Please give me the end all answer!!

[daveo]

I have a Male Jacksons and he is awesome, I would like to get a female, but not to breed, just because I think keeping 2 would be cool. Anyway I found this thread https://www.chameleonforums.com/jacksons-care-56085/ and I found this quote.

"Jackson's Chameleons are one of the few chameleons that generally can be kept in pairs or trios. Under no circumstances can two adult males share the same cage. Chameleons placed in pairs or trios should be observed closely for signs of stress and separated if necessary. "

Yet I keep hearing only one Cham per cage. Now the guy in the above thread seems like he knows what he is talking about, but I want to be sure Before I go and kill off a male and a female from stress, what is the correct answer here?

AtDhVaAnNkCsE
DaveO

 

[CBPanther]

I would never keep more than one in a cage when they are adults. Only for breeding purposes and even then it is not even close to permanent

 

[camimom]

If you want a female, and you want to keep them together, then be prepared for eggs. Unless you get the female spayed.

Edit_ I meant babies, I was looking at another thread talking about eggs. had some thread thought crossover! I swear I knew that!

 

[chamzilla91]

Jacksons give live birth, they do not lay eggs. They are possible to keep more than one FEMALE in a cage together as long as it is a big big biggg cage

 

[daveo]

Well maybe not eggs as Jacksons are ovoviviparous so they produce live young. but I really just want to keep 2 and have no room for more. So I am asking before acting

 

[daveo]

Jacksons give live birth, they do not lay eggs. They are possible to keep more than one FEMALE in a cage together as long as it is a big big biggg cage

Again, quoting from this thread, "The minimum enclosure for 1-2 Jacksons measures 24"L x 24"H x 18"W."


Like I said there are lots of answers out there. my cage is 24x24x48 inches much bigger than the recommendation above

 

[jessica]

I have a Male Jacksons and he is awesome, I would like to get a female, but not to breed, just because I think keeping 2 would be cool. Anyway I found this thread https://www.chameleonforums.com/jacksons-care-56085/ and I found this quote.

"Jackson's Chameleons are one of the few chameleons that generally can be kept in pairs or trios. Under no circumstances can two adult males share the same cage. Chameleons placed in pairs or trios should be observed closely for signs of stress and separated if necessary. "

Yet I keep hearing only one Cham per cage. Now the guy in the above thread seems like he knows what he is talking about, but I want to be sure Before I go and kill off a male and a female from stress, what is the correct answer here?

AtDhVaAnNkCsE
DaveO

I've seen it done by advanced keepers succesfully in larger cages. The female had to be able to escape the male.

You not only have to worry about stress but you have to monitor both of there eating, bowel movements and when the female is pregnant she has to be seperated.

Remember chameleons are masters at hiding illness and stress. I would never reccomend it to a newer keeper but it can be done.

 

[lslcronk]

lol I think the point was that since you are saying you dont want to breed, and dont want to care for more than 2 chams, then keeping a male and female together, even if it is ok for them health wise, is not in your best interest.

 

[daveo]

lol I think the point was that since you are saying you dont want to breed, and dont want to care for more than 2 chams, then keeping a male and female together, even if it is ok for them health wise, is not in your best interest.

Oh don't get me wrong, I want to care for two and having little jackson's seems cool too. But that is not the point of wanting a female. I am not going to become a breeder. I just like the idea of a pair of these running around in my cage.

 

[chamzilla91]

If I were to try and keep two jacksons in the same enclosure I would make it two females and at least a cage that is 3x3x5or6 (in feet) jmo though

 

[Lizardlover]

I have successfully kept my pair in a 2x2x4 for about 3 months now. They are still juvie's but they dont mind each other at all. They often bask together and always sleep side by side. Now this may not work with all jackson's, especially adults, but It can be done. When keeping two chameleons together certain precautions must be taken however to ensure that both animals are getting all the food/water they need and one is not being bullied. I hand feed them to make sure no one steals food, and I make sure there are no fights over space.

 

[daveo]

Really? Have they been together since birth?

 

[EvilLost]

Again, quoting from this thread, "The minimum enclosure for 1-2 Jacksons measures 24"L x 24"H x 18"W."


Like I said there are lots of answers out there. my cage is 24x24x48 inches much bigger than the recommendation above

Not sure what thread you are referring to, but I have been under the impression that the standard MALE cage should be 4'x2'x2' (48x24x24) and that female cages can be slightly smaller at roughly 3x1.5x1.5' (36x18x18).

I would absolutely not keep TWO chams in a 24x24x18" cage....maybe one if he was smaller....

although I don't have jacksons so I don't know how big they get, but I def wouldn't keep my panther in that small of a cage at full grown (let alone 2!)

 

[kinyonga]

Unfortunately there is no "end all answer". Generally I don't recommend keeping adult chameleons of most species together because there can be a sort of silent stress even when they seem to be getting along and eventually one or the other or both will decline in health.

Now I do think there are exceptions to this...maybe...with some species that only breed once a year since the males wouldn't likely be harassing the females all the time. However, I still think that even then, the keeper has to be aware enough of the chameleons to separate them in time when/if they are stressed by the other.

Also...in the wild, if the presence of one chameleon in another's territory stresses one out, they have the space to move away to get rid of the stress. Not so in captivity unless the cage is huge.

Just because two young chameleons have been kept together successfully for a few months doesn't mean that when they reach sexual maturity they will still get along...and they will most certainly mate as soon as they are sexually mature even it the female isn't full grown. Why put the stress of having to make babies/eggs on her when she isn't even done growing her own body??

Just my 2 cents worth...

 

[DeremensisBlue]

I have successfully kept my pair in a 2x2x4 for about 3 months now. They are still juvie's but they dont mind each other at all. They often bask together and always sleep side by side. Now this may not work with all jackson's, especially adults, but It can be done. When keeping two chameleons together certain precautions must be taken however to ensure that both animals are getting all the food/water they need and one is not being bullied. I hand feed them to make sure no one steals food, and I make sure there are no fights over space.

What exactly are you saying can be done? Would you consider your experience typical enough that you would tell a beginner it is alright to do it? You have a beginner asking whether he can keep two Jacksons in a cage together. If you say it can be done he just might do it.

There are always exceptions to every rule and we grow as an art by challenging the status quo so I am all for going against conventional wisdom. But I would suggest that those kind of efforts be undertaken by people with experience enough to know when things are going wrong before it is irreversible. You know what to look for and I am sure you are prepared for moving one of the chameleons out if trouble arises. We will have to make sure Daveo has all those instincts honed if we are going to say it can be done.

Daveo,
If you are going to keep two chameleons in a cage together you have to watch out for everything listed above. And when they become adults they will change and may not get along anymore. They might, but usually it doesn't work out so well. If you are going to try to house them together you will need a second cage in case it doesnt work out (and it may work for six months and then not work out). So you will end up with two cages anyways. There is a lot of vigilance involved in successfully keeping them together so it may not be the enjoyable experience you are expecting.
It is nice to be surrounded by chameleons and looking over at wild kingdom in your bedroom. One thing you can do is to have both cages next to each other with the adjacent walls covered in black shade cloth with vines draping down to disguise the wall. This way you get the feeling of having a large chameleon filled enclosure without having to continually watch for stress and proper eating, drinking, dominance issues, etc...

 

[daveo]

Ok, I get it. I can be done, but not without much heartache. I will stick with just one. Thanks to all for the advice and tolerating my devils advocacy.