So you got your cage, did your research, listened to this awesome podcast, and made a gorgeous garden of a cage that fulfilled the Forest Edge 4+4 method from podcast episode 114 perfectly. And then, you introduced the newest reptilian member of the family. What now? Well, I have to let you know that I have dived as deep as I can into how to take care of these little guys and I am only one of a number of people who have done so there is plenty of good information out there, but we are just learners. You have now brought the true master into your home. That is right. We must all bow before the authority of that 4 month old panther chameleon who knows chameleons 100 times better than the best of us.

 

Once you have your cage set-up and it hits all the numbers in the caresheet perfectly your next step is to throw away the care sheet. From this point on, you are going to adjust your cage based on the behavior of your chameleon. Caresheets are general numbers that have generally worked. You are working with a specific chameleon in your specific room environment. So, the caresheets are not wrong. But view them only as a starting point to get everything set-up. This is the third module in a three part podcast series. It started with episode 113 which helping understanding how to select the right cage type and continued to episode 114 where I introduced the Forest Edge 4+4 method of putting together an effective chameleon cage. I am going to close it off in this episode by addressing how you interpret your chameleon’s behavior to refine the details. Every chameleon will be different. And they may do the unexpected. We need to adjust to their particular comfort levels.

The above cages show two properly set up chameleon cages. There is an open area for basking and hidden areas for resting and feeling safe. There is a heat and UVB gradient and the humidity ebbs and flows as it would in nature. Creating and maintaining a chameleon set up is challenging, but is both rewarding and educational!

One of the most important things we will do as chameleon keepers is set up our chameleon’s home. This is where our fantastical beast will need to find everything required for a happy chameleon life. Today we talk about how to set up a chameleon cage effectively and I introduce the 4+4 checklist to help simplify that process.

The 4 + 4 Checklist is a way to structure an evaluation of a chameleon cage. This describes four representative branches to allow access to the four gradients. And this provides a good guideline when you want to make sure the important elements of a chameleon cage are there

The 4 Gradients

• Heat: A chameleon needs to keep their body within a certain temperature range for normal function. In the morning they warm up and then they move in and out of the sun and shade to maintain their comfort level temperature for movement, digestion, and body processes. Too much heat is deadly quickly. Too little heat over time degrades the immune system and leads to disease and disorder. Since we have no way of knowing what the chameleon needs at any given time we provide a range of temperatures within the maximum and minimum we know they work well in and we let them regulate their own temperature. That is the basis of the gradient approach. The chameleon decides.
• UVB: Within the ultraviolet wavelengths of sunlight there are certain frequencies that both our, and chameleon’s, bodies use to synthesize vitamin D3. In captive husbandry we have to make sure this wavelength is present at an acceptable level, accessible, and escapable. The UV Index at some of these chameleon’s natural habitats is very high, but they spend most of their day hiding from it. How much UVB we offer is a tricky subject and will differ by species. If chameleons bask in the morning and hide in the afternoon should we just give them the equivalent UVB they would find in the morning or do we give them the full amount and give them a dense hiding place to deal with that? This is an ongoing experiment. But, as far as a checklist item it is important as keepers often don’t know the characteristics of their lamp and the branches are not set up for getting into the proper illumination or out of intense UVB.
• Humidity: We are seeing more and more how replicating the natural humidity cycles helps chameleons function properly. This gradient ends up being over time rather than distance. The natural higher levels during the night and the ebb during the day has been shown to bring chameleons back to a hydration behavior more in tune with natural behavior.
• And finally, the gradient of Exposure. Chameleons will have differing comfort levels with regards to showing themselves to the world. Remember that chameleons are not only predators, but they are also prey. They must keep their eyes open for trouble all the time. In captivity they settle down tremendously and there is a good chance they will feel so secure that they end up sleeping in the open. Especially if they are captive bred and raised under your loving care. They may totally ignore what is in their DNA because it just doesn‘t relate to their life as a valued family member. But that healthy fear is deep inside and it may come up from time to time. Giving them a hiding place ensures that they have that choice. It is curious how like us they are. If they have it they may not ever use it, but if they lose the option to use it they miss it. And, of course, many chameleons do retain that fear of things larger than them.It is part of what they are and it is not an insult to your love for them. It is your love for them that makes you respect what they are, know they can’t just switch instincts to suddenly being a domesticated animal, and desirous of giving them what they need to feel secure. Their DNA doesn’t change just because you are a vet tech, animal behaviorist, reptile rescurer, or hermit crab whisperer. If you are so in tuned with animals you will be in tune with what chameleons truly are and not be lulled away by what you wish they would be.

The 4 Branches

• Security Branch: Does the chameleon have a place to feel safe to sleep and hide? This means a perching branch that allows the chameleon to get out of view of all of us humans. And you have to check from all sides that are accessible to humans or pets walking around. Check the security or “exposure” gradient.
• Basking Branch: Does the chameleon have a branch that allows effective and safe basking – meaning both UVB and heat. Verify that the UVB is sufficient and the basking temperature appropriate. Check to make sure that the heat and UVB gradients are set up so the size of the chameleon fits into the gradient that is set up.
• Eating Branch: Does the chameleon have proper access to food? This, of course, depends on the feeding habits the owner has put in place. It wouldn’t hurt to check into feeders and supplementation at this point.
• Drinking Branch: Does the chameleon have physical access to hydration? And, this, of course, is tied directly into the humidity gradient over time.

