chameleon has darkened

Jrat

New Member
he shed about 3 weeks ago and now he has turned really dark...any reasons for this? seems like it happened over the last 3 days

blue bar ambilobe...he's eating fine...not sure if he's drinking as much as he should...7 1/2 months old
 
Skin adjustment perhaps. Are you watching him more often now after the shed? If so perhaps your stressing him out. Could be colder then normal at this season and temps in enclosure are lower so the chameleon darkens to absorbe more heat. Behavior the same? Anything different in diet or the enclosure?
 
previously....over the last month I was feeding him mainly on silkworms and he was loving life...the last 2 weeks ive been on crix because I havent had time to get them from mulberry farms... but i'll be getting them tomarrow for sure... Does noise bother them much or movement more so? b/c I do have a tv in the room...he seems to sleep fine w/ it on.
 
Movement more then anything but if nothing has changed then perhaps it may be enclosure size. He has plenty of room for his age?

Sound really isn't a big factor. Chameleons hear vibrations rather then sound tones.. But given enough BASE from Sub-Woofers you bet you'll stress it out big time.. But a decent listening level of a TV shouldn't be a worry.

Food change I would find that unlikely the cause of dark colors but maybe he's protesting for Silks.. hehe But other then that his silk diet is fine over crickets any day. Better product to offer you pet. How is the supliments in use here?

Perhaps he is either warming up or may need a larger enclosure? I'm not aware of the age and size of his enclosure. This could be something to think on.
 
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4' high 3' long 18" wide. i believe its the reptarium 100? its not the biggest but the 2nd to biggest. im sure its plenty big when he was growing I thought it was too big and he wouldn't be able to find the basking spots and hunting zones haha...but yah i dip 3 silkworms in calcium once a week and make sure he gets them down in the morning then thats about it?
 
I've recently had the same problem with my panther... he's pretty dark most of the time. I thougt it was a heat issue, so I put in a stronger basking lamp. He still remains dark most of the time. He was moved to a bigger (2x2x4) cage in October, and hasn't lightened up since his move. Would it be a security thing? His new place isn't as well "grown in" as his old place was.
 
Could be security.. He should be able to climb higher then your eye level when standing next to the cage. This will give them a better feeling of security.

The color change can be season change too. But really its hard to tell from a remote stand point. If their still doing their daily thing and are eating, pooping, and moving about then I would suspect that its got to do with season change for colors if security means are meet.
 
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