black chameleon

[Chamster]

for the past week or maybe even 10 days my veiled has been almost completely black. the temperatures are fine and the light is fine. water is fine...hes poop is white as egg white so there is no problem there.

i can't seem to find out the problem because he is very alert and protective of his cage, very energetic and is eating fine (every other day).

hes 6 months old
veiled chameleon
male

why is he so dark all the time.. (all the time except when i take him out of his cage.)

 

[camimom]

for the past week or maybe even 10 days my veiled has been almost completely black. the temperatures are fine and the light is fine. water is fine...hes poop is white as egg white so there is no problem there.

i can't seem to find out the problem because he is very alert and protective of his cage, very energetic and is eating fine (every other day).

hes 6 months old
veiled chameleon
male

why is he so dark all the time.. (all the time except when i take him out of his cage.)

u say temps are fine. what are your temps? can you post a pic of him and his cage.

 

[Chamster]

here are some pics

 

[Chamster]

this is when i opened the door for him and he came out.

 

[camimom]

he seems dehydrated. What do his urates look like?> also waht are his temps in his cage like?

 

[Chamster]

mid to high 90's.......urates are white....thats why I'm confused!!!

 

[mangopixie]

It seems like he just doesn't like being cooped up. Try free ranging?

 

[pbveiled]

Isn't mid to high 90's too high for a veiled? Everything I have read says the basking temp should be around 82.

 

[camimom]

Isn't mid to high 90's too high for a veiled? Everything I have read says the basking temp should be around 82.

yes. veileds like temps lower than 85. I keep my guy at 76 and he does just fine.

 

[Thezillaman21]

wait poop is white? urate should be white not poop? could be just going threw that stage where veileds become aggressive. 6months? he looks big for that.

 

[camimom]

how lolng is he from nose to vent?

 

[Chamster]

I've have these temps for about 2 months now and he was doing fine. not sure what happened recently that made him turn black everyday.... yes I've been told he is big for a 6 month old.

from nose to vent he is.... 6.5 inches exactly

 

[camimom]

I've have these temps for about 2 months now and he was doing fine. not sure what happened recently that made him turn black everyday.... yes I've been told he is big for a 6 month old.

from nose to vent he is.... 6.5 inches exactly

Thjat is big, my guy is 7 motnhs, and hes a bit smaller.

 

[pbveiled]

Is the entire cage mid to high 90's? It looks like you have 2 or 3 lights (not counting the UV) over the cage. I try to keep 1 corner of the cage in the 80-85 range and the rest of the cage cooler so he can cool down or heat up if he wants. It could be related to the other problem you posted about him opening his mouth. Chams will gape to help thermo regulate if they can't cool down. You were told in that thread that your temps were too high as well.

 

[Chamster]

ok.....i will try something....i have 2 ceramic heat bulbs beside each other, a light and a uv.... i will turn off one of the ceramic heaters and see if there is any progress.....

 

[Chamster]

i realized that as soon as i take him out of the cage he changes colour back to normal..... or even when i open the door for him he changes colour after walking out of the cage on his own.....

 

[Chamster]

i forgot to mention that my guy only shed his head about a week ago.....

 

[Chamster]

any comments???

 

[Dawniegirl]

ok.....i will try something....i have 2 ceramic heat bulbs beside each other, a light and a uv.... i will turn off one of the ceramic heaters and see if there is any progress.....

Okay so lets start with I am no expert and am dealing with cham issues myself, along with I own a panther cham and not a veiled. That being said.. it seems from what the others stated about temps it wouldn't hurt to lower the temp and he does look dehydrated. If you mist veiled like is done for panther chams... then make sure you should mist, mist, mist him and maybe a shower wouldn't hurt (if you don't know what I mean by shower then ask and it will be explained). He's a cool lookin cham. I hope you can get his problem resolved quickly!

 

[Chamster]

i did everything you guys asked for but still no results... my guy is still darker than ever. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with being trapped in the cage. the reason why i think this is because when i take him out his colours change almost immediately to the bright colours they have when relaxed. maybe he prefers no cage like those people who set up a free roaming areas......