufficient to even try this. As a long time keeper I wouldnt even attempt this. You may never observe anything you think it wrong. But are you going to sit there and watch over the chams 24/7 I dont think so. You have a job I assume. You could leave for work and come back to find one dead and the other seriously injured. These guys havent really hit sexual maturity YET. But once they do they arent going to be best buddies any more. They will consider the other a rival that needs to get out of their territory. Good luck and consider the warnings youve recived.
 
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