Ambanja lost his coloring

ambanjamom

ambanjamom

New Member
Just wondering if anyone has had this happen to their cham & if so do you know why.
I will post before and present pics.
This has been going on since about late Oct. early Nov. & he has been to the vet say aprox.5 times because of this.He has checked out fine each & everytime.My vet has been my exotic vet for the past 15yrs & I trust him with all my animals & would never go to another.Cogan has not acted any different during all this.Still eats & drinks & not losing weight.My husbandry has been perfect plus my vet says I'm doing everything right plus my other 2 chams have been taken care of the same & are doing great.
Did bloodwork on Mon. got the results this morning and NOTHING is showing up,he is in perfect health otherwise.But it's driving me nuts.My vet spoke with other reptile vets & they too are at a loss,they have no clue other than something genetic.
So if anyone has any idea please let me know & thanks
Before pic 174.jpg
107.jpg
132.jpg this morning
 
I've heard of colour flips on panthers but that looks unusual.is he shedding as normal.sorry I'm not any help but I don't no much on the subject.I'm sure if you fill out the ask for help form some one might shed a bit of light on it for you
 
During all this he's only shed once.Health wise he's fine.Don't need to fill the ask for help form cause my husbrandy is fine & vet approved.I'm just asking for ideas or if this has happened to someone else and by chance what they found out.
My vet also said that it might be something seasonal so we shall see come spring if he gets his blues back or if he will remain like this the rest of his life
 
Sorry I didn't mean it to come across like that.Gee duh me spelled my husbandry wrong to boot.I was just trying to explain that it's not my husbandry it's totally something different & just trying to get some different ideas on what could be causing this
 
It might be his winter colours. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but i thought I read somewhere or heard it in a Doc, that chameleons get more dull in the winter and more vibrant in the summer.

I could also possibly be making it all up haha. But I hope I'm not lol.:eek:
 
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That would be great if that's what it is.I could live with that.
As long as he's happy & healthy then I can accept a color change
 
My chameleons do not lose their coloration in the winter and we have temps in the single digits. However, because they are in controlled indoor environments, the temps and humidity really stay the same. Therefore, they are not subjected to harsh cold and lack of humidity. Regardless, if the vet said your animal is in perfect health, I would still suggest filling out the "ask for help" form. In many cases, veterinarians are not familiar with panther chameleons. By filling out the form, we can see how you are feeding and gutloading, what types of lighting you use, and the overall care you are providing. Then we can analyze the info. provided and help to point you in the right direction. It is possible that your chameleon is about to shed. Many times prior to shedding the animals skin will look dull or ashy. Suddenly, it sheds and the colors are brighter than ever.
 
Hi, there was a case very similar to yours. The owner (or a breeder, I don't remember now) guessed it was based on suplements.
 
I made another post about repashy & bloodwork,it has some of my info concerning feeders,gutload,lighting.
My vet has had lots of experience with chameleons(for 15yrs) & also spoke with several different reptile vets.They are stumped and think it's something genetic.My supplements have always been repashy and the bloodwork showed that all his organs are fine and his overall blookwork profile came back just fine.If it was my husbandry then I would think that my other 2 would be showing signs of something because they have all been taken care of the same.I'm not questioning my husbandy I'm questioning if someone else has had this happen to one of their chams and what have they found out & possibly what the vet said the cause could be
 
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I forgot to answer about possibly getting ready to shed.The answer is no & I wouldn't think that shedding would have caused him to stay this color for the past 3 mo.I've seen lots of sheds & this is nothing like it
 
ambanjamom said:
I made another post about repasy & bloodwork,it has some of my info concerning feeders,gutload,lighting.
My vet has had lots of experience with chameleons(for 15yrs) & also spoke with several different reptile vets.They are stumped and think it's something genetic.My supplements have always been repashy and the bloodwork showed that all his organs are fine and his overall blookwork profile came back just fine.If it was my husbandry then I would think that my other 2 would be showing signs of something because they have all been taken care of the same.I'm not questioning my husbandy I'm questioning if someone else has had this happen to one of their chams and what have they found out & possibly what the vet said the cause could be
Click to expand...

I am by no means saying your husbandry is wrong. However, by filling out the form, other keepers and breeders can better evaluate the situation. There are people here that have extensive chameleon knowledge and will point you in the right direction.
 
I have had bad coloration when I used to let my temps get to low during winter for too long of periods of time. Which also led to respiratory infections and parasites becoming stronger due to a weaker chameleon.

I would say up the temps and leave him alone for a while because as Todnedo said he appears stressed.

If he has had 5 vet trips that would stress him out a lot, it's good you care so much but I would recommend just letting him adjust and maybe getting his cage around 85 - 92 basking and 80-82 ambient and see if over a week or so the temp increase sparks some color. And follow up with increased warm water mistings.

Honestly temperature changes a lot. I keep my chameleons always on the warmer than colder side as a rule of thumb and since I started that my chameleons have not had a problem since.

Good luck
 
Also just to ad I have had chameleons (an ambilobe actually) lose all his vibrant colors for a few months, then once his colors returned they were amazing. So sometimes I think it's like a puberty color change or something weird like that.

Once again good luck!
 
What does he look like when he is fired up? He may just be in relaxed mode.

My adult cham is a male Nosy Be and he's pretty much just varying shades of blue but when he is fired up he is bright electric blue with very bright yellow lips and a very pretty yellow highlight to his eyelids.

When he is just hanging out he can become very light and the yellow areas turn pure white.
 
Thanks Dj,
Good to know that I'm not the only one whose cham changed color.
He's been checked all 5 times for a URI and when he was sedated Mon for his bloodwork he checked his mouth out really good too,& nothing has showed.He's not became weaker during all of this & has lost no weight
I will try to up his temps,but I've been running in range,his basking usually runs 87(checked with a temp gun)the middle runs around 78-79 and lower around 74.I always use warm water for mistings & will up these too.
The funny thing is he's not been showing his dark stress colors.He also seems to enjoy the vet visits.He's super friendly and has only fired up once since I've had him.I got him at 4 wks of age.Evne when he by chance see's his brother who is 2 mo younger, he never fires up
Oh he has been tested for parasites twice and it's negative
So I'll up the temp & misting and see how it goes
 
Hey, sorry if this is late and already been said (I didn't take the time to read through all of the other suggestions) but I know of a case where someone bought an ambanja with beautiful blue and reds, and 2 months later they panther lost his colouring. They later figured out that it was due to the feeders gutloading and supplementing schedule. So this could be it, but no promises. I would get into contact with the breeder and ask what they were gutloading their feeders with and what supplements they used!
Cheers and best of luck :)
 
Thank you David for posting that.
I know its not edema,but some of the other posts does fit.So time will tell come spring if he gets his coloring back.
 
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