New Carpet Chameleons and Questions

[RBCam]

Hi everyone here are some new photos of my new carpet chameleons Marion and Howard. I just picked them up Friday. I have a very reputable reptile shop up the street I purchased them at. I asked about housing them is separate cages and was told that since they are carpet chameleons they could be housed in the same cage because they are not as territorial and aggressive as other species. I was skeptical but thought I would give it a shot. So far so good they seem to get along okay not like a buddy movie but okay. At night they even find each other and cuddle up.

The question is I have been reading in some articles that carpets should be kept separate. I have 2 Jacksons I keep separate with a divider so they do not see each other because of the territorial issues. The cage the carpets are in is W 16" x D 16" x H 30". Much larger than the one they were kept in at the store and they had 3 in that cage.

I wanted to see what the consensus is on here with housing a pair together. It would be nice if I didn't have to find space for another cage but if it is bad to house them together then I guess I should separate them at some point soon.
Thanks for your opinions.

 

[RBCam]

Anyone?

 

[Andie]

Hi everyone here are some new photos of my new carpet chameleons Marion and Howard. I just picked them up Friday. I have a very reputable reptile shop up the street I purchased them at. I asked about housing them is separate cages and was told that since they are carpet chameleons they could be housed in the same cage because they are not as territorial and aggressive as other species. I was skeptical but thought I would give it a shot. So far so good they seem to get along okay not like a buddy movie but okay. At night they even find each other and cuddle up.

The question is I have been reading in some articles that carpets should be kept separate. I have 2 Jacksons I keep separate with a divider so they do not see each other because of the territorial issues. The cage the carpets are in is W 16" x D 16" x H 30". Much larger than the one they were kept in at the store and they had 3 in that cage.

I wanted to see what the consensus is on here with housing a pair together. It would be nice if I didn't have to find space for another cage but if it is bad to house them together then I guess I should separate them at some point soon.
Thanks for your opinions.
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Look up Nick Henn, here on the forum. He breeds them and was a great help to me when my female was dying from egg binding. He seems like a great guy.

I've never heard of housing them together but I'm no expert.
Best to you.

 

[RBCam]

Thanks for the info. For as popular as Carpets are supposed to be there seems to be limited info about them them.

 

[bobcochran]

@Dooley1 also raised carpets, maybe he could chime in.

 

[DeremensisBlue]

You will want to separate them. They may live in apparent peace for a little while, but they will be establishing a pecking order. It is subtle, but not the best conditions for them to live in. And when breeding hormones kick in you don't want to have the female without a way to escape.

A great resource for learning about Carpet Chameleons is the podcast episode that interviews Kevin Stanford who is our most successful breeder of carpets.
http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-14-carpet-chameleons-with-kevin-stanford/

 

[Carlton]

You will want to separate them. They may live in apparent peace for a little while, but they will be establishing a pecking order. It is subtle, but not the best conditions for them to live in. And when breeding hormones kick in you don't want to have the female without a way to escape.

A great resource for learning about Carpet Chameleons is the podcast episode that interviews Kevin Stanford who is our most successful breeder of carpets.
http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-14-carpet-chameleons-with-kevin-stanford/

I would agree with this as well. While the two may not be overtly aggressive to each other, your female will be pestered by the male whether she's receptive or not. She may be forced to stay fired up constantly and this isn't OK long term. So much depends on how much space the two have and how well one or the other can stay away when it needs to. Always remember that a wild pair can distance themselves but a caged pair can't, as they have to share basking areas, water, food, retreat areas, sleeping areas, etc. Better safe than sorry!

 

[WAMBO]

Cool! Congrats!

 

[RBCam]

You will want to separate them. They may live in apparent peace for a little while, but they will be establishing a pecking order. It is subtle, but not the best conditions for them to live in. And when breeding hormones kick in you don't want to have the female without a way to escape.

A great resource for learning about Carpet Chameleons is the podcast episode that interviews Kevin Stanford who is our most successful breeder of carpets.
http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-14-carpet-chameleons-with-kevin-stanford/

Bill thanks for the info. I was just looking at your Compact Cage System for a solutions this morning. Is that one you would recommend for a solution and give them each enough space?
Thanks for the info on the pod cast I am checking it out now.

 

[DeremensisBlue]

Bill thanks for the info. I was just looking at your Compact Cage System for a solutions this morning. Is that one you would recommend for a solution and give them each enough space?
Thanks for the info on the pod cast I am checking it out now.

The Compact cages would give each carpet chameleon the minimum space required. Carpet chameleons have been successfully raised and kept through adulthood in those cages so they are proved in the "field", so to speak.
Since I am a proponent of large heavily planted cages for my chameleons I would also consider the Medium Wide Breeders as they have more space to create gradients. So, if those are a possibility I would check those out!

 

[OldChamKeeper]

I would agree with this as well. While the two may not be overtly aggressive to each other, your female will be pestered by the male whether she's receptive or not. She may be forced to stay fired up constantly and this isn't OK long term. So much depends on how much space the two have and how well one or the other can stay away when it needs to. Always remember that a wild pair can distance themselves but a caged pair can't, as they have to share basking areas, water, food, retreat areas, sleeping areas, etc. Better safe than sorry!

This. Can't say it better than that so I'll just quote it.

 

[Dooley1]

I don't check the forum as much as I used to, but I'm happy to see everyone already beat me to the correct answers. Your lateralis look beauitful RB! You can see that the female is already exhibiting her stress pattern, even if she is not being aggressive towards the male. Separate housing is necessary for lateralis, unless it is a larger cage with a few established females only. Even that is not ideal though. 16"X16"X20" is plenty adequate per animal, but you can go as large as you like.

I use and love Dragon Strand cages for 90% of my chameleons of all species BTW.

Kevin Stanford

 

[RBCam]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I knew the correct answer but really wanted it to be the case they could share to save space. I have been learning every species and individual can live under a set of general rules but in order to thrive there are nuances that you learn over time. As predicted my Carpets are already exhibiting some of the issues stated above. I will be separating them in the next few days as soon as I get the new cage in. So say good by to my tropical fish we need to make room for a new chameleon cage! (Anyone need a fish tank with some tetras?) This web site has been a great resource for me over the past year with my new hobby. Thank you for all of the constrictive advice. Full warning I am about to hit you up again to help with my male Jacksons Chameleon skin condition again just can't seem to shake it. Thanks again!
Ross

 

[RBCam]

I have moved the Carpet Chameleons to there own separate cages I had an extra ReptiBreeze 16x16x30 I had for parts fixed the top screen on it and move the male into that. So they are both in 16x16x30 cages for now. I will figure out where I need to put them and get them on the auto mister and order some better cages. They eat like crazy and mostly just stay in the basking areas at least now they are not fighting over one. I just went to take photos but they were hiding on me so I will post them the new digs when they are more photogenic. Thank you for all your help
On another note here is the link to my new three about my male Jacksons Chameleon has been getting worse My female looks fantastic but he has just been going down hill. Any help with him if you keep Jacksons would be great thanks! https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/jacksons-chameleon-serious-skin-issues.150836/

 

[RedMountainHome]

I'm sorry to hear about your jacksons, but your carpets are gorgeous!