Dragon Ledges: These patented screen cage side anchors screw to the cage frame to provide a way to solidly attach horizontal branches and potted plants in a screen cage. When set up in a grid with two strong structural branches they can hold two to three 1 gallon potted plants. These are made by Dragon Strand, but are available as a retro fit kit for cages from other major manufacturers. Check out the link below for more information:

https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/

Grid Pattern: Using two vertical structure branches (about 1/2″ in diameter or more) and lashing them to the horizontal Dragon Ledges creates a strong grid which makes it easy to place horizontal perching branches and potted plants at any height in the cage.

Cross bars for pots: Pots can be placed at any height. This is made very simple by just adding a crossbar to support the bottom of the pot.

Pot-in-Pot Method: Mounting pots is easy when you use two identical pots. Use one for mounting and one for the plant. Once one is mounted the one with the plant can be slipped in and out if need be. This image shows how to lash the mounted pot to the structural branches.

Medium Tall Clearside Atrium Enclosure:  In this episode I modeled the cage build off the Dragon Strand Medium Tall Clearside Atrium Enclosure. This is a 30″ wide x 23″ deep x 48″ tall cage that combines height and width. This is an ideal enclosure to use as it has clear sides for the back, right side, and front which gives me an area that I can mist without getting it on my walls and furniture, but also I can create a humidity pocket without the worry of stagnant air. This is because the full left side panel is screen and provides more than enough ventilation. The cage is actually sold as a system which includes five Dragon Ledges, a drainage tray with a screen floor that may be used in place of the plastic floor for maximum drainage, and two hydration mounts which can accommodate Mist King and Cli-Mist nozzles or 1/4″ input which can accommodate Exo-Terra Monsoon mister input.

You can check out the cage product page here:

https://dragonstrand.com/product/medium-tall-clearside-system/

This image shows a network of structural branches in a Medium Tall Clearside Atrium cage.

A close-up of the left side. Although the basic foundation to create a grid is two vertical branches, there is no reason why you shouldn’t allow the natural flow of the branches create a natural feel to the structural branches.

Once the plants are installed I can fill in the rest of the perching branches and network branches.

It used to be so simple. We heard that chameleons needed a 48” tall screen cage and that was that. But then it comes out that all these experienced keepers are using glass or hybrid cages of different sizes. Well, today we will talk about chameleon cages, what makes a minimum size, and when to use screen, glass, or hybrid cages.

Good morning, chameleon wranglers! Today we are going to talk chameleon caging and dive into the “why” behind proper size and material. You are in good hands here because your host here lives and breathes chameleon cages. As the founder and driving force behind the Dragon Strand Chameleon Caging company I am in the unique position to take all the cutting edge husbandry concepts you hear on this podcast and integrate them into actual tools we can all use. So, in this episode, I am going to go over the basics you need to understand to make an effective caging decision for your chameleon species and home environment. And along the way, you’ll get some insight as to what happens behind the scenes at a caging company dedicated to getting it right for chameleons!

To check out the Atrium series wide chameleon cages from Dragon Strand click here. https://dragonstrand.com/atrium-cage-series/

The cage in the picture is a special variation of the Large Atrium Cage, the largest of the family.

Image courtesy of Briana O’Brien

The Meller’s Chameleon is one of the most impressive of chameleons. Like all chameleons it has certain envrronmental needs that we must meet if we are to keep them siuccessfully. In today’s episode we talk with three breeders of Trioceros melleri and they share, in their own words, how they set up a melleri environment.

In the first part of this series we talked about the natural history of Trioceros melleri and the housing strategy. Today we will talk about husbandry. And that is how you set up their cage to replicate the conditions they need as well as nutrition. Our three breeders are back to help us get started in the right direction. Dale Tamura from the United States, Martine Desjardins from Canada, and James Killey from the United Kingdom share their hard won elements of success.

To start off, I’d like to say that much of what we go over is the same husbandry that you would perform for any chameleon. We are going to start at the beginning so we are comprehensive. But it won’t be long before some of you who have been around for a bit will start thinking that this care information sounds suspiciously similar to the care information I share about just about any other chameleon species. And that is because Meller’s Chameleons are….chameleons. Just like most other chameleons, once you dial in the basics the difference between species is just some subtle shifts. Tweak day time humidity and set the right night and day temperature levels and figure the appropriate UVB levels you’ve taken care of the bulk of the species available to us. That said, we are going to start at the beginning and work our way forward.

Dale Tamura lives in California, USA.

Dale had an interesting introduction to chameleons as he started with a Meller’s Chameleon given to him as a gift from his family. He fell in love with this chameleon and dedicated himself to providing for him and other melleri that would soon join. Dale currently maintains a colony of these magnificent chameleons at his business where he houses them in museum-like display cages which sets the bar as to what a chameleon set-up can look like. 

