Little Male

[ajoelle76]

Hi have a 2 baby veiled chameleons. Male is older by a month 7 months and she is 6 months old. He doesnt seem to be growing as fast as the female. Hes eating, drinking and defecating just fine. Shedding monthly. So thats a good sign. I know females grow quicker than males but she is at least 5 times bigger than he is..any suggestions?

 

[NHenn]

Each chameleon is different and will grow at different rates. As long as he is healthy and doing fine I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Kate]

Are you housing them together? If so the girl could be stressing the boy by not giving him his share of food, light. Heat.

 

[pssh]

Can you fill out the how to ask for help form and post pics of the chameleons and set ups? It sounds like there might be something wrong with either them or their husbandry.

 

[ajoelle76]

Kate: They've always been housed together..They get along just fine..no aggression towards each other at all. Not sure why another member asked me to fill out a proper form to ask questions...I have a big cage with proper lighting..Food..is crickets dusted in calcium..shes an aggressive eater while hes super shy....I posted pictures of them in my albums with the dates..also

 

[kplatvoet]

While they may not show any outward signs of aggression it sounds like you should separate them asap-

 

[York1]

Ya separate cages are a must.

 

[ridgebax1]

Kate: They've always been housed together..They get along just fine..no aggression towards each other at all. Not sure why another member asked me to fill out a proper form to ask questions...I have a big cage with proper lighting..Food..is crickets dusted in calcium..shes an aggressive eater while hes super shy....I posted pictures of them in my albums with the dates..also

They ask this so more experienced keepers can assess the cham's living conditions as many things can cause the problems you describe. They can also give a more accurate response without a lot of back and forth dialogue. They cannot be kept together. If the pet store said they could they were wrong. Chameleons are solitary in nature and only seek out another for sex. Parents do not even contribute anything outside of laying the eggs. From your description of the feeding behavior she is probably eating most of the food and he is getting very little. Additionally he is probably quite stressed. If you do not separate them and immediately he may die.

 

[Psychobunny]

You do need to keep them separate at that age.

Chams do not show signs of stress that we can read as stress, but I can
practicly guaranty if one is that much larger then the other, there will be
stress, and prolonged stress will effect health and even cause death.

 

[Kate]

Hi Amber. I'm glad you got back to us. When babies two or more can happily live together but as others have said, when you start to notice changes as you have described it is time to separate them. They don't have to show aggression it can just involve a look. Some chams can live happily together but you have described stress symptoms and they need to be looked at as your boy may not survive if he is not getting his share of food etc. We may not be saying what you want us to say but I urge you to listen for the sake of your chams. The how to ask for help form is an excellent tool which describes how your chams are kept and it lessens the chance of people asking you the same questions also it gives us an overview in one post and hopefully a quick answer. Unfortunately pet shops regularly give poor advice as they sometimes do not have the knowledge to give and also they are seeing $ signs. Many people come on here because pet shops have given poor advice but this is where the correct advice is given and the care of chams have been tried and proven. Keep posting.