chameleon color problem

[nuker destrong]

hi i live in Tunisia which is north Africa so it is normal for us to find flapneck chameleons in our town. the problem, i have found a new one but he has a skin problem it doesn't change to green but to orange

is there any solution to fix his skin?
i was thinking of feeding him colorants but i am going to ask you pro's first

here is a picture of him

 

[Carlton]

hi i live in Tunisia which is north Africa so it is normal for us to find flapneck chameleons in our town. the problem, i have found a new one but he has a skin problem it doesn't change to green but to orange

is there any solution to fix his skin?
i was thinking of feeding him colorants but i am going to ask you pro's first

here is a picture of him
View attachment 97923

Feeding a cham a color enhancer won't do anything to change a coloration that may be normal for this individual chameleon. Their color change is driven by hormonal reactions to stress, to temperature, light, etc. You may be able to treat a skin injury, but if the injury is old and scarred it might not do much. Were you taking about the dark patches on the side of its face or the cham's whole body? This could be a fungal, bacterial, or viral infection, or possibly scarring from an old injury. Hard to say.

 

[nuker destrong]

dark patches are fixed
that's an old picture
i am talking about whole body

so there is no solution

 

[Trace]

Actually Flapneck Chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis) are not endemic to your part of the world. They are found predominately through the middle and southern parts of Africa. What you have there is a Chamaeleo chamaeleon or Mediterranean Chameleon. Colour is pretty variable in this species and are generally green but grey and brown colours and not uncommon. I’m not sure if the red/orange is breeding or receptive colours but as stated they can not be changed through diet.

 

[Cait0420]

I think the orange is kinda pretty

 

[christineacero]

To me, the orange pattern she's showing looks normal and that it's supposed to be there...just my observation

 

[kinyonga]

Breeding season isn't until later in he summer for the common chameleon.

 

[junglefries]

I want to ask her to prom, if that's ok with you sir. Your daughter sure is pretty. I promise to have home by 11pm.

 

[nuker destrong]

i also think that orange looks pretty but i thought that he kinda have problem i mean my other chameleon is green



but thanks for the help

 

[nuker destrong]

To me, the orange pattern she's showing looks normal and that it's supposed to be there...just my observation

i also said that

 

[nuker destrong]

Actually Flapneck Chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis) are not endemic to your part of the world. They are found predominately through the middle and southern parts of Africa. What you have there is a Chamaeleo chamaeleon or Mediterranean Chameleon. Colour is pretty variable in this species and are generally green but grey and brown colours and not uncommon. I’m not sure if the red/orange is breeding or receptive colours but as stated they can not be changed through diet.

oh ok

and "her chameleon" i am a boy

 

[Trace]

I never stated the gender of the chameleon as the tail base isn’t visible in the first photo you posted. I’m not one to make guesses or assumptions about chameleons.

That said, in the second photo the red/orange specimen looks to be a female because I’m not seeing a definitive hemipenal bulge. If you could get a few clear photos of both your chameleons we could identify them for sure. We would need side-view shots of their bodies, with emphasis on the base of the tail, casque (head) and hind feet (some males have rudimentary tarsal spurs).

Cheers!
Trace

 

[nuker destrong]

I never stated the gender of the chameleon as the tail base isn’t visible in the first photo you posted. I’m not one to make guesses or assumptions about chameleons.

That said, in the second photo the red/orange specimen looks to be a female because I’m not seeing a definitive hemipenal bulge. If you could get a few clear photos of both your chameleons we could identify them for sure. We would need side-view shots of their bodies, with emphasis on the base of the tail, casque (head) and hind feet (some males have rudimentary tarsal spurs).

Cheers!
Trace

https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/nuker-destrong-albums-both-my-chams-pictures.html

tell me if you need more

 

[Carlton]

i also think that orange looks pretty but i thought that he kinda have problem i mean my other chameleon is green

View attachment 97945

but thanks for the help

This is a beautiful cham regardless! You are lucky to find one.

 

[Trace]

Thank you for the better photos! The grey/red specimen is a female. You can tell by the thinner tail base and shorter casque. The green one is a little more difficult although I’d likely say female. Again I’m not seeing a thick tail base however there are one or two photos where it does appear thicker but it might just be the angle of the camera.

This is a beautiful cham regardless! You are lucky to find one.

I agree! She is very pretty. It’s nice to see some different species on the forums. I’m not sure if you can or have the chance but it would be interesting to see photos of their natural habitat.

Cheers,
Trace

 

[SycoSquirl]

has there ever been an albino chameleon? There are albino snakes and lizards so why not chameleons? This could be an albino, but just an out of the box thought on the matter

 

[ataraxia]

hi, i have had few flapnecks but have not kept them for long enough to know them well. I would guess your chameleon is displaying this coloration for one of these two reasons.

1. Very hot, improper temps. keeping her in the sun for to long, etc..
2. Stress. Typically from site or caged with another or telling a mate to back off.

 

[Trace]

I agree that improper husbandry, health and stress can contribute to odd colours. That's not a Flapneck though and greys and browns, while not typical, can be used to describe the Mediterranean or European Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon).

 

[kinyonga]

And good number of the ones I hatched were greys to browns.

 

[ataraxia]

Ah, thanks for the correction. Kinda missing flaps huh, lol!