Ambilobe123
Avid Member
I have a group of 7-week old panthers, (not 100% sure but) majority males, and I have noticed some interesting interactions between them.
At 1-3 weeks old, the babies would often crawl over each other. Not purposefully, but just to get from point A to point B. The crawled-upon cham would get defensive, turning darker, puffing, and shaking its head side to side- cham #2 acting completely oblivious of its angry sibling. I would try to break up most of these “fights”, but I’m obviously not supervising 24/7.
At around 3-4 weeks, some of the chams learn that if they shuffle to the side of the stick, an incoming sibling can’t crawl over it. 90% less fights, pretty interesting.
Now, this arrangement works great for most of the babies. I say most because of Terry. Terry is a little bit lazy, and decided about a week ago that he doesn’t want to move for his siblings. So, Terry starts puffing up every time a sibling starts coming toward him. Pretty soon, the others take the hint and go around him. I saw one of the biggest two stop, go around Terry, and I’m pretty sure he gave me an eyeroll.
Recently, I’ve been noticing some “territories” forming. Terry has a nice branch around the middle, a couple bigger boys claimed the top area, girls and smaller boys usually hang out near the bottom. They all have access to basking spots, and none seem defensive of the screen back (if feeling adventurous, less dominant chams just short for a screenwalk).
Other than displays from being grabbed by others, no fights have happened. 8 chameleons (albeit quite young ones) are coexisting peacefully, and have developed rudimentary communication.
Any thoughts from more experienced keepers? This honestly surprised me, as I was told that at around 10 days they would start fighting, and biting each others’ tail tips.
At 1-3 weeks old, the babies would often crawl over each other. Not purposefully, but just to get from point A to point B. The crawled-upon cham would get defensive, turning darker, puffing, and shaking its head side to side- cham #2 acting completely oblivious of its angry sibling. I would try to break up most of these “fights”, but I’m obviously not supervising 24/7.
At around 3-4 weeks, some of the chams learn that if they shuffle to the side of the stick, an incoming sibling can’t crawl over it. 90% less fights, pretty interesting.
Now, this arrangement works great for most of the babies. I say most because of Terry. Terry is a little bit lazy, and decided about a week ago that he doesn’t want to move for his siblings. So, Terry starts puffing up every time a sibling starts coming toward him. Pretty soon, the others take the hint and go around him. I saw one of the biggest two stop, go around Terry, and I’m pretty sure he gave me an eyeroll.
Recently, I’ve been noticing some “territories” forming. Terry has a nice branch around the middle, a couple bigger boys claimed the top area, girls and smaller boys usually hang out near the bottom. They all have access to basking spots, and none seem defensive of the screen back (if feeling adventurous, less dominant chams just short for a screenwalk).
Other than displays from being grabbed by others, no fights have happened. 8 chameleons (albeit quite young ones) are coexisting peacefully, and have developed rudimentary communication.
Any thoughts from more experienced keepers? This honestly surprised me, as I was told that at around 10 days they would start fighting, and biting each others’ tail tips.
but every species is different, eh?
