Photographing Chameleons

[jajeanpierre]

View attachment 198338 View attachment 198339

Is he bright red in real life like the first picture or is he dull like the second picture? Looking at the second picture it looks like he is about to shed. They get a dull cloudy color as their skin starts the shedding process.

I've also been told by a panther breeder that they go through cycles of brightly colored and dull based on their breeding condition.

 

[Kaden]

For indoor lighting I use these https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U...dio+lights&dpPl=1&dpID=41Yggq638tL&ref=plSrch I’ve only had them for a few weeks but I love them so far. They have a dimmer and a slide that distribute the light making it look exactly like sunlight.

 

[muji]

one of the big problems with shooting in vivariums is the fact that there is fluorescent and tungsten lighting. This confuses the white balance settings. I usually find setting white balance to fluorescent helps.

 

[Cordawayconstruction]

I absolutely agree with @JacksJill. I hate flash photography, so I use camera settings to compensate when I have to. It's way to cold to get out right now, so I'm having to adjust ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Thankfully chameleons are slow, so a slow shutter speed isn't an issue. This shot was hand-held, indoors, no flash, and not adjusted for incandescent light. His colors are a bit cooler than this, and his horns aren't this yellow, but I do like the saturation.

He's so handsome! Could you try to tell me how old my guy is? He's about 6 inches long right now and the pet store couldnt tell me. Your guy looks a lot more Stout than mine. Is he a yellow crested or Mt. Meru?

 

[Tattersb]

He's so handsome! Could you try to tell me how old my guy is? He's about 6 inches long right now and the pet store couldnt tell me. Your guy looks a lot more Stout than mine. Is he a yellow crested or Mt. Meru?

Thanks! My guy's a yellow crested, and my best guess is that he's wild-caught. He seems a lot larger than most of the Jackson's I see on the discussion groups. He's a bit over 14" and weighs 170gms. Do you have a recent image of your guy?

 

[Cordawayconstruction]

Thanks! My guy's a yellow crested, and my best guess is that he's wild-caught. He seems a lot larger than most of the Jackson's I see on the discussion groups. He's a bit over 14" and weighs 170gms. Do you have a recent image of your guy?

8 took this one 2 days ago.

Will my little fella get blues and stuff on him? When his tail is coiled up I would say he's about 6 inches long. He's going to be double that right?

Also, I have a reptibreeze cage and have 3 sides blocked off to keep the humidity in. I open it up 2 sides on the day's I'm home So i can mist him ( waiting on my mistking) . I keep the humidity around 70 and it drops to 50. I have a fogger going in there, a flourescent 18inch uvb, and a 75wat black night heat bulb that I use during the day. Avg tem in his cage is 75 durring the day with his basking spot at 86.

Am I doing good? I just want to make sure I'm taking the best care of him as possible and would love I put from an established Jackson's owner. Any pointers?

 

[Tattersb]

8 took this one 2 days ago.

Will my little fella get blues and stuff on him? When his tail is coiled up I would say he's about 6 inches long. He's going to be double that right?

Also, I have a reptibreeze cage and have 3 sides blocked off to keep the humidity in. I open it up 2 sides on the day's I'm home So i can mist him ( waiting on my mistking) . I keep the humidity around 70 and it drops to 50. I have a fogger going in there, a flourescent 18inch uvb, and a 75wat black night heat bulb that I use during the day. Avg tem in his cage is 75 durring the day with his basking spot at 86.

Am I doing good? I just want to make sure I'm taking the best care of him as possible and would love I put from an established Jackson's owner. Any pointers?

Jackson's don't really change color much. Boris had a blue throat when he was younger that has now turned yellow. His tail is a subtle shade of teal blue, but nothing as bold as a panther will get. Your temps and humidity sound fine. My guy has a basking spot that he never goes anywhere near. Are you misting him long enough for him to rinse his eyes and drink (or does he have a dripper)? Hydration is one of the most important concerns with them. As far as his length goes, average length seems to be around 10"-12" depending on what source your read. If your guy is captive-bred, he'll probably be closer to that.

