More colorful in my hand than in his cage.

[Anahi]

Hey guys. This is my first time posting & I recently got my first chameleon about 2 week ago He's a veiled, 6 months old. & he seems to get darker when I put him in his cage but when he's hanging out in my hand he is bring green & orange. I don't know it's it's because I have put to many fake plants or he's just getting used to it. His temps at (lower):70-75 & basking spot is 85 & humidity is 55. & he lives in a 18x18x30 cage.

 

[jamest0o0]

because he's stressed in your hands most likely. Under the lights when they are warming up they often get darker(darker colors absorb more heat). temperature and mood have a lot to do with the colors they display.

On a side note you'll want a larger cage for when he's an adult, and I'd highly recommend live plants.

 

[bobbydigital]

I agree with the suggestion for live plants. But in my opinion he doesn't look stressed in your hands at all. However I would keep the handling to a minimum to get him acclimated to his new surroundings. It seems you have a decent amount of foliage, the live plants would just help keep humidity up.

 

[jamest0o0]

He doesn't seem stressed? I thought the showing ribs stretched out and colorful was the classic "look i'm sick, don't eat me". that's exactly what my chams do when they see a cat they don't like.

 

[bobbydigital]

Lol you could be right but I'm just basing it off my veiled, when he's stressed he turns dark or gets black dots all over his body. And he only turns really bright when I take him outside and he'll stay bright for the rest of the day. Other than that he looks like the second picture.

 

[jamest0o0]

I'm not experienced with veileds, but i know panthers turn dark if they are extremely stressed. Like when my guy showed up in the mail he was brown/black for a week. Now they just get darker when basking, they do the stretched out colorful look when they're scared. They also brighten up when they're warm and walking around outside or in their cage, but it's a different look than when they're terrified. I think the key thing to notice is how they're acting and if they're stretched out looking skinny.

 

[Mark Salvati]

My cham, Picasso, does the same thing. No worries.

 

[jamest0o0]

@Mark Salvati that's a sign of stress

 

[Mark Salvati]

@jamest0o0 However, when he is stressed, he expands his body and turns dark. When i hold him he turns green, and seems content, not scared/stressed.

 

[jamest0o0]

Yeah like i was saying it really depends how they look, in the picture though he seems stretched out and skinny. That arched-showing-ribs-look is the exact same look mine give when they see my one cat they don't like(for some reason they're okay with the boy cat, but not the girl-weird). mine brighten up when active and exploring, but also when they're scared/stressed, their posture is just different. If it's a new veiled i'd bet l he's stressed, but i could be wrong!

 

[Mark Salvati]

@jamest0o0 Well, that's good to know, thanks")

 

[broderp]

Chams show stress in a few different ways. Some will bloat, others hiss, bite or change into very bright colors. They don't have to do all if these at the same time to be stressed. The cham is stressed IMO.