Dead cham dosn't loose color

[Melvin]

My cham died last night. Im sad but at the same time happy for him because he don't need to struggle anymore. The rigor mortis has set in so he's really stiff. but he still has amazing colors. Im just curios how he can be dead but still has he's color. Does it take long time before they loose their colors?

 

[Miss Lily]

So sorry you lost him, I read your other thread last night. Mine have never lost colour when they died, in fact, some were as bright as normal. Their eyes sink right into their heads though.

 

[carol5208]

When I had my chameleon put to sleep I was surprised to see how beautiful he was when he died. He still had color when I wrapped him up and prepared him to be buried. He was not as bright as he was at the vets, but he was darker. Not black though.

 

[Melvin]

So sorry you lost him, I read your other thread last night. Mine have never lost colour when they died, in fact, some were as bright as normal. Their eyes sink right into their heads though.

thank you for your answer. Yes his eyes have sinked in. Strange that som chams loose color but some doesn't.

 

[alphakenc]

God did take away that best looking veiled chameleon of yous Melvin,he will be missed and im sure he is very grateful to have a best owner like you,have a great day.

 

[jannb]

My condolences. All of mine started loosing their color right before or right after death. As you can see in my signature I have lost quite a few over the years.

 

[jajeanpierre]

My cham died last night. Im sad but at the same time happy for him because he don't need to struggle anymore. The rigor mortis has set in so he's really stiff. but he still has amazing colors. Im just curios how he can be dead but still has he's color. Does it take long time before they loose their colors?

This post is a bit graphic. No pictures, though.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss. He lived a long life. You should be proud of that.

I don't know the answer to that. I had a neonate die a day after hatching. He was in trouble right out of the egg, weak with a huge egg yolk that didn't absorb. He turned black after he died. Another from the same clutch died in the shell. I opened the shell about 10 days after the others hatched. I suspect he died around the time the others hatched but surprisingly didn't smell. The egg had lost it's pressure and a dent was forming. That baby stayed bright green even in death. I left him in the box of vermiculite on my desk for a few days, like you, just to be "sure" even though I was 100% positive he was quite dead.

I'm like that with a lot of animals. I have to slaughter any excess roosters I have. Sadly, there is no place in this world other than a soup pot for more than one or two roosters per flock. I do a cervical dislocation (my avian vet's favorite method to slaughter birds) and then slit the juglar veins to bleed them out. They are definitely dead. When I go to process them, I still will remove their heads "just to be sure." It's a bit neurotic, but I can't help it.

 

[Melvin]

God did take away that best looking veiled chameleon of yous Melvin,he will be missed and im sure he is very grateful to have a best owner like you,have a great day.

thank you very much. he lived for 7 long years