Grey veiled - should I be concerned?

[maya2]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, I'm guessing 4-5 months? Been in my care for two.
Handling - Rarely, last time was to move him into a new cage.
Feeding - 4 medium crickets a day, the latest I might feed him is 3pm, although it's usually around 11-12. Dinofuel + varied greens. This week collard. Plus gel water.
I use mealworms, hornworms and silkworms as treats.
Supplements - Calcium dusting every day, d3 + multivitamins once every other week.
Watering - My girlfriend mists once in the morning (I'm usually at work before sunrise) and I mist 3-4 times after that using warm water and a pump sprayer. I suppose it takes 3-5 minutes to cover everything. I see him drink when I've gotten water on him, but not otherwise.
Fecal Description - dark brown, white urate.
History - Gotten from a petsmart, not particularly friendly (I've been trying to take steps to make him more comfortable)

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 18 x 18 x 36 screen.
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 tube light, reptile basking light w/dimmer. Both on a 12hr timer.
Temperature - 85-87 in basking spot, 70-73 on the bottom. thermometer/hygrometer in top and bottom.
Humidity - It's 40-45% when I come home, and then ranges from 50%-80% as I mist and let it dry throughout the day. I mist for the last time maybe 1 hr 1/2 before lights out.
Plants - One umbrella tree, one small pothos, and some baby tears. I also have assorted fake plants.
Placement - Between kitchen and living room. Traffic includes me, my girlfriend, and two cats that have no idea there's a reptile in the house. The top of the cage is 56 inches high, so maybe 4 1/2 ft? (I would like it higher, just can't afford a new shelf quite yet)
Location - Santa Fe, NM (dry climate, high altitude)

Current Problem - I feel like when my guy was younger he was super bright green. Now I can see where his yellow bars want to to start showing, but he's kind of grey and dull. Is this normal? Should I be worried, or change something?

Here's a picture of my guy, and of his enclosure.

 

[sandrachameleon]

he's cute.
could he be about to shed, hence the dullness (though he looks fine to me)?
You might feed him a bit more?
you might consider a few more branches/vines and removing the red plastic in favour of real plants

 

[maya2]

I hope that's the case, although he did shed during this awkward time and returned to being greyish.

I'll try feeding him a couple more crickets a day, maybe add some extra silkworms.
I'm hoping that as that pothos grows, I can use it for more coverage for him, and until then I'll find another plant to help him out. thank you!

I have some branches that I picked up on a hike, but I haven't gotten around to baking them yet. I'll get on that.

Thank you so much for the feedback!

 

[CLP]

A possibility might be that the bright plastic plants are stressing him out. I have three veiled and they hate any color in the reds - pink, orange, etc. Can't say for sure, but might be worth a try.

Hand feeding is a good way to get them more friendly with you. I usually use worms as those are easier to hand feed

I agree that he does look healthy though and it seems like you've got all the basics right for his care. Good luck with him! Could just be a phase he's going through too.

 

[maya2]

Thanks! Those plants haven't been in there for long, I actually put them in because I was worried it's because he wasn't feeling hidden enough. oh well.
I'll take them out and replace them with something live or at the very least darker.

The hand-feeding is going really well! In the past two weeks I've gone from him NEVER eating in front of me to taking food from chop sticks, then short insect tongs, then finally today he ate his first three crickets from my hand.

I'll order some more silkworms tomorrow - he'll be stoked on that.

 

[Lathelia]

He doesn't look grey to me

 

[maya2]

No? Well that's good lol this isn't the first time I've been paranoid