In 2018, Dale produced his first  captive hatched babies and repeated the success in 2019. He has unrelated bloodlines and is continuing his momentum towards the goal of producing a generation of F2 Meller’s Chameleons.

If you are interested in inquiring about becoming a new Melleri home you may contact Dale on his Facebook page at Dale Tamura Facebook

Martine Desjardins lives in Quebec, Canada.

Martine got her start with reptiles while babysitting an iguana. It wasn’t until she met a chameleon that she knew she had found her calling. After a heartbreaking start attempting to rehabilitate an imported Meller’s Chameleon she vowed to make captive hatched babies available to her home country of Canada.

Martine has refined the concept of the free range set-up to match the needs of the Meller’s Chameleon. Though she recommends against doing a group in a free range like she does (due to cost, time, and skill to maintain it properly) we can learn a tremendous amount from her experiences.

If you are in Canada and are interested in continuing the effort to establish Trioveros melleri there then you may contact Martine at Martine on Facebook

James Killey lives in the United Kingdom.

James has been a long time chameleon breeder and restarted his work with Trioceros melleri when his girlfriend brought home a pair to surprise him. James started them off as a pair in a large cage, but then went with his gut instinct that things could be better. After separating them he was able to get strong mating behavior which resulted in successful reproduction.

James works with the Rothwell Pets and Reptiles store in Rothwell, UK, though he mentions that he is picky about who he sells a chameleon to and the average pet store customer is not a suitable candidate. His chameleon customers are generally by personal contacts and the Hamm show. 

If you would like to contact James then you may do so at James on Facebook

Dale Tamura creates museum quality caging and keeps one chameleon per cage.

The reason why Martine’s free range works is that it is large enough to give every inhabitant a separate areas with basking lights and regular watering. With nothing to lack there is no reason to wander.

There is also a great deal of space between territories allowing the inhabitants to feel secure.

One of the most impressive of chameleons is the Meller’s Chameleon. Trioceros melleri is the largest of the African chameleons. With recent captive hatched specimens available in the US, Canada, and Europe more keepers have access to this special species. But there are extra preparations necessary to keep them healthy. Today I start the discussion with the top breeders of Trioceros melleri who have graciously agreed to share with you their methods for success.

Welcome to a special episode of the Chameleon Breeder Podcast. Today I have the pleasure of presenting the first of a two part series on Trioceros melleri, the Meller’s Chameleon. This series is especially relevant today as the breeders you will meet are making captive hatched and raised babies available for a new generation of keepers to join the effort to establish this species in captivity.

It is my hope that this series will both warn and inspire you. And if you are in a position to have a baby melleri join your household then you are in for a unique experience!

Often when I am interviewing a breeder only one of the many countries is able to have access to the captive raised babies. This time, I am pleased to have on breeders from the US, Canada, and the UK.

Dale Tamura lives in California, USA.

Dale had an interesting introduction to chameleons as he started with a Meller’s Chameleon given to him as a gift from his family. He fell in love with this chameleon and dedicated himself to providing for him and other melleri that would soon join. Dale currently maintains a colony of these magnificent chameleons at his business where he houses them in museum-like display cages which sets the bar as to what a chameleon set-up can look like. 

In 2018, Dale produced his first  captive hatched babies and repeated the success in 2019. He has unrelated bloodlines and is continuing his momentum towards the goal of producing a generation of F2 Meller’s Chameleons.

If you are interested in inquiring about becoming a new Melleri home you may contact Dale on his Facebook page at Dale Tamura Facebook

Martine Desjardins lives in Quebec, Canada.

Martine got her start with reptiles while babysitting an iguana. It wasn’t until she met a chameleon that she knew she had found her calling. After a heartbreaking start attempting to rehabilitate an imported Meller’s Chameleon she vowed to make captive hatched babies available to her home country of Canada.

Martine has refined the concept of the free range set-up to match the needs of the Meller’s Chameleon. Though she recommends against doing a group in a free range like she does (due to cost, time, and skill to maintain it properly) we can learn a tremendous amount from her experiences.

James Killey lives in the United Kingdom.

James has been a long time chameleon breeder and restarted his work with Trioceros melleri when his girlfriend brought home a pair to surprise him. James started them off as a pair in a large cage, but then went with his gut instinct that things could be better. After separating them he was able to get strong mating behavior which resulted in successful reproduction.

James works with the Rothwell Pets and Reptiles store in Rothwell, UK, though he mentions that he is picky about who he sells a chameleon to and the average pet store customer is not a suitable candidate. His chameleon customers are generally by personal contacts and the Hamm show. 

Trioceros melleri, the Meller’s Chameleon is the largest African chameleon.  According to C. Tillbury, this chameleon was named after Dr. Charles James Meller who produced the holotype as he travelled with Livingstone as a surgeon and botanist.

Trioceros melleri can reach up to 24” inches and is found in lower elevations from sea level up to about 800 meters. It is endemic to the coast side of Tanzania and areas in Mozambique and Malawi. The weather conditions across the range can vary so it is reasonable for those interested in recreating their natural conditions to be aware of the origin of their chameleons. Tanzanian T. melleri have wet season highs up to 90 to low 70s at night and dry season fluctuations from the low 80s to the low 60s

Malawi T. melleri have wet season high up to the mid 80s to high 60s and dry season fluctuations from mid 70s to high 50s.

