Im back!!!!

[Thezillaman21]

Hey guys and gals and chameleons of the world! Its been six months since zilla passed and I'm ready for some chameleons to adopt me as their care taker. I have just ordered two panthers and two rudis chameleons. Does anyone have experience keeping rudis chameleons together I would prefer to house them together. I have many plants and visual barriers in a 25"*25"*48" cage I was told they have been together for about. Three months they were my first choice chameleon before I saw zilla. I have read a lot now I want some last minute first hand advice!! Thanks

 

[CarlC]

Rudis are no different then any other chameleon. Separate housing is a must.

Carl

 

[Thezillaman21]

Rudis are no different then any other chameleon. Separate housing is a must.

Carl

Really? I thought they were like T. Hoe and the dwarf species that are fine together if the cages are huge! Do you think they would be okay for a few days while I work on better planted cages? Also its funny that you commented on this I was just looking at your profile because your the only experienced rudis keeper listed on here.

 

[jannb]

Welcome back Zillaman! Looking forward to seeing photos of your new chams.

 

[CarlC]

You only mentioned a 25 x 25 x 48 cage. That size is far from huge and will not provide nearly enough territory for two. It is a nice sized cage for a single animal.

Chances are the information you got was from a dealer who will be constantly moving animals in and out and doesn't know or care about the long term.

Carl

 

[CarlC]

Also its funny that you commented on this I was just looking at your profile because your the only experienced rudis keeper listed on here.

Its been a long time since I've kept them. The ones that came in recently look really good. I would keep them again but there are other species I want to work with again.

Im sure others will chime in.

Carl

 

[rshewfel]

Sorry I got busy and forgot to respond to this. This last weekend I free ranged my 3.3 sternfeldi in my chameleon room while I was waiting for silicon sealant to dry in their cages(I am in the middle of adding a drainage system to all my enclosures). The room is 20' x 12' x 8'. I set up plants for each individual chameleon and spaced them as far apart as possible. One juvenile male harassed all three females, aggressively trying to mate, until I finally I placed the females in another room. After that the three males just ignored one another until their cages were finished.

This is just one example and is in no way proof that you cannot ever house this species together, however, if you ever try it you better have a backup plan. I have experimented with housing several species both together and separate. While I am not of the strong opinion, like several other members, that no species can ever be housed together, I do feel it is probably better to house this species separate. I think that having other males in view is probably what made this young male want to mate so aggressively. I do not know how he would have reacted housed alone with one female.

 

[kplatvoet]

What are rudis requirements for airflow and temps & cage size and such ? I'm hoping on working on transforming a display case into something that would house a chameleon at some point - (since I haven't seen the case yet I'm not even sure it will work) I was hoping to house a rudis - or a senegal in it if I can get it to work - I'm pretty sure I'm going to replace the doors with screening and add vents - If I can't get the proper temps & humidity I'm not going to use it at all

 

[Thezillaman21]

My female chased my male off so my gf made a plant run after a few hours they were separated and both are eating just fine. My panthers are adorable and already showing I few blue scales. I also ordered Egyptian sandfish they hide more than the chameleons do... I had to dig them up just to see if they were alive!!!

 

[CarlC]

What are rudis requirements for airflow and temps & cage size and such ? I'm hoping on working on transforming a display case into something that would house a chameleon at some point - (since I haven't seen the case yet I'm not even sure it will work) I was hoping to house a rudis - or a senegal in it if I can get it to work - I'm pretty sure I'm going to replace the doors with screening and add vents - If I can't get the proper temps & humidity I'm not going to use it at all

My animals always seemed comfortable with temps in the middle 70's. They would bask for a short bit in the morning and then disappear into the foliage during the day. Gravid females always basked longer. Room humidity was usually above 60% during the day and at night rose to above 80%. I misted the cages heavily in the morning and evening. I used screen caging (18 x 18 x 30)and they were kept in my montaine room. A wall mounted fan on a timer circulated air throughout the day.

Carl

 

[kplatvoet]

Thanks for the info- I would love to have a rudis as my next chameleon but I'm thinking I should get more experience first with the ones I have - My first chameleon was 30 years ago and keeping him was easier as he was in his natural habitat- which was a good thing for him as no body knew anything about keeping them at that time- I can't wait to hear more about these two -

 

[Chris Anderson]

Also its funny that you commented on this I was just looking at your profile because your the only experienced rudis keeper listed on here.

Just to clarify, the reason for this is that the species that is sold as "rudis" in the trade is not actually Trioceros rudis, but rather T. sternfeldi. Trioceros sternfeldi used to be considered a subspecies of T. rudis but was long ago elevated to its own species. Trioceros rudis does not live in Tanzania (where these "rudis" are imported from), but rather is a more delicate, high elevation species from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, the DRC, and possibly Kenya. I don't know if any of the animals Carl has kept were ever true T. rudis, but nothing that has been sold as "rudis" in the US for a very long time has actually been.

Chris

 

[CarlC]

Chris wasn't rudis the species imported during the time the amazing ellioti were coming in from Uganda?

Yes the majority of the animals I kept were sternfeldi. I'll go back and update.

Carl