Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was at a local petstore today and seen they had 2 chameleons in the same tank. Yes this is bad...they looked stressed expecially the male. I dont know how old they were but they were trhe size of a average 6 month old male vield chameleon but thinner (like thier legs) and the male had 3 horns on his head like a Jacksons but they were called mountian chameleons? is this a breed of cham or are they full of it? are they actually jacksons?

christa

they were green and had small black spots on thier bodies. the female had a small bump like a female vield cham on her head and the male had this kinda crest down his back, but with no spikes or anything on it...

sounds like they had a pair of montiums, otherwise known as cameroon sailfin chameleons. heres a link if you want to read more about them
montium link

oops, just reread your post, you said three horns, not two. My next guess would be a deremensis, the males have three horns and get small black dots on their body when stressed. When they are calm they are a beautiful green color with light white striping. They also have a crest down their back and tail. Hope I got it right this time, if not someone please correct me. Heres a link for them.
deremensis link

The animals your talking about defintiely sound like Chamaeleo Deremensis. They are also called Usambara Mountain Giant 3 Horn Chameleons. The pet store probably just confused the names and made the Mountian Chamelelon name. Below are a couple of Pictures of some C.Deremensis we have had in the past. Hope this helps.

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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
www.rkreptiles.com
www.oldworldchameleons.com
www.ballpythonmorphs.net

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Signature edited to remove advertising comments.

Edited on January 25, 2004 at 18:40:32 by phwyvern.

Poor creatures though are almost black green/brown in color with black spots. The male was so stressed he sat in a cornor of the tank swaying. They're selling for 400 bucks cdn and 700 if you buy the pair.

Christa

wish I could rescue these poor guys

Most pet stores get their reptiles from huge distributors. Many are named incorrectly, and store employees know absolutely nothing about the animal or how to take care of them. They are only there to make a dollar from a sale.
Cricket

The next time you go to that store, ask them how to take care of the chameleons. What & how much it eats, life span, humidity requirements, proper cage setup,etc. You'll probably leave there mad at their ignorance. Poor animals.
Cricket