Due to the proximity to the equator, the natural range receives about 12 hours sunlight and 12 hours nighttime with a seasonal variation of about one hour longer and shorter. Though, as a note, they are south of the equator so the longest day, at 13 hours is in December.

In their natural range they receive a wide seasonal variation with a wet season from October through May with a dry season taking the rest of the year.

Gary Brown, a herpetologist in Malawi and the author of Reptiles of Malawi shared his observations of natural T. melleri in a written interview

Bill: What kind of natural behaviors do Trioceros melleri show in the wild?

Gary: During the rainy season, the males head off looking for females, and the females head off looking for suitable locations to lay eggs, so in cities like Blantyre, where there are many, they are often found crossing the roads, in the rainy season

Bill: How can something so large hide so well?

Gary: “It doesn’t take much to disappear in the tops of the trees, and they have a habit of moving around the branch, to put it between them and you, so you cant see them. They have amazing eye sight, and can see danger from a good way off.”

Bill: And finally, what is their social structure?

Gary: “I have often seen them sharing trees, but not close together. ”

If you are interested in learning about the Meller’s Chameleon and the other reptiles of Malawi there is a limited print run of Gary’s book “The Reptiles of Malawi” available through Njoka Books in the UK. Click here to place an order.

Njoka Books

Dale Tamura creates museum quality caging and keeps one chameleon per cage.

The reason why Martine’s free range works is that it is large enough to give every inhabitant a separate areas with basking lights and regular watering. With nothing to lack there is no reason to wander.

There is also a great deal of space between territories allowing the inhabitants to feel secure.

Today we explore the concept of co-habitation in chameleons. For the purposes of this podcast, co-habitation is more than one chameleon living together in a cage. This means keeping pair of chameleons together, growing siblings up together, or keeping a whole clutch of babies in a plastic bin. If the chameleons have physical access to each other it is cohabitation. By the end of this episode you will understand the “why” behind advice regarding co-habitation.

References:

This is a  great overview of chameleon biology which does go over the mate guarding behavior.

Biology of Chameleons by Devi Stuart-Fox

Here is the original piece I wrote 16 years ago on Co-habitation

Cohabitation by Bill Strand from 2003 Chameleon News Issue

 

To learn about the important parts of setting up a Chameleon cage.

Chameleon Breeder Podcast Episode 1: MicroClimates and Gradients in Chameleons Caging

 

To Learn about the social interaction of the Hawaiian Jackson’s Chameleons

Chameleon Breeder Podcast Episode 33: Jackson’s Chameleons in Hawaii with Mary Lovein

 

To learn about maintaining a free-range set-up

Chameleon Breeder Podcast Episode 24: Free Ranging Chameleons with Karen Stockman 

 

To learn about chameleon body language and stress

Chameleon Breeder Podcast Episode 6: Chameleons and Stress

 

Transcript of the Episode:

Cohabitation has been a hot topic since the beginning of chameleon keeping. And it has been discussed on this podcast a couple of times in the past with relation to stress and free range set-ups. But this is a topic that deserves its own episode where I compile all the information in one place. So some of this may be a refresher for the listeners that are subscribers to this podcast. Though there will be new information as well.

We humans like to pair things up. It is natural to us. We spend most of our lives looking for a partner and our movies, books, TV, songs, marketing ads and just about every aspect of our lives revolves around our interpersonal relationships. So much so, that it is hard to imagine another way to live.

We chameleon keepers have a special challenge. We have chosen to include in our lives a creature that looks at the world in a completely different way. We have taken responsibility to create a space where this alien creature can live and thrive. They have developed over the ages to be perfectly adapted to their environment with a social structure that has its nuances, rules, and communications just like ours has. It is a social structure that fits what they are. When you bring a chameleon into your life you have embarked on an incredible journey to understand a different life view of the world.

The first step in understanding chameleons is to consciously realize that what “feels right” and our instincts will lead us astray. Our instincts and feelings are tuned to human social structure. Within the human context, trust your feelings. Within the chameleon context, do not trust your feelings. You are starting from ground zero and have to relearn the rules. There is a deep conflict between what we feel is right as humans, and the chameleon way of life. This conflict comes to a head in two important ways. The first is in cohabitation and the second is in our projection of the love emotion on them. In this episode we will explore the first – cohabitation. We will do this by learning about the chameleon social structure, acknowledging our social structure, and then discussing how those two can co-exist.

So, chameleons…what do our good reptilian friends think of each other? First of all, there are a plethoraspecies of chameleons and they have variations on lifestyle and territorial nature. So I will be speaking in generalities. Generally speaking, our standard chameleons have a very loose social structure. A male will have a certain territory. How big that territory is and how aggressively he defends it varies with species. The Jackson’s, Veiled, or Panther Chameleon males can be spectacular in their clashes. Injury, or rarely, even death can be part of this battle. Though, usually it is just a posturing battle and then the loser runs away and finds another bush.         

