Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it ok to keep 2 veield chameleons in a 260 gallon reptariam. A male and a female. A friend of mine has both of his chams in a 260. and they laid eggs. well they all hatched and he is giveing me two. I have a 260. he has had no problems with the female being stressed. does anyoneelse keep 2 chameleons together.

Thanks

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This may seem big to you, but for large territorial chams such as veileds it isn't. They would normally have an entire tree for their territory. You would have to separate the female if she becomes gravid (and she will even if not bred) anyway, so you might as well keep them separate. Why not put 2 cages side by side with a visual barrier between? Or divide that 260 gal. into 2 3x3x3 sections? That way they could share UV lights and misting, but have separate basking spots (they won't share, believe me), feeding sites, hides, and seclusion. As for breeding siblings, don't even go there!

we've kept chameleons in pairs but do it at your own risk...they aren't really companionlike animals and you risk the health of your animals...

I wouldn't say it's impossible to keep them in that size of an enclosure...and they most likely would be happy...but you'd have to rig up 2 basking spots...and feed them seperately or you are asking for trouble.

Why not get rid of the enclosure and get 2 smaller ones...then if you want to breed them put them together for a day or two and then back into seperate cages they would go...

just a thought.
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Chris Vanderwees
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That is what i heard also. But I talked to the guy at the pet shop who specilizes in reptiles. and he has two on a 65. The chameleons arnt even 3 inches. they just hatched. the guy said if you keep them in ther from when they are babies that it will make them used to eachother by the time they are adults. He also said a 260 galon is really big. so right there I know he isnt to bright. So you dont think they will get along like my friends? I can provide a bigenough basking area. but feeding is differnt. my friend dust a buntch of crickets and lets them go in the cage.

also do you have to bread them inorder for the eggs to pass?

I think you should do some serious research before getting chameleons...also, take whatever the guy at the pet store said and through it out the window.

Bottom line is that YES you can keep them together...NO it is not the greatest idea.

If you've got the money or space for a 260 gallon tank then take that money and space and get 2 x 130 gallon tanks and seperate them. Seems like common sense to me. And no you do not just want to throw some crickets in there like whatever your friend does...they will get out, chew things, your chameleon might ingest something it shouldn't...anyway...do what you want but that's my opinion.
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Chris Vanderwees
REPTILE SALES AND INFORMATION
E-mail Me
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 Veiled Chameleons
3.4.0 Corn Snakes
1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
1.2.0 California Kingsnakes
1.3.0 South Florida Kingsnakes
1.1.0 Albino Sonoran Gopher Snakes
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Yes you can keep them together but highly discouraged. It won't work. They won't get used to each other just because they were raised together as babies. That is ridiculus and a honest person would not tell you nonsense such as that. Babies can be housed together but hie above coment is a joke. He's trying to make a buck.
They mature and they will fight if both males and if male/ female he will stress her constantly. You can still have alot of bushy plants but if she needs to bask she can't or won't due to the male. If she needs to eat she can't or wont feed good due to the stress of the male. Unless you pln to sit around them all day in case a proble arises then a single cage for a single chameleon should be the rule.
Do yourself a favor and house separate. If the cost is a problem then get one chameleon until you can afford a second cage.

Wait for other responses as some give advice then ask basic questions that anyone giving advice should know.

First off....your friend giving you 2 chams means that, if you keep them together, they will breed. In-Breeding (breeding 2 siblings together) is a HUGE no-no! DON'T DO IT!

Secondly, Veileds are very aggressive, not only to conspecifics but to everything else. The amount of stress these poor chams go through WITHOUT having to share their living space is tremendous.You are better off getting two smaller enclosures. Your chams will be way happier this way and you won't be in-breeding further.
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Raf

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ok, But all I can aford right now is the 100 or maby the 175 gallon reptarium. will this house an adult?

And also, DO females have to be bread inorder to pass eggs properly?

I have kept veileds in 65 gal reptariums with no discernible issues. If you already have a 260, get a 65 from LLL reptile when they have a sale ($30.00) and be done with it.

