7-8 month old veiled chameleon still stressed

[RustyAmnesia]

My chameleon is still a very dark red colour,
Which I'm sure means its still stressed about something, but I have NO idea about what.
I have noticed that it is green when he eats, and when he goes to sleep/wakes up in the morning (or anytime the lights are not on) I'm not quite sure what to do :/ I've been feeding him crickets with calcium powder, I mist 3X a day, I have the temperature at 30 degrees celcius and the humidity at around 60, no matter what I've tried he's still always red unless like I said he is eating or the lights are off.

In both of these instances he isn't entirely green like when I bought him, he is just partially green... he looks like this...
http://imgur.com/brajvGr (1OOW uva lights on)
http://imgur.com/94DAvSn(light off)

here is the link to my other post with more information...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/new-chameleon-owner-getting-concerned-106394/#post970726

 

[didyousneeze]

In my oppinion those aren't really stressed colors.. He honestly looks like he's going to have a lot of rust or red when he's older which is pretty rare Black markings or puffing up with dark markings is stress.

 

[RustyAmnesia]

That could be the case,
however when I purchased him he was green

 

[didyousneeze]

That's how mine was but then again I got him really young haha I honestly wouldn't worrie about it.. it jus looks like he's strutting some nice color to come. And during the day they usually will go a lil darker to bask and absorb more heat. I don't know how long you've had him but still make slow movements near him. Builds trust. Real sunlight when you get the chance will really brighten him up as well.

 

[RustyAmnesia]

Oh, okay thank you
I've had him for about 2 months now, the pet store where I got him said he was about 5-6 months old when I purchased him.

 

[didyousneeze]

Anytime=)
He looks good and you seem to be doing things right.

 

[Julija]

Hey there!

Just wanted to second the previous reply and tell you that you cham does not look stressed at all actually, he looks like a healthy happy critter, but he indeed seems to have pretty rare coloration for a veiled!

When they get stressed, they usually go dark grey/black, try to make themselves look very thin and flip on the other side of the branch, so that you can't see them. Angry/annoyed coloration is usually bright with dark spots.

After looking at your other thread, I would suggest to look into getting a bigger enclosure - 16x16x30 is good enough for a baby veiled, but it is too small for a juvenile. Lack of places to hide and lack of space in general can stress out your chameleon.

Cheers,
Julija

 

[Fretfreak13]

Kind of irrelevant, but I did notice from your post (I didn't read the other thread so sorry if you mentioned it there) that you're running a uva light? Does your little fella have access to uvb as well?

 

[szpond]

Kind of irrelevant, but I did notice from your post (I didn't read the other thread so sorry if you mentioned it there) that you're running a uva light? Does your little fella have access to uvb as well?

Yeah, agree with this -- is the 100w all there is?

Also nice looking guy! Gorgeous patterns!

 

[RustyAmnesia]

I also have a UVB bulb I believe it is a 26w bulb.. not entirely sure