 Females can move between trees. But in all of this there is an understanding. Everyone has their branches where they can get sun and feel safe from predators. They can be found in the same tree, but they are not usually found near each other. This changes with both species and population density. Trioceros hoehneli is reported to be more comfortable in close proximity than, say, Trioceros jacksonii – the Jackson’s Chameleon.

When mating season hits males are known to roam to find mates. So there can be an ebb and flow in population amongst the bushes when mating season hits. And, whenever they meet they establish who gets the right of way and who gets to run away. Male Veiled Chameleons are reported to sit at the tree top flashing their colors to other males in other tree tops while the females and young males inhabit the insides and lower levels of the trees. In episode 33, Mary Lovein reported on the social structure of the Jackson’s Chameleons in Hawaii how there would be groups in the trees. This doesn’t mean they were hanging out with each other, there was a distinct personal space that was required. I have a field report from Mozambique with Trioceros melleri, the Meller’s Chameleon. They can be in the same tree, but they keep a distance away from each other. So we can make some generalizations in their social system.

Mating season deserves some discussion as this is when they do get close to each other and sometimes stay close. So, when mating season comes the males look for females and the females pass judgement on the males. We see a behavior called mate guarding in many species of chameleons. This is where the male will mate with the female and sometimes female-s and then stand guard to ensure that no other male comes in and adds his genetics to the mix. A 2001 study determined that Chamaeleo chameleonwas more aggressive in defending the larger females so they do recognize a priority structure with the female producing more young being guarded more. While the more romantically inclined humans may see this as pair bonding, the truth of the intention of the males has little to do with affection for the female.  Another study saw that pairs of certain chameleons, including the Jackson’s Chameleon, stay together for months before going their separate ways. There is a nice chapter by Devi Stuart-Fox in the book Biology of Chameleons that summarizes the handful of studies that describe the mate guarding behavior. The main take away for us is that when we include another chameleon in the mix we introduce a complicated social interaction that changes with the seasons

So when you hear the phrase that chameleons are solitary animals, know that that is a gross oversimplification. They have a rich social structure that they all understand perfectly. It is just very different than human social nature and sometimes oversimplification is necessary in this world. The important piece to communicate is that, unlike humans, a pet chameleon will have a long healthy life without ever seeing another chameleon. In fact, it is when you bring another chameleon into their life that we introduce a whole new range of complications that are not necessary for their physical or mental health.  So it isn’t inaccurate to have a solitary mindset when considering how we will keep them in captivity. So, yes, there are many layers of understanding here.

Now, how does all of this affect us keeping chameleons in captivity. If we keep one chameleon it isn’t that hard. They want their basking branch, the four gradients (see episode 1), and a good place to feel safe sleeping. Pretty simple. That gets turned on its head when you introduce another chameleon into the same space. You now have all of those social interactions that we just discussed happening in the space of your cage. If you remember, a chameleon’s loose social structure includes a great deal of space between individuals. Even when they are in the same tree they want their space from each other. If, for whatever reason, they do get close they are entering into a tolerance of each other which, when either has had their fill they will fight for their space or go find another space. To have a healthy social interaction you need to provide the space necessary for chameleons to go through all the steps and nuances of their social interaction. This can only be done by giving them a tree top or two to act out their social behaviors. Otherwise things get seriously messed up because they cannot exhibit the behaviors required by their social rules. And chameleons cannot talk it out, make allowances for reduced space, and find a middle ground.

The first thing chameleons do when they come in contact is establish a pecking order. Who gets to eat first. Who gets their choice of basking branches. If one is larger and the other accepts their secondary status then there is a peace and the primary gets the first choice of everything. But this means one will be healthier than the other. And, here is the insidious part, there will be constant reminders of who is in charge. They can’t just decide and then go on with life. Every day that the second in line grows and considers whether they want to be in charge the alpha male or female has to defend their position. So there is a constant stress on both as they are jockeying for position. Some are pretty dramatic about it. They gape, they posture, they flatten out. They fight. Others do it silently and it is actually difficult to see that it is going on unless you know what to look for. Jackson’s Chameleons are notorious for not giving obvious signs of stress. Well, until they suddenly for “no reason” get a respiratory infection and die. The problem is that their way of quietly dealing with their problem is so subtle that Jackson’s Chameleon keepers actually think they are happy. If you are a new keeper to Jackson’s Chameleons please listen. You may think they love you. You may think they love their cage mate and are doing just fine. It is months later that we are all on social media trying to pinpoint the reason for failing health when your husbandry is “perfect”.

