My panther cham has black bars all the time

[CottonChameleon]

I got a panther cham of 4 months a month ago now he is 5 months. But I did everything right my temps the humidity and feeding etc etc. I even showed all the stuff to the breeder and gave progress reports and she said I was doing everything right. I made sure not to focus on him when I first got him. But now he is like 5 months and still has around the same color and I have seen 5-6 month ambanjas and they have loads more color + never have black bars in cage or on owner's hand. mine seems to always have dark bars and those black lines on his eye turrets. sometimes his sides will turn brownish. I have a photo just need to get it onto my computer but can any of you guess to say what it might be? Oh and he still is kinda scared of me like when I clean his cage he would rather be on a plant that's being lifted and rustled then chill on my bed or a plant outside the cage. So hopefully I can upload photos soon but please is this normal or something?

 

[ReptileRampage]

if he is always dark that might mean he is cold and would like to be a little warmer. what is your basking temp?

 

[Lukie Pookie]

As the other poster said, maybe your chameleon is trying to get warmer as turning darker colours helps them absorb heat. As you said though, your cham is still afraid of you. Maybe your chameleon just needs a little more time to settle in to its new habitat as switching owners and enclosures definitely puts stress on them.
I would maybe just back off a little as long as your chameleon is eating and drinking and pooping fine and just give him a little more time to maybe adjust. Hopefully someone with a little more experience will chime in.

 

[ReptileRampage]

Is there any possibility it is a female? The chameleon in my avatar is 4 months old, and you can see his color. In his cage he is still a grayish color but he does show some blue and green full time now. When taken out of his cage he shows the colors you see in the picture. I would guess that either your chameleon is cold or it is a possible female. Pictures would help Again these are both guesses to possible answers to your questions but may not be whats wrong.

 

[djfishygillz]

Is there any possibility it is a female? The chameleon in my avatar is 4 months old, and you can see his color. In his cage he is still a grayish color but he does show some blue and green full time now. When taken out of his cage he shows the colors you see in the picture. I would guess that either your chameleon is cold or it is a possible female. Pictures would help Again these are both guesses to possible answers to your questions but may not be whats wrong.

Yeah by the description given by the op I would second this.

Sounds lime a female.

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

 

[CottonChameleon]

my basking temp is 85 how do I upload pictures?

 

[CottonChameleon]

link of pictures- http://imgur.com/a/4v7Q6

 

[jillencik]

I saw the pictures in the link you posted...most panthers won't have full coloration until at least a year old. He looks healthy to me he just looks young

 

[jamjam]

yea, reading my first thoughts were possibly female? my panther isnt even 3 months yet (in my care for 3 weeks) and even outside of the enclosure where my house is 66 degrees he still show greenish colouring. I read a great blog from olimpia about sexing and aging of panther chams, could possibly help you out or put you at ease

 

[jamjam]

http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.ca/2013/04/male-or-female-how-to-sex-baby-panther.html

theres the link to help sex them, in that article there is also a link to compare growth progression of 2 different chams, take a look

 

[CottonChameleon]

There's 100% a bulge so it's male but i'm just concerned about the black bars no one really answered my questions.

 

[TreyLcham]

He might just need a temp raise if he is dark cause look at the difference from my cham wanting heat and not wanting heat
he is really dark cause he wanted sun in this photo

and in this photo is comfortable and doesnt want heat or cold

 

[TreyLcham]

srry for the massive pic didnt think it was that big lol

 

[ReptileRampage]

He does seem to be male looking at the color of him in the pictures. I want to say he seems a little younger than 5 months old. I would say 3-4 months maybe. He is a beautiful little man Try to think in a chameleons perspective. Raise the temp a little, and if the black still doesn't go away, then maybe try to see it as the cham. If you were 4 inches or so, and a big scary tall thing was next to your cage peering in at you, would you be scared/stressed? It might be possible that he just turns dark when you come around because he is not used to you and sees you as a threat. It may also just be because of how young he is. Finnick my chameleon sometimes would have spots like that when he was younger but they weren't permanent. If he were really cold I think he'd be more solid black or a dark brown. But seeing as its just spots I would guess and say maybe he is scared of you still.. which is backed up by you saying he doesn't want to be around you and will stay on a plant while you clean take it slow and steady and he may warm up to you. try hand feeding as well so he associates you with food

 

[jlif]

I have had my Cham for approximately 3.5 years now. Purchased him when he was 3 months old. He started off so much like yours that I thought I purchased a female. Various shades of brown with black spots. This remained so for about a year and now he turns all sorts of colors from Green, bluish green, reds with blue/purple bars.

As long as he appears to be eating/drinking and moving bowels properly give him a little time.