Grumpy butt and my personal curiosity of pattern to mood identification.

[AlbertEinstein]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Jacksons, male, ~8 months old, in my care for about a week.
Handling - Have only handled him maybe twice. Once when I got him home, and the second time when I was doing some cage renovation my girlfriend held him for about an hour. He was surprisingly content and light colored just sleeping in her arm.
Feeding - Live crickets, he eats maybe 4 or 5 a day. I just keep a few in his cage all the time and he eats as he pleases. They are kept in their own small cage with Fluker's High-Calcium Cricket Diet and gel water source.
Supplements - I have dusted two batches with Fluker's Calcium w/ D3 and Zoo Med's Reptivite.
Watering - I currently am hand misting him and his cage approximately 3-4 times a day for about 1.5-2 minutes each time. He's not particularly fond of it, but I am sure to use fresh warm water each misting session and he tolerates it. Just curls up, closes his eyes, and lets it happen. I have seen him drinking a few times.
Fecal Description - He hasn't been tested but his dropping have been white with some black specks. Seemingly healthy.
History - Purchased as Petco and given little to no history. If only chameleons could talk.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 16x16x30 screen cage.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 26W Repti Glo 10.0 Compact UVB and 75W Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp. He's currently on a ~12 hr cycle.
Temperature - Ambient temperature is ~68f degrees, basking temperature is ~ 75-80 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is maybe 60 degrees.
Humidity - Humidity has been a challenge but I've managed to keep it around 50-90% in between misting, the low end being when I would generally begin the next misting and the high being the highest point of evaporation after a misting. His night dry cycle is around 30-40% at it's lowest.
Plants - Not right now, have intentions but still in the beginning of this adventure.
Placement - It is located in the corner of my room. My girlfriend and I are generally in here a good portion of the day since I work from home and am renting a room. The heat vent is on the other side of the room, but there is a fan 3-4 feet away from his cage although it does not point towards him. His cage is ~2 feet off the ground on a sturdy shelf.
Location - Salem, Oregon

So, I got Albert about a week ago and he started shedding particularly on the top of his head within the first day or two that we had him. For the first few days, once he got over his nervousness, he was surprisingly friendly. Light colors, pretty quick and calm even to be handled, lots of movement and a generally relaxed temperament when approached.

The last few days he has been grumpy as all hell, and very lethargic. He isn't moving much except from up and down one branch at the top of his cage. If approached, even if not opening his door or even close he is just pissy and puffs out his neck and opens his mouth at you. Just all around grumpy.

So, over the last few days I have noticed that he has been shedding some small bits on other parts of his body in addition to the skin that is still stuck on his head, so I have just been attributing his moodiness to that. This being my first chameleon though, I'm understandably cautious and want to know what EVERYTHING means.

I'm just particularly wondering in addition to everything else, whether or not there isn't a sort of database for identifying color patterns to moods. I have noticed over the last few days he has had a dark stripe down the top half of his body which was not there prior, and I've been unable to identify what it means. So perhaps some assistance? Sorry for the poor quality picture, but you can see he's being a pissy little grump and I don't want to disturb him more than needed, lol.

 

[Carlton]

Your Chameleon - Jacksons, male, ~8 months old, in my care for about a week.
Handling - Have only handled him maybe twice. Once when I got him home, and the second time when I was doing some cage renovation my girlfriend held him for about an hour. He was surprisingly content and light colored just sleeping in her arm. He should not be sleeping during the day. He probably wasn't content, he was probably very disoriented and stressed from the change and trying to blot everything out.
Feeding - Live crickets, he eats maybe 4 or 5 a day. I just keep a few in his cage all the time and he eats as he pleases. They are kept in their own small cage with Fluker's High-Calcium Cricket Diet and gel water source. These gutloads are not great. He isn't getting very nutritious feeders. There are much better gutloads available from forum sponsors. Free ranging feeders has a few drawbacks. You can't be certain how many he actually gets before they hide, die, or escape the cage. They lose their gutload and dust pretty quickly once in the cage.
Supplements - I have dusted two batches with Fluker's Calcium w/ D3 and Zoo Med's Reptivite. Dusting for montane species such as jackson's is different than for veileds or panthers. Jax are more sensitive to dust ingredients. Dust LIGHTLY each day with plain calcium (no vit. D3). Dust once every few weeks with calcium with added vit D3. Dust once a month to 6 weeks with a herp multivitamin.
Watering - I currently am hand misting him and his cage approximately 3-4 times a day for about 1.5-2 minutes each time. He's not particularly fond of it, but I am sure to use fresh warm water each misting session and he tolerates it. Just curls up, closes his eyes, and lets it happen. I have seen him drinking a few times.
Fecal Description - He hasn't been tested but his dropping have been white with some black specks. Seemingly healthy.
History - Purchased as Petco and given little to no history. If only chameleons could talk.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - 16x16x30 screen cage.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 26W Repti Glo 10.0 Compact UVB and 75W Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp. He's currently on a ~12 hr cycle.
Temperature - Ambient temperature is ~68f degrees, basking temperature is ~ 75-80 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is maybe 60 degrees.
Humidity - Humidity has been a challenge but I've managed to keep it around 50-90% in between misting, the low end being when I would generally begin the next misting and the high being the highest point of evaporation after a misting. His night dry cycle is around 30-40% at it's lowest.
Plants - Not right now, have intentions but still in the beginning of this adventure. Live bushy plants are really preferred, both for their humidity retention and for visual cover. Most jax like to be hard to find in their setups.
Placement - It is located in the corner of my room. My girlfriend and I are generally in here a good portion of the day since I work from home and am renting a room. The heat vent is on the other side of the room, but there is a fan 3-4 feet away from his cage although it does not point towards him. His cage is ~2 feet off the ground on a sturdy shelf.
Location - Salem, Oregon