So what is going on is that your two chameleons are spending their days struggling with the chameleon social structure. You just do not have the amount of space in your cage necessary for them to play out their social communication. Part of the reason why chameleons can be in the same tree in the wild is because they can easily get away from each other when necessary. And here is my sound bite that you will hear over and over because it perfectly encapsulates the situation. Cohabitation does not work – not because chameleons can’t be around each other- but because they cannot get away from each other. And this isn’t solved just by providing visual cover. When they are in this battle they seek each other out. They will find each other. The dominant one will deliberately take the smaller one’s food. They will crawl over each other. The dominant one will perch next to the submissive to remind them of the structure. This is where humans think it is cute that they love each other so much that they sleep next to each other. It is like the teacher looking out the window commenting on how well you and your bully share your lunch. You must be great friends. And here is the base problem. In chameleon language, you win the debate when the loser leaves your area. In the wild, the loser just goes to the other side of the tree and life goes on. In a cage, the loser never leaves. So the winner never wins. By removing the ability for the chameleons to leave the area we are messing up their ability to communicate within their defined social structure. This introduces stress, which, over time, degrades the immune system and lets in an infection of some sort and can easily end up killing the chameleon. I wish I was being overly dramatic. But we see this progression happening all the time. If the course is not changed it leads to death of one and the weakening of the other who spent so many months winning the argument. Most people don’t catch this because they don’t know the signs of trouble and worse, misinterpret the signs they do see as positive relationship signs.  Even if two are together and they have established a pecking order that both agree on – things change. As they grow in size, the younger and smaller one day starts questioning why they are the #2. As seasons change and internal urges for mating pop up the whole process starts again. Every day is a different day.

So why do we do it? It is not like anything I am saying is new. In fact, any intrepid google researcher will find an article in the Chameleons Ezine by me 16 years ago saying something suspiciously similar. And then another article by me on the Dragonstrand.com website five years ago with not a lot changed. And then podcast episode 6 on stress four years ago. And yet, one look at social media shows that our desire to put chameleons together in a cage is alive and going strong. Why?

Well, because we are pack animals. That is what we know. We are not happy until we have someone in our life and we are not happy until the people we love have someone in their life. And then we create a community around us of more individuals. We feel safe and secure when we are in a group. Even people who want to be seen as individuals want people around them to recognize their independence.  This community structure is so ingrained in us that we don’t even consider that that is a pack animal mentality and that not every animal is a pack animal!

Pack animals have such a strong drive to create communities because that is how we survive. Humans are miserably ill equipped to last on the Savannah. Our only saving grace is our brain and working together in groups. Wolves and lions have discovered this as well. But tigers and bear have discovered the solitary lifestyle works for them. It really is species dependent. But this is why dogs make such great pets. They understand the same social structure as we do. They make social bonds very similar to ours so we as species understand each other. Touch means the same thing to them as it does to us. Napping together is a sign of trust and bonding. We both agree on the meanings of these actions. With chameleons, if your chameleon naps on your hand the experienced community all goes crazy talking about vet visits and figuring out what is wrong before the chameleon is dead. Two totallydifferent worlds!

So when you consider a chameleon and you want to put two in a cage together, consider why.

Now, let’s be fair, a huge number of cohabitations start with the pet store owner or reptile show vendor telling you it can be done. They have done it for six months and everything is fine. Or else “this is a bonded pair”. This all comes from greed or ignorance. Although it is very frustrating to have this debate still I don’t want to demonize the people who say that, for example, Jackson’s Chameleons can be housed together. With all the misinformation out there how can someone that deals with 50 species of animals be expected to know more than the surface level of each one? How deep did you have to dig before you found this podcast? And you are dedicated to chameleons so are willing to listen to 45 minutes of chameleon radio – once a week. Every single animal on this planet is as uniquely suited for their environment and has a unique social structure. You would need to listen to 100 podcast episodes on each species to really get each down. How many pet store owners or even reptile vendors at shows will put in that kind of effort? So if you are coming to this podcast after getting a glass of cold water splashed on you that everything the guy selling the chameleons told you was suspect then all I can say is I am sorry it is like this. The people selling these chameleons are often not knowledgeable. They are telling you what they know. They don’t usually know what is wrong. It has worked for them. Without a reference, it is very hard to tell what information is good.

And, you are not alone if this is new. Every week there are people that are newly exposed to the depth of what is required to take care of chameleons. It may be overwhelming to suddenly break into this new world, but I will say it is exciting that there is so much good information available! I know it is hard to tell the difference. But, at least you are here now. Sure, I am just another guy from the digital age, but I commit to you that I will explain why I say what I say and you can verify it in anyway you feel necessary. In fact, I encourage it. I would rather you not go around saying you are doing something because I said it. I work pretty hard to explain why I say things! Think about what I say, make it make sense in your own mind, and then it is yours. You then do not have to reference anyone else.

And because there is never black and white and it can never be easy, let’s discuss exceptions and false exceptions.

