Jackson..together???
- Thread starter Slobodan
- Start date
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
I don't know what source said that but as a general rule, it's better to always house each chameleon individually.
If you have a pair together they will constantly breed, which means that the female will constantly be producing eggs/neonates, and this will cut her life short significantly. With Jackson's, who produce live young, you would constantly have tiny little jacksons running around. Then you have stress because the male will always want to breed and the female won't always, so they might fight and be stressed, which will also hurt their health. They will have to compete for food, the best basking spot, etc...
It's really better to never try something like keeping groups of them together unless you have an entire room to dedicate as a freerange. When each has loooooots of space to hang out without having to be constantly with the other chameleon. But even then, only experienced keepers know how to properly manage something like this.
If you have a pair together they will constantly breed, which means that the female will constantly be producing eggs/neonates, and this will cut her life short significantly. With Jackson's, who produce live young, you would constantly have tiny little jacksons running around. Then you have stress because the male will always want to breed and the female won't always, so they might fight and be stressed, which will also hurt their health. They will have to compete for food, the best basking spot, etc...
It's really better to never try something like keeping groups of them together unless you have an entire room to dedicate as a freerange. When each has loooooots of space to hang out without having to be constantly with the other chameleon. But even then, only experienced keepers know how to properly manage something like this.
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Yep, same for nearly all of them.
If you would like for your chams to live a long and healthy life, don't house them together. Besides, what would you do with all those baby jackson's after a while? At least with eggs you have time to prepare (or, although it sounds horrible to say, you could destroy the eggs and not have any hatchlings to worry about) but with live babies? One morning you wake up and there are 30 little ones running around with mom and dad!
I don't know if this is why you're asking, but it's a bad way to be cheap and not buy two cages. In the end, between vet bills and whatever you'd end up spending way more than the extra $6-100 it costs for a second cage.
If you would like for your chams to live a long and healthy life, don't house them together. Besides, what would you do with all those baby jackson's after a while? At least with eggs you have time to prepare (or, although it sounds horrible to say, you could destroy the eggs and not have any hatchlings to worry about) but with live babies? One morning you wake up and there are 30 little ones running around with mom and dad!
I don't know if this is why you're asking, but it's a bad way to be cheap and not buy two cages. In the end, between vet bills and whatever you'd end up spending way more than the extra $6-100 it costs for a second cage.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
No chameleons form pair bonds. They would normally only be in pairs for mating and separate the rest of the time. Even if a particular pair tolerates each other for a short time they will suffer from constant stress. Jackson's are often described as "docile". I think they tend to demostrate stress in more subtle ways (no fighting, biting, flaring bright colors and other aggression), so keepers may not realize it until too late.
draetish
Avid Member
Docile mean: quiet and easy to control/manage: quiet, easy to control, and unlikely to cause trouble
JoeDigiorgio
Avid Member
The question of keeping Jacksons together seems to be one of the most frequently asked ones on this forum. Reptile shows and pet stores are completely responsible for this I think.
There is no cage big enough for this. Period.
There is no cage big enough for this. Period.
GreenChameleons
Established Member
The only time it is somewhat okay is when they are babies and that is even highly questionable. They are by themselves unless breeding in the wild otherwise! Just the look of another chameleon close by stresses them out. Separate enclosures and I can’t stress that enough!
funnyCAT140
Established Member
There's also this Instagram. It pops up quite frequently in people's feeds, so I think it causes people to think it's alright. They keep their jacksons together. It looks like it's a free range set up, but they say the male is constantly around the female because he is so "attached" to them. Is it just me or does he look like his legs are swollen? The female recently passed away and they got another one to keep with him because he was so "heartbroken".
H