As for the breeding part, they do not have to be bred to pass eggs, however, there is less of a chance of having the eggs impacted if they are bred. I am not an expert veiled breeder so I'm sure others can and will chime in with advice for you. You can also check out www.adcham.com for advice on this issue.
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Raf

1.2 Jacksons Adults (Frank, Patty, Lucille)
0.0.6 Jackson's baby
1.1 Nosy Be's (Mars and Roja)
0.1 Adult Sulcatta (POOPIE,I bought it from Victor at Kobey's in SD)
0.0.2 Baby Sulcattas (frick and frack)
1.0 Home's Hingeback Tortoise (SPEEDY, From Victor as well)
1.2 Red ear slider babies (Hingis, Dingis and Dorkus)
0.0.1 3 toed box turtle - No Name Yet
0.0.1 Gulf Coast Box Turtle - No Name Yet
1.0 Red Siberian Husky (Harley)
0.1 Black Lab (Krissy)
0.1 English Bulldog (Alice)
0.1 Blue Merle Great Dane (Wednesday)
Saltwater Fish and Inverts too

yuo do not have to breed them to get the eggs to pass...phillipe de vosjoli or whatever pony tail man wrote back whenever he wrote it said something like veileds must be bred at 6 months or they will die due to being egg bound. As long as they get the nutritional requirements and enough calcium, there should be no problem.

Breed them or don't, whatever it doesn't matter... but if you are going to do this properly get 2 enclosures and house them seperately. Sure house them together but they sure as hell are not going to grow up to be the best of friends...and as was mentioned earlier if they are siblings you can look forward to 30-180 deformed, weak, dying babies. Dome-head is a wonderful problem for chameleons...read up on that.

If you have enough space for a 260 gallon tank and enough money for one...go and get 2 x 130 gallons or two enclosures...simple.

If they are unrelated whatever you want to do...go for it...take the chance and house them together but they WILL fight for basking spots and feeding spots and food. Probably sleeping spots too. So they will be stressed and they will not become friends.

Do what you want to do but if you only have enough money for 1 enclosure you sure don't have enough money for the vet bills that could follow the practice of housing 2 siblings together.
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Chris Vanderwees
REPTILE SALES AND INFORMATION
E-mail Me
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 Veiled Chameleons
3.4.0 Corn Snakes
1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
1.2.0 California Kingsnakes
1.3.0 South Florida Kingsnakes
1.1.0 Albino Sonoran Gopher Snakes
1.4.0 Leopard Geckos
0.1.0 Green Iguanas

ok, I wont breed them. There are pleanty enough chameleons out there already. I already have the 260 gallon that i house my baby iguana in. I am building him a better cage.I can buy another cage. but i dont have enough room for another 260 gallon. so, will a 100 or 170 work? space is definatly a problem. I own 2 iguanas and a ball python. I know I still have alot of studying to do on chameleons and i know that. And no, Im not just going to try it and risk them dieing. I want to do it right or not at all. So when they get a little bigger. I will put the male in the 260 and get a 100 or 170 for the female. I read some where that almost all chameleons are imbread. and that you cant help it. Probley the same place i read that a female has to be bread to lay eggs.

Just to clarify: You don't need to btreed them to have the female lay eggs. HOWEVER, she still needs to be supplied with a proper laying chamber AND she needs to be kept on food restriction when she's developing the eggs in her ovaries. If you overfeed her she'll hyper-ovulate and the chances of dystocia and death go way up.
Ed

This is my absolute first post....I have been lurking here for a while and just wanted to spare you the long nights of trying to get a Veiled to continue living and "please baby just eat or drink something" DO NOT put two together......never ever....I wouldn't even try to breed them. Monk is now a memory...and it is all my fault.

Thanks for the honesty. It's refreshing. Too often on nthis forum we get people posting advice after a few months of cham keeping. When their chams die prematurely (as most first chams do) they just slink away and never post about what they did wrong and which advice they (imprudently) ignored.
Ed

I spent loads of money on cage and misters and drippers and plants and...... But I still lost one because I thought I could be different. Yeah right.