• Many breeders, including myself, have found that raising chameleons together from hatching produces chameleons that seem to be able to live in the same space peacefully – at least for a little while. When raised up since birth they tend to grow into their pecking order. We need to be careful though. Because as they grow their bodies are changing and their hormones are developing. Things change and one day they may not do so well. I once had four panther chameleon brothers raised together that appeared to live in harmony. They did this until they colored up and went to new homes. But I would never recommend counting on this to happen. It can go horribly wrong. And I am going to bring in a bizarre development that is, admittedly, new to me. There seems to also be a mental health aspect to this. Apparently, siblings can even develop an unhealthy dependence on each other. It is rare, but I have come across a handful of cases now where siblings raised together would only eat when they were with the other. They would take this to the extreme where they would refuse to eat unless the other was there to the point of losing weight. If you find yourself in this situation I am going to strongly suggest you not view this as sibling love and do what it takes to break them of this unhealthy relationship. When I first heard about this in female Jackson’s Chameleons I thought it was a fluke. But when I heard about another case, and then another, it got concerning. If you have encountered this situation with two sibling female Jackson’s Chameleons – or any other chameleon – please email me and share your experiences. I would like to get to the bottom of what is going on. As for how to break them of this, I have brought on Alycia Lowe, who is a moderator on the Jackson’s Chameleon Community Facebook group and we discussed the situation and what she finally did to solve the issue <At this point I brought on Alycia who shared her story>. So, what do we make of this? And why are we seeing this dynamic now? People have kept Jackson’s Chameleons together despite best practices for decades. Maybe it is just that I am hearing about it now and it has been happening all along. I don’t have an answer on that just yet. But this is another example of how complex the emotional state of our chameleons is. I am sure some of you remember my experience where I had a male that grew up with a dominant female and he was so friendzoned that there was no way I was going to get a breeding. Even after separation they both remembered the pecking order. So I brought in a mirror and pretended to be another male competitor. When he gave any sort of response I would make the male in the mirror run away. After a couple of weeks he got his confidence back. Scaring away every male in the jungle did something for his self-esteem.  When I placed him in with the female after that he put on a stellar performance which resulted in a successful mating. The point is, that you have two examples here of emotional issues having to be resolved. These just happen to be because of co-habitation, but the deeper realization here is that this is a complex creature we are dealing with. Now, going back to the situation where the two females were locked in whatever relationship they had, Alycia reports that this did not happen with the other babies that grew up in the same conditions. So the mystery deepens a little more. What was it with these two? It was obviously unhealthy because they were not acting like chameleons should, but you could almost ask why mess with what they had if they were eating and growing? The answer is that they weren’t acting like chameleons should act. It is hard to tell how that would have played out long term, but with the report that once they were separated successfully that they went on to exhibit expected chameleon behavior I think it is clear that this condition, if you ever run into it yourself, is worth breaking up.
• The second case is with females. Cohabitating males is generally not a hard thing to convince people not to do. But females can be kept together much easier. It does work, with enough space, to keep females together, but there is still a pecking order and bullying that does go on. It can be at a deeper level, especially with calmer species. This is one of those situations where you can get away with it because they aren’t as aggressive, but you still have to watch out for trouble. In my view, if you have to watch out for trouble you are in a compromise situation and you shouldn’t be doing it. We put chameleons in compromise situations for our own benefit. We want more chameleons in a smaller space. We want a large breeding group without spending more money for cages. If you do this compromise then acknowledge that you are engaged in a compromise and take the precautions necessary to make it work. I won’t go over how to make an unnecessary compromise work as this podcast is about propagating the best practices. It can be done. I have done it. But at no time will I ever say it is best practices.
• And this brings us to keeping babies together. When chameleons hatch or are born they immediately disperse. They hatch at the same time to increase the survival rate of the whole clutch if there are predators in the area. And they disperse as quickly as possible. So they are growing up alone. They may see each other, but there is no teamwork going on here. From time to time you can find pictures of a huge clump of babies sleeping on the end of a branch. Our human emotions consider sleeping together as a form of deepest trust so it is cute to us looking through human eyes. But those claws on chameleons are not meant for caressing. They are meant for digging in and holding on their sleeping branches during windy nights. Babies stacked on top of each other is not an affectionate thing. They are being driven by similar instincts and, will sometimes find the same spot – especially in an enclosed environment. This is not proof they should be raised together. Some clutches are calm and some want to rip each other’s throats out from the beginning. But they all will start their pecking order behavior to some level. Whether it comes out as crawling over each other, stealing each other’s food, or just shadowing each other, you will get dominance behaviors coming out. It is well known that raising babies in groups can often result in bites and nipped tails. It is well known that you need to separate them according to size or the smaller ones will whither away. Once again, when we have to put all this effort into making it work that screams that it is a compromise. So, yes, we do it. But we do it because we don’t have the space or money for caging to do it right. It is not for the good of the babies that we do it. It can work and it can work acceptably well. But it is not best practices. If you are going to have babies, chances are good that you will not be able to keep them all separately. But prepare as many containers as possible to be able to separate them out as much as is possible.
• Let’s go on to pygmy chameleons. Most pygmy chameleons have a low aggression towards each other. And it is even reported that they do better breeding in small groups where there can be some male competition. So this becomes an exercise for you as the keeper to figure out how large of a vivarium you need to allow their social behavior to play itself out. Remember, any chameleon can be cohabitated if you give the members enough space to act out within their social structure. You can keep male veiled chameleons together if your enclosure is big enough for two mature acacia trees. That is just the size of what they need to work within the social behavior they have developed. So if you have a pygmy chameleon species that has a complete social behavior that can function within a vivarium that fits in your room then you can do it. There are precious few people that have worked extensively with any pygmy chameleon species so finding information about the particular species you are considering may be difficult. But you have to look at this whole chameleon thing as a quest where you need to search for hidden nuggets of wisdom. You, most likely, will have to dig to find the gold.
• The last exception is with exceptionally large caging. So let’s go back to what I said about two acacia trees in an enclosure. There have been successful groups kept together. I have, before, reported on a group of dwarf jacksons chameleons that were thriving in a large densely planted outdoor aviary. Densely planted green houses could provide enough space. Each species will need a different amount of space depending on their genetic programming. Some people have tried to accomplish this in a room of their house. We call this a free range. As cool as it sounds to live with your chameleons, this takes a great deal of effort, planning, and tweaking to work. And often even it is not big enough for the number of chameleons people like to put together. I have only rarely seen free ranges that can work long term. If this is in your interest then you can check out episode 24 of this podcast where we talk to someone that did it and we have an honest and frank discussion about the pros and cons.

