Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know that chameleons are solitary animals and should not be kept with other chameleons but I had a question.

Can a veiled chameleon be kept in a large screen enclosure along with a couple of leopard geckos? Would this potentially stress a chameleon too much? Keep in mind that the animals would be captive bred.

The enclosure would be 3ft or 4ft high and probably 2ft or more in length and width.

I would think it might be ok as the chameleon spends almost all of its time in the branches near the top of the cage while a couple of leopard geckos would stay on the ground level as they are not arboreal. Also the geckos are nocturnal while the chameleon is not. The geckos would have their own under tank heat source and hiding spots etc.

Anyhoo Id love to hear some thoughts on this from experienced keepers. I may just try this set up out and monitor the chameleon. If I find that it is becoming stressed then I will separate the species.

Could it be done? Yes. Should it be done? No.

Is there any realistic benefit for either creature? Absolutely not.

Do chameleons always show that they are stressed, or do we always understand their stress signals? Right again, No.

That should be enough voice of reason imo.
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

A good chameleon setup requires a heavy misting or drip system with water collection at the bottom. That pretty much rules out any terrestrial species. I don't think your geckos would appreciate the regular flooding. The chams poop would invariably land in the gecko food and or water dish or on the gecko himself, I don't think they would appreciate that either.

not sure the link will work, but chameleons should never be housed with anything at all, they should be purely solitary..
i've witnessed chameleons eating everything from a full grown live mouse, leopard gecko's scorpions birds and even as you can see there own kind.. oh and anoles.

just a heads up incase you ever decide it.

Link

the link is here
http://www.bluechameleon.org/Photo & Image Stockpile - BCV/Oustalet's%

To add to the good info you are getting from these great keepers... my cham spends a fair amount of time roaming around his cage. Sometimes he will sit at the bottom for a while and stare at me. So, you can't count on a cham to just stay up in the branches.
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Slipstream Serpents

My Reptile Family:
1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger, Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)
0.0.1 Quince Monitor (Pollux)
1.2.0 Thayeri Kingsnakes (Korben, Leeloo, Artax)
2.2.0 California Kingsnakes (Beetlejuice, Kang, Maraca, Kodos)
1.1.0 Bullsnakes (Hawker, Socata)

These two species are about the most opposite you could get. The leos want heat during their active period at night. The cham will not, and any night "heat lights" will keep the cham awake. The leos want a warm dry habitat, the cham wants a cooler humid one. The cham will need heavy spraying for humidity and drinking, the leos won't want this and it might cause respiratory problems for them. They both eat live food, but loose live food will tend to cycle feces and possibly parasites that one or the other species is not resistant to.