My Chameleon is black and puffed up mouth

[Harvey the chameleon]

My 6 1/2 month old Chameleon is really dark, almost black and is puffed up really big, what does that mean? I feed him medium crickets 5-8 a day and he has plenty of room and plenty of uvb light. He also gets a camo black and silver. I don't really know and I need so help. Could he be sick?

 

[Daniel.piacquadio]

It is probably a mouth infection. See bet soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck

 

[Daniel.piacquadio]

Send some pics

 

[Theveiled]

Im thinking probably stress. Pictures would help

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

Ok thanks guys I can't get any pics of him but if I can I will!

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

He is that camo

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

He is normally like this

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

He will get darker than this but like this

 

[CharlieCharmingo]

Did you add something different to the room he's in or his enclosure? There could be something in there that he finds stressful if this is sudden behavior.

 

[carol5208]

It is probably a mouth infection. See bet soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck

How can you even speculate that, especially without seeing him??

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

We did add a humidifier recently and that could be it. These black spots on the top and sides are what I am worried about.

 

[brownie64]

I think he is just being a chameleon. maybe he is cold, and trying to absorb more heat. How does his enclosure look do you have plenty of vines, and leaves for him to find shelter? I really don't see anything that alarming to me. I just think he has a bit more growing, and developing to do.

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

This is his enclosure and I think he has plenty of shelter. It is 29 inches tall and 16 inches wide. We also could put more vines if that is needed.

 

[bobcochran]

Looks to me like he's getting some normal colors as he gets older. In the last pic looks perfectly fine.
Chameleons change colors according to mood or situation, it's hormonally driven, and normal behavior.

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

Looks to me like he's getting some normal colors as he gets older. In the last pic looks perfectly fine.
Chameleons change colors according to mood or situation, it's hormonally driven, and normal behavior.

Ok thanks

 

[brownie64]

This is his enclosure and I think he has plenty of shelter. It is 29 inches tall and 16 inches wide. We also could put more vines if that is needed.

I would put some more foliage in there if it were me that way he will have more places to feel secure. And like Bob said his colors look fine like I said just being a chameleon. You might want to consider getting him a larger enclosure after he matures. Good luck.

 

[jajeanpierre]

He could be cold, stressed, sick or just turning dark to absorb more heat from the light. If he is in a cage that is too dark, chameleons will often be dark. It is normal for them to go through different colors and shades throughout the day. As you keep him longer, you will learn what is normal for him. Spend the time to just observe him and find out what makes him tick. If he stays that dark color all the time, then it is worrying. If it is only for short periods of time, it is probably completely normal. In general, dark spots suggest stress but not always. I know, clear as mud!

If you think he is darker than you think he should be, look at your husbandry first. Is the temperature correct? Does he have enough light, not just UVB light but regular UVA light. Most chameleon cages are kept too dark. Does he have enough cover to feel safe?

Your cage looks pretty barren. You have very few horizontal branches up top where he wants to be. If you start thinking like a chameleon, you will realize that your cover isn't very usable for him as it is in big masses of tangled fake plants. You can give more cover by taking the strands of fake plants and spreading them out along the branches. Zip ties are your best friend. You can also buy a big sword fern, divide it into a lot of smaller pots and zip tie those pots to the branches to make a fake tree using living ferns as the leaves rather than the plastic plants. With all-screen cages, I put a big potted plant that goes all the way to the top of the cage in the bottom in the middle and use that plant to hold oak branches from my trees to anchor the branch framework. Ficus and schefflera are both cheap and good plants to use. A really big pothos works, but it is difficult to hand a pothos in a screen cage.

 

[Crashbandit05]

He looks normal to me. My 7 month old panther is usually a darker shade while in his enclosure, especially if he's basking. Every time he comes out of his cage, he brightens up considerably.

 

[Harvey the chameleon]

He looks normal to me. My 7 month old panther is usually a darker shade while in his enclosure, especially if he's basking. Every time he comes out of his cage, he brightens up considerably.

Yea that's how he is

 

[bobcochran]

He could be cold, stressed, sick or just turning dark to absorb more heat from the light. If he is in a cage that is too dark, chameleons will often be dark. It is normal for them to go through different colors and shades throughout the day. As you keep him longer, you will learn what is normal for him. Spend the time to just observe him and find out what makes him tick. If he stays that dark color all the time, then it is worrying. If it is only for short periods of time, it is probably completely normal. In general, dark spots suggest stress but not always. I know, clear as mud!

If you think he is darker than you think he should be, look at your husbandry first. Is the temperature correct? Does he have enough light, not just UVB light but regular UVA light. Most chameleon cages are kept too dark. Does he have enough cover to feel safe?

Your cage looks pretty barren. You have very few horizontal branches up top where he wants to be. If you start thinking like a chameleon, you will realize that your cover isn't very usable for him as it is in big masses of tangled fake plants. You can give more cover by taking the strands of fake plants and spreading them out along the branches. Zip ties are your best friend. You can also buy a big sword fern, divide it into a lot of smaller pots and zip tie those pots to the branches to make a fake tree using living ferns as the leaves rather than the plastic plants. With all-screen cages, I put a big potted plant that goes all the way to the top of the cage in the bottom in the middle and use that plant to hold oak branches from my trees to anchor the branch framework. Ficus and schefflera are both cheap and good plants to use. A really big pothos works, but it is difficult to hand a pothos in a screen cage.

Janet, look at the picture he posted of the dark "spots" he's concerned about, they are the normal development of the bars of an Ambilobe Panther chameleon. The cham isn't dark and trying to absorb heat, or showing stress markings, he looks normal for a male Panther his age.