Now let’s look at the other side. Could there be social interactions that are healthy? And this is a tricky question. I would say, yes, interaction with their own kind is natural in the wild. Whether it is necessary to produce a healthy chameleon in captivity is another question. The data and evidence I have seen is not conclusive. The opinions run high.  Some say that you have to socialize your baby chameleons or else they won’t know how to mate properly. My veiled chameleons were raised individually and they had no problem mating and when the female was gravid she had no problem telling the male and he backed off. So I could not recreate this reported dysfunction. There was a study that noted that the feeding response and aggression in singly raised chameleons was much lower than group raised chameleons. It was a strange study because it came to conclusions but did not judge the value of those conclusions. For example, a slower feeding response in individually raised chameleons? Sounds like a positive to me. Eating when you are hungry rather than because you fear your food could be taken away sounds like a good thing to me. But the practical application of this was lost on me. None of my individually raised chameleons across multitude of species ever forgot how to eat. They all grew up to an acceptable size without instilling a sense of urgency to eat beyond what they already have programmed inside of them. My veiled chameleons had a healthy enough appetite and would eat anything in sight even though they didn’t have to fight for their food. As the epidemic of obesity in pet chameleons is alive and well I am hard pressed to find the problem that needs solving here. And then aggression. If you are having a pet chameleon what value is there is making sure it can fight other chameleons off? I am not aware of any emotional issues in captive chameleons that will be solved by juvenile socialization. But, hey, if anyone wants to put in the effort to show a true, re-creatable positive I am all ears. This hobby is all about going deeper and learning more.

One point where people argue it is a good idea that babies that are raised with some sort of interaction with each other are better breeders. On this I have heard many conflicting opinions on this. I’d like to save that discussion for later. What interaction they need to produce breeding behavior will need to be both tested and then challenged. See, we in the community are very good at observing something happen, interpreting it, and preaching it. It is rare that I see anyone with these ideas actively explore how to disprove their idea and try to disprove it before preaching it. But, this level of discussion is beyond what I want to touch on in this podcast episode. The point is that if there is a positive to interaction between chameleons it is subtle enough to be difficult to define. And if there is a positive it is most likely a positive that can be given by putting chameleons in visual range of each other rather than in the same cage as each other so it likely not to affect the decision as to whether we should co-habitate chameleons or not.

 It is well known that chameleons looking at each other from across the room get used to each other and accept that each has their own bush. So even male Veileds and panthers will accept seeing each other across the room. But, going back to our test for success – does this allow them to exercise their ingrained social structure? The answer is yes. The male is effectively on another tree and they are not meeting in the middle. They can communicate and there is no breach of chameleon etiquette that cannot be rectified within the set-up.

So, let’s wrap this up. The unmistakable bottom line is that the best husbandry approach is one chameleon per cage. Everything else is a compromise. There are assumptions in every simplification. The assumption in this statement is that your cage is not big enough to allow the full range of social interaction in the chameleons you are keeping. With 95% of the cages available and 99% of the chameleons available at any given time this axiom will hold true. You will be much happier and your chameleon will be much happier if you follow the one chameleon per cage rule.

This is one of the first challenges we humans hit when on our chameleon journey. As we tackle each one of these differences in world view we develop our chameleon instincts. The more we develop these instincts the more we can start to trust our feelings again because they have been tuned into the chameleon wavelength. There is no shortcut. This takes time, study, and practice. Time will just happen whether we want it to or not. The study material here. So now it is just you practicing over and over. Test, challenge, learn, do better; try again. Believe me. We all had to do it. And just like anyone who has been around for a while, you just keep plugging away. And it won’t be long before it starts working for you. The secret is simple – you never stop.

Thank you for joining me here on  this episode for a look into co-habitation. I am hoping with this explanation and insight you can now understand the “why” behind the one chameleon per cage rule. You truly understand the rule when you understand the limits of the rule. And now you know the limits of the no cohabitation rule.  I much prefer a community that understands why the advice is given. The motto of this podcast is Learn. Understand. Pass it On. Learning is the “what”. In this case, one chameleon per cage. Understanding is knowing the “why” so well that you know when the rule is not needed. Once you understand, that is when you are 100% effective in passing it on. That is when you can help others who are on your same path up the mountainside to enjoy these incredible views.

Chameleons start developing from day 1 after fertilization, but it is in the egg that the body begins to form. Hidden under the shell there are enormous changes taking place. Dr. Raul Diaz is a scientist that has uncovered some of these mysteries and, in this episode, shares with us the stages of development chameleons go through in the egg.