So, I got Albert about a week ago and he started shedding particularly on the top of his head within the first day or two that we had him. For the first few days, once he got over his nervousness, he was surprisingly friendly. Light colors, pretty quick and calm even to be handled, lots of movement and a generally relaxed temperament when approached.

The last few days he has been grumpy as all hell, and very lethargic. He isn't moving much except from up and down one branch at the top of his cage. If approached, even if not opening his door or even close he is just pissy and puffs out his neck and opens his mouth at you. Just all around grumpy. You haven't had him long at all. It can take weeks for a cham to show its true personality. He may actually getting a little more settled, which means territorial. Jax are not very aggressive, but bluff a lot.

So, over the last few days I have noticed that he has been shedding some small bits on other parts of his body in addition to the skin that is still stuck on his head, so I have just been attributing his moodiness to that. This being my first chameleon though, I'm understandably cautious and want to know what EVERYTHING means.

I'm just particularly wondering in addition to everything else, whether or not there isn't a sort of database for identifying color patterns to moods. I have noticed over the last few days he has had a dark stripe down the top half of his body which was not there prior, and I've been unable to identify what it means. Is the dark stripe there regardless of his color changes? Stress coloration in jax is a dark green to black background with lighter diamond shapes along their sides. If the dark stripe is always visible it could be a skin issue such as a thermal burn. Along the top of the back is a classic site for burns. So perhaps some assistance? Sorry for the poor quality picture, but you can see he's being a pissy little grump and I don't want to disturb him more than needed, lol.[/QUOTE]

 

[AlbertEinstein]

He should not be sleeping during the day. He probably wasn't content, he was probably very disoriented and stressed from the change and trying to blot everything out.

While I agree, I think he may have thought it was night due to being removed from light and my girlfriend was being very cautious to not move while he was out. We have seen his stress coloration in multiple instances, and he always shows a dark green patterning throughout his body. He was light colored and not frantic in this particular instance, which is the only reason I say he seemed calm.

These gutloads are not great. He isn't getting very nutritious feeders. There are much better gutloads available from forum sponsors. Free ranging feeders has a few drawbacks. You can't be certain how many he actually gets before they hide, die, or escape the cage. They lose their gutload and dust pretty quickly once in the cage.

Noted. I'm kind of short on cash right now but I will certainly look into a better gutload. As far as free ranging, what would be the alternative?

Dusting for montane species such as jackson's is different than for veileds or panthers. Jax are more sensitive to dust ingredients. Dust LIGHTLY each day with plain calcium (no vit. D3). Dust once every few weeks with calcium with added vit D3. Dust once a month to 6 weeks with a herp multivitamin.

Also noted. I will certainly begin this regimen.

Live bushy plants are really preferred, both for their humidity retention and for visual cover. Most jax like to be hard to find in their setups.

Yes, I entirely agree and have every intention to do so as soon as possible.

You haven't had him long at all. It can take weeks for a cham to show its true personality. He may actually getting a little more settled, which means territorial. Jax are not very aggressive, but bluff a lot.

Yeah. I had also thought it may be in regards to him being territorial and actually getting more comfortable. Time will only tell I suppose.

Is the dark stripe there regardless of his color changes? Stress coloration in jax is a dark green to black background with lighter diamond shapes along their sides. If the dark stripe is always visible it could be a skin issue such as a thermal burn. Along the top of the back is a classic site for burns.

It definitely isn't always visible, because yesterday during his night cycle he was light green the entire time. It really doesn't look like a thermal burn, but throughout the day his top half, including his back, and his tail are generally dark green. From my research, it could be just him thermo-regulating? Since his basking light is at the top of his cage and it would be colder beneath.