I've recentley had the great pleasure of recieving my panther ambilobe from kammers. He is amazing when he wants to be like almost neon blue and green and some yellow and reds and hes only 3 months old! But often he is a dark color almost black and not always when basking. Im experienced and my setup is more then adequate. He is drinking and eating and has a lot of energy. Im just wondering how I might be able to get him to have those relaxed georgous colors more often. Taking him outside is not an option unfortunatley. Go Michigan!
Deciphering Color and how to enhance it.
- Thread starter tkalawart
- Start date
hmm. Im assuming you believe my inquiry was stupid. Ill just walk away now. "head down"
SonTigerPantherCham
New Member
Ed keeps his ambient basking temp at 95, maybe he isn't used to the cooler temps?
How long have you had him?
Anne
How long have you had him?
Anne
drcrossfire
Avid Member
he's little. just wait. big boy version will have the colors you seek
Ace
Avid Member
wait until he gets bigger and have a big cage, lots of plants, and a heat spot of 90 might do it plus great gutloading on the bugs you feed to your cham help alot on color and health
i was surprised Ed has 95 as a basking spot, i had that and got burn marks on zulu, so its 90 now, maybe its 95 overtime instead of right away, must have it a good distance from the cage to prevent burns im assuming
btw dont worry about chuck he just jokes and didnt mean or meant to hurt you in anyway
also some chams are just drabby or even not so great at rest and plain, we dont know all the secrets Ed and other breeders do to have their chams constantly colorful lol
i was surprised Ed has 95 as a basking spot, i had that and got burn marks on zulu, so its 90 now, maybe its 95 overtime instead of right away, must have it a good distance from the cage to prevent burns im assuming
btw dont worry about chuck he just jokes and didnt mean or meant to hurt you in anyway
also some chams are just drabby or even not so great at rest and plain, we dont know all the secrets Ed and other breeders do to have their chams constantly colorful
lolOh he has great color already.
I was just noticing that sometimes he was very bright and others he is very dark. Just wondering if you have techniques or setups that cultivate a very happy and bright cham. And I will take another reading of his basking temps to see if I am closer to 95
Chuck G
Avid Member
hmm. Im assuming you believe my inquiry was stupid. Ill just walk away now. "head down"
I didn't think your inquiry was stupid. We are all learning, including myself.
I saw an oppurtunity to make a joke as I often do. Trust me, the stupid is on my end! As far as your question. Kammerflage and any breeder including myself will put the best pic possible when selling a chameleon. Sometimes they will look like that and alot of times they won't. Plenty of factors come into play. If he is a new chameleon it will take a while to get used to his surroundings,that inludes in the cage and what he can see outside the cage.
He will keep getting better as they always do.
SonTigerPantherCham
New Member
Ace, I did the same thing and burned Krunch in like a couple hours.
that's why k side ambient not direct basking. When I temp them they are 86-88, when I check my temp prob the inside temp around basking is mid 90's
Anne
that's why k side ambient not direct basking. When I temp them they are 86-88, when I check my temp prob the inside temp around basking is mid 90's
Anne
alexthechameleon
New Member
hell yeah im from michigan too! and just make sure he has correct supplements and is hydrated
lslcronk
New Member
hmm. Im assuming you believe my inquiry was stupid. Ill just walk away now. "head down"
hahaha Chuck would never call you stupid...he is just hilarious and likes to joke around! Read some post between Chuck and Yankfanthom they are ridiculously funny!
I often read threads they are in just to giggle!
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coldbloodedAL
Avid Member
Hmm.. I though that surface temps usually exceed the ambient air temperature?
Jsanfig
Member
I know this is really old but I thought on adding to this as I am also concerned how chameleons look AWESOME sometimes and others just dull and dark… I guess that’s why they’re chameleons after all.
I’ve been fine tuning my cage to experiment and see if there is “something” namely, humidity levels, lighting intensity or other that will reflect on happier colors on my chams. So far the only ONLY thing I can “control” to pull out his best skin is when I put him under a warm shower mist in my bathroom. He will just become insanely bright and happy looking. Other than that, it’s a matter of pure luck or depending on the day. I think the social media pictures affect the way we see our animals.
I too become a little anxious after seeing the amazing kammerflage photos with these animals looking almost filter-ready, then I think about mine and the difference is enormous. I’ve played with the color inside the cages (dark, or white) to see if chameleons reflect or feel better inside brighter enclosures but there is really no difference but mood and their will to look in a certain way.
Mendez
Chameleon Enthusiast
The biggest misconception in the chameleon-keeping hobby is what "happy colors" truly are. A chameleon that is truly content is a chameleon that is relaxed. A relaxed chameleon will have duller colors than the pictures posted by Kammerflauge or any other reptile breeder. Most people conflate a happy chameleon with "fired-up" colors that look visually appealing.
A chameleon that is showing off bright, beautiful colors is a chameleon that is not relaxed. They show off these brilliant colors to attract a mate, to fight off rival males (which can be mimicked by showing them their reflection in a mirror or camera lense), or when simply feeling threatened. When their colors are screaming with beauty, think of them actually screaming or yelling. They are not relaxed.
The problem with marketing chameleons by posting pictures of them fired up is that not many people know that the chameleon will not have these colors 24/7. These photos are purely used to sell chameleons.
No one should be trying to get their cham to show insanely bright colors. A relaxed chameleon is a chameleon that will live a long life.
I can add to this later if needed. Also, feel free to ask questions, but it sounds like your cham is doing well if he isn't fired up all the time. You can create a separate post if you want us to go through your care parameters to make sure everything else is on point.
This is not to say that your cham will never fire up naturally. It will happen, but it won't (or shouldn't) happen frequently.
Jsanfig
Member
Totally agree! It can really get to our heads and that can lead to thinking our set up isn’t correct when in fact it is. I learned to accept this and to my benefit, my chams always show brighter when I interact with them which is a joy to watch really. I just let them be as long as they have all their needs covered
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
Putting a Cham in a shower is no longer recommended and if he is bright colors when you do that could mean you’re stressing him out by doing that.
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