 

[Cordawayconstruction]

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, he has a dropper that goes all day. There's a really big basin on the bottom that I have a rock in with the calathea plant on top of as well as another tropical plant in the back, both In soil. The basin catches all the water I mist the enclosure for about a minute I would say. He likes getting wet a bit but doesn't clean his eyes. I give him "rainstorms" in the shower for 30 minutes twice a week and thats where I really see him clean his eyes. I set a fake plan to in the shower with the water hitting half of it so the overspray and the splash soak the rest and put him at the base. He climbs up and finds a place he likes then points his face up and closes his eyes, puffing the fronts of the sockets up a bit.

 

[Tattersb]

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, he has a dropper that goes all day. There's a really big basin on the bottom that I have a rock in with the calathea plant on top of as well as another tropical plant in the back, both In soil. The basin catches all the water I mist the enclosure for about a minute I would say. He likes getting wet a bit but doesn't clean his eyes. I give him "rainstorms" in the shower for 30 minutes twice a week and thats where I really see him clean his eyes. I set a fake plan to in the shower with the water hitting half of it so the overspray and the splash soak the rest and put him at the base. He climbs up and finds a place he likes then points his face up and closes his eyes, puffing the fronts of the sockets up a bit.

I mist mine 3-5 minutes at a time daily. It usually takes at least a couple of minutes to stimulate them to clean their eyes and drink.

 

[Cordawayconstruction]

So you spray them directly with the mister? I was told to use really hot water in my mister cause by the time it is listed it cools significantly. What temp do you use? I've also found that misting the enclosure with really hot water helps raise the humidity a lot faster than cool water.

 

[Tattersb]

So you spray them directly with the mister? I was told to use really hot water in my mister cause by the time it is listed it cools significantly. What temp do you use? I've also found that misting the enclosure with really hot water helps raise the humidity a lot faster than cool water.

I have a CliMist with a timer, so it just sprays cold, but the mist is so fine it isn't the same as a hand-held mister. If I use a spray bottle, I use hot water and spray the top of the cage. The mist that gets to the chams is cool. My enclosures are so heavily planted I don't like to spray hot water on the plants.

 

[Cordawayconstruction]

Gotcha. Hey as far as misting goes, I'm stuck between the climist and the mistking. Is the climist a more sturdy product?

Forgive all the questions.

 

[Syreptyon]

Gotcha. Hey as far as misting goes, I'm stuck between the climist and the mistking. Is the climist a more sturdy product?

Forgive all the questions.

We love questions! Questions make sure our chameleons get the best treatment possible Members here have success with both systems, but I think you will find that the greater proportion of us use Mist King (don't quote me on that, though). I use a Mist King which I got about three weeks ago and it has exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend it

 

[ColorificChameleons]

Is he bright red in real life like the first picture or is he dull like the second picture? Looking at the second picture it looks like he is about to shed. They get a dull cloudy color as their skin starts the shedding process.

I've also been told by a panther breeder that they go through cycles of brightly colored and dull based on their breeding condition.

The first photo was taken by the folks we adopted from him. The second was my attempt at it. He hasn't shed out since then. I think it was just my poor photography skills making him seem duller. He really is very vibrant, like the first picture, in real life.

 

[ColorificChameleons]

For indoor lighting I use these https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U...dio+lights&dpPl=1&dpID=41Yggq638tL&ref=plSrch I’ve only had them for a few weeks but I love them so far. They have a dimmer and a slide that distribute the light making it look exactly like sunlight.

I just bought a light, camera stand. It doesn't have the fancy light box though. Just a life light bulb. It seems to be helping.

 

[ColorificChameleons]

one of the big problems with shooting in vivariums is the fact that there is fluorescent and tungsten lighting. This confuses the white balance settings. I usually find setting white balance to fluorescent helps.

My camera is just a cheap $300 camera. I can adjust the white balance but I'm not sure I have the fluorescent setting you mentioned.

 

[ColorificChameleons]

Somebody got to go outside for a minute today

 

[Tattersb]

View attachment 198998 Somebody got to go outside for a minute today

Beautiful shot!

 

[ColorificChameleons]

He got a little too excited and sitting still wasn't happening. Remington is the most friendly of all my boys so maybe I'll get him to be a model when it warms up. I use to take pictures of my birds. I no longer have exotic pheasants and birds because of my medical issue but they were way easier for some reason.