Housing male and female Jackson chameleons

[Noliaboi]

Hello, I just went to the Repticon Expo here in Houston Tx, and I decided to buy me a female Jackson chameleon. I saw that every breeder that had chameleons had males and females housed together and both looked great. With lime green coloration. I've looked and read into keeping both male and female together, so I asked every breeder if there were any issues or concerns when keeping a pair of jacksons together other than just breeding. I'm not cheap or trying to save cash , I have to invest in an all new cage for my female. But is there anyone who's had or have a pair of Jackson chameleons living together?? How are they behaving with one another. Every breeder and pet shop I ask here and there said that THE JACKSON chamrleons are the few that can be okay with bn house together. I'm asking for positive advise. I have the female in a separate 22 gallon mesh cage but I'm debating if I should house together to see how they react with one another. My male Jackson is In an 29 gallon 8'x 24'x 30 with only front nd bottom glass and top , left and right side and back screen mesh

 

[twatts704]

Don't know the answer to your question however I was at the same show this weekend lol good to see people on here from Houston

 

[camimom]

I would not do it.

You are asking for trouble.

You will get babies, because they will breed. Are you ready for babies all the time? And that puts stress on the female.

Just because the show people had them together, it was for convience, not bcause its ok.

ITs not worth the stress. Just because they dont change color doesnt mean they arent stressed.

Jacksons have a habit of not showing stress until they are about to die.

It puts stress on them, its not worth dealng with that. not o mention, when you have male and female, they WILL breed. no question.

 

[Noliaboi]

@ camimom.... Yea I'd figured it was for Convinience also but I would think if ppl at the repticon breeding and selling reptiles would give you positive feedback and advise. If that's there profession , then they would tell you that is not good for them instead of .... Yeah go ahead they'll be fine regardless of the fact if your buying a reptile from them or not

 

[camimom]

You would think.

But they dont always care, or really know what they are doing.

They are also trying to convince you to buy from them.

Just the fact that you will have tons of babies is reason enough to not want to house them together.

baby chams can eat you out of house and home.

Just my opinion.

 

[Carlton]

@ camimom.... Yea I'd figured it was for Convinience also but I would think if ppl at the repticon breeding and selling reptiles would give you positive feedback and advise. If that's there profession , then they would tell you that is not good for them instead of .... Yeah go ahead they'll be fine regardless of the fact if your buying a reptile from them or not

Some vendors will be honest and others won't. Some are motivated by $$$ and others by the future of their species. If you want to take the advice of an unknown fellow herper like me, I'd suggest taking what they say with a grain of salt until you know from your own personal research or your own experience that what they say is true. No one selling chams should ever claim you can house two chams together unless you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse!! A big red flag.

BTW, chams at a show are going to look bright and active partly because they are STRESSED, so don't judge their health by their behavior there. Look for the subtler signs of trouble like sunken casques, sunken eyes, too much stress coloration (which means knowing what a particular species would look like relaxed and healthy), aggression. Check for wc chams by looking closely for little scars, worn claws and injured feet, bruised areas, other signs that they've lived a hard life in the wild. Really, much as you might want to, don't impulse buy...if you don't know anything about the species, pass it up and read before taking one on. A quality dealer should let you think a purchase over and educate yourself before pressuring you to buy.

 

[pssh]

I would keep them together. Unless you have a ton of experience, it's generally trouble waiting to happen if you keep multiple together. Signs of stress can be incredibly subtle and if you don't catch them in time, one or both animals can become ill or die. The space required to keep two together also tends to be much more than just using two individual cages. It's been seen too many times before on this board and it's very sad.

If you have to ask to keep them together, usually you don't have enough experience try it IMO. I would wait until you have much more experience with chameleons before even considering it.

 

[ISA my Veiled]

My best friend houses her two Jacksons (male and female) in the same cage and they do not seem to have problems. On the other hand though they are pretty young and probably only about 3-4 months old maybe a month more at most. I really do not agree with keeping them together and I have told them it is risky but they seem to be doing great. I personally with how chameleons are would not just because of the potential harm it could cost. Plus it costs a ton of those guys breed and you have a ton of babies to look after. Which means getting the appropriately sized crickets, cage, new lighting and heating and having to get rid of them. I would look at it that way. Good luck to you though

 

[Carlton]

My best friend houses her two Jacksons (male and female) in the same cage and they do not seem to have problems. On the other hand though they are pretty young and probably only about 3-4 months old maybe a month more at most.

I'd say it is just a matter of time before one or the other starts breaking down. Your friend should start planning a new setup for one of them before its too late! Unless she has a room-sized cage of course.

 

[camimom]

My best friend houses her two Jacksons (male and female) in the same cage and they do not seem to have problems. On the other hand though they are pretty young and probably only about 3-4 months old maybe a month more at most. I really do not agree with keeping them together and I have told them it is risky but they seem to be doing great. I personally with how chameleons are would not just because of the potential harm it could cost. Plus it costs a ton of those guys breed and you have a ton of babies to look after. Which means getting the appropriately sized crickets, cage, new lighting and heating and having to get rid of them. I would look at it that way. Good luck to you though

Babies acn be housed together for a time

I plan to house my baby veileds together once they hatch, but if I have any left after thgey are 3 months old, I will be seperating them.

When chams live together, they can battle for food, space, basking, water, etc. if one cham starts to bully the other, it can lead to all kinds of problems.

NTM jax are very suceptiable to stress.