Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi i am just posting here to give an idea i have had and i would like your expert opion i am geting a 4 foot by 3 foot by 3 foot viv soon and i am planing on terning it into a charm tank i intened to turn it on its side so it will be 4 foot tall and 3 foot wide and i am going to cut out a square about 2 and a half foot out off the sides and the top off the tank and keep the pices i cut out and replace them with mesh well plastice material so air can flow thru and also remove the glass at the front off the tank i am planing on puting a pair off jacksons or fishers charms in but i need to find a spices that can be paired up together i have hurd certan jacksons can but i dont know what spices thay are i am willing to spend 200-300 pounds on the charms this is a work in progres and i havent got the new cage yet so i have time to get the new plants and lightings for it but i would like your opinon

Thanks for your posts ^^

Well im glad you are getting ventilation added into the tank....but as i learned from a post i made, chams can get frusterated by glass from seeing there reflections. Check out the post......

On another note, chameleons are VERY anti social. They are like the Marilyn Manson of lizards. They dont want anything to do with anyone or anything. Chameleons dont like being housed together year round. It is stressful for the female mainly because the male is chasing her around trying to get jiggy with her...lol...Its true!

Jacksons can be anti social too. Its a big risk putting a pair of chams in the same cage. Too much of a risk. You would need to keep an eye on them and make sure no fighting or stress colors.

If you where going to try this, id go for smaller chameleons. Leaf chameleons would be a great choice. Rudis chameleons (Chameleo Trioceros Sternfeldi) might do well.....Similair to the jacksons in care, only rudis chameleons grow to 6 inches....

Do some reading and keep posting ideas here...
-----
Eric

I fight for the unconventional
My right, and its unconditional
I can only, be as real as i can
The disadvantage is
I never knew the plan
This isnt the way just to be a martyr
I cant, walk alone any longer
I fight, for the ones that cant fight
And if I lose, at least I tried....
(Slipknotulse of the Maggots)

Unfortunately that viv won't be large enough to house a pair of any of the arboreal species (jax, veiled, panther, possibly rudis, etc.) You would have to stick to the little leaf cham species...it would be a wonderfully large habitat for a trio with some great shrubby plants and vines.

That size viv would be great for a pair or trio of leaf tailed geckos too.

you sure ? because the place i help out has a pair of demicas charm (sorry cant spell the name) and thay are a sub spices off jacksons and thay are fine

I bet they meant deremensis - and they are in the same genus as jacksonii, but not a subspecies.

deremensis can be kept in pairs, provided they have enough space, a densely planted cage, and are compatible. Also, they might be ok for part of the year, but then decide they don't like one another later on.

A first time chameleon keeper should not try to put more than one in a cage. There is just too much that can go wrong. Even when I have my animals cohabitating in huge cages, I always have at least one "spare" cage per animal, just in case I HAVE to separate them.

Let me guess - the chameleons were green with black spots, correct?

yep and the male has three small horns

The black spots are a stress pattern, or a warning. If they are showing spots, they're probably very unhappy. If they're showing spots, an dthey're together, it's probably a territorial warning. Take the male away, nad watch the spots dissapear.

Such low-level stress is not good for them, and will lead to long term problems.

Yes, I'm sure. This isn't a subspecies of jacksoni...no such thing. As Eric said, if it's green with spots it's an unhappy male deremensis and he's probably heading into problems if he is showing the spotting all the time. A happy deremensis should be a smooth light green with (at the most) paler or whitish areas showing here and there. The paler patches come and go almost like clouds. They also like cooler temps, so an all glass viv might be too warm during the day. Deremensis may be sedentary, but they don't share turf very well. I kept a pair in a cage that measured 5'x5'x3' and my female was still stressed sometimes.