Pics at 6 months- please offer opinions on color quality

[Franquixote]

Franquixote's enclosure

• Franquixote
• Nov 26, 2017

My custom cage

Pixel Karma

• Franquixote
• Nov 26, 2017

My first panther, acquired August 2017

]I know that they can change a lot as they get older, but I bought him as a "blue bar Ambilobe" and wondering if his coloration right now is a bit below average. I have seen them at this age with much nicer colors. I am doing everything I can to keep him healthy and unstressed, so these represent what I would call "at ease" daytime coloration. He gets a lot lighter when sleeping and a lot darker when really mad (though he has only gotten really stressed twice when I moved him to work on his enclosure).

I guess maybe I was expecting a lot more color by now.

Please offer honest opinions regarding his color! I feel like he should have a lot more variety and brilliance by now.

Here are my parameters:

Enclosure:
50" X 36" X36" apprx. screen top, bare bottom (paper towels)

Misting:
Monsoon RS400, 2 spray heads, set to 30 seconds every 4 hours

Lighting:
*Arcadia 12% dual
* Jungle Dawn 40W mega plant light
*100 watt basking light, 100watt Zoo Med basking Light

Feeding:
*All feeders gut loaded with fresh fruit and veggies (huge assortment) AND
*water replacement made of bug burger, Repashy tortoise food, and hydro load
*feeders dusted with Tetra Reptocal with vit. A 1 X per week
*feeders dusted with Repashy supercal (no D) about 50% of all feedings- maybe 1X per day
skipping a day now and then
*feeders fed Repashy superload 1X-2X per week
*new this week I have adding Repashy superpig pigment enhancer to the gut load of all
feeders and even a little bit dusted on them before feeding a few times.


Types of insects offered:
*crickets- 40% of diet
*dubia roaches- 15% of diet
*orange head roaches- 20% of diet
*hornworms- 5% of diet
*waxworms- 5% of diet
*blue bottle flies- ? they are in there but never have seen him eat one
*snails- maybe 1-2 per month
*silk worms- maybe half a dozen per month


PS- the temp on the digital gauge isn't accurate because I am remounting it- it is the ambient room temp. The temp in the cage averages about 80 degrees 15" down and directly under the spot light can get as high as 95 degrees, but he doesn't ever hang out in that kind of heat for more than 1-2 minutes in the morning when I turn the lights on.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Franquixote's enclosure

• Franquixote
• Nov 26, 2017

My custom cage

Pixel Karma

• Franquixote
• Nov 26, 2017

My first panther, acquired August 2017

]I know that they can change a lot as they get older, but I bought him as a "blue bar Ambilobe" and wondering if his coloration right now is a bit below average. I have seen them at this age with much nicer colors. I am doing everything I can to keep him healthy and unstressed, so these represent what I would call "at ease" daytime coloration. He gets a lot lighter when sleeping and a lot darker when really mad (though he has only gotten really stressed twice when I moved him to work on his enclosure).

I guess maybe I was expecting a lot more color by now.

Please offer honest opinions regarding his color! I feel like he should have a lot more variety and brilliance by now.

Here are my parameters:

Enclosure:
50" X 36" X36" apprx. screen top, bare bottom (paper towels)

Misting:
Monsoon RS400, 2 spray heads, set to 30 seconds every 4 hours

Lighting:
*Arcadia 12% dual
* Jungle Dawn 40W mega plant light
*100 watt basking light, 100watt Zoo Med basking Light

Feeding:
*All feeders gut loaded with fresh fruit and veggies (huge assortment) AND
*water replacement made of bug burger, Repashy tortoise food, and hydro load
*feeders dusted with Tetra Reptocal with vit. A 1 X per week
*feeders dusted with Repashy supercal (no D) about 50% of all feedings- maybe 1X per day
skipping a day now and then
*feeders fed Repashy superload 1X-2X per week
*new this week I have adding Repashy superpig pigment enhancer to the gut load of all
feeders and even a little bit dusted on them before feeding a few times.


Types of insects offered:
*crickets- 40% of diet
*dubia roaches- 15% of diet
*orange head roaches- 20% of diet
*hornworms- 5% of diet
*waxworms- 5% of diet
*blue bottle flies- ? they are in there but never have seen him eat one
*snails- maybe 1-2 per month
*silk worms- maybe half a dozen per month


PS- the temp on the digital gauge isn't accurate because I am remounting it- it is the ambient room temp. The temp in the cage averages about 80 degrees 15" down and directly under the spot light can get as high as 95 degrees, but he doesn't ever hang out in that kind of heat for more than 1-2 minutes in the morning when I turn the lights on.

Some chameleons are slower growers, his color seems fine. I would recommend getting some more foliage for him. His enclosure is AMAZING!!!! Did you make it?

 

[DarinD]

He looks like he’s coming along fine. That enclosure is awesome! A few hanging pothos would look awesome and let him explore even more of his home. Good work!

 

[Franquixote]

The enclosure was made for geckos and I heavily modified it for chameleons- thinner gauge wire in top for flies, sealed everything with silicon etc.
I am working on putting more plants in, I don't have a proper floor/substrate/drainage right now. I'm trying to figure that out before putting permanent plantings in. I bought a drain and I'm thinking some kind of pourable epoxy or something, but I don't have it worked out yet.

There isn't enough room (depth) to do bioactive.

I'm kind of stuck right now. I had a yoga type mat in there which did remarkably well for 4 months- didn't get moldy or particularly stinky, but escape roaches would get under it .

Took that out this past weekend and now just have paper towels over wood with rubber stapled to it.

I have no idea what to do with it, I'm considering tile at this point.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

The enclosure was made for geckos and I heavily modified it for chameleons- thinner gauge wire in top for flies, sealed everything with silicon etc.
I am working on putting more plants in, I don't have a proper floor/substrate/drainage right now. I'm trying to figure that out before putting permanent plantings in. I bought a drain and I'm thinking some kind of pourable epoxy or something, but I don't have it worked out yet.

There isn't enough room (depth) to do bioactive.

I'm kind of stuck right now. I had a yoga type mat in there which did remarkably well for 4 months- didn't get moldy or particularly stinky, but escape roaches would get under it .

Took that out this past weekend and now just have paper towels over wood with rubber stapled to it.

I have no idea what to do with it, I'm considering tile at this point.

Experimenting might be the way to go. Just make sure that it is non toxic.

 

[Franquixote]

Found a orange head roach (1/2" nymph) crawling 4 feet off the ground on the bathroom wall. I'm freaked out. It's NJ with winter coming and household temps at mid 60's during day but if I see more I am done with this. I didn't think they would leave a warm humid enclosure to wander into a 50% relative humidity 65 degree room.
Please tell me that there is no chance they can live long like that.
Started adding Superpig to the feeders but I am still not too impressed with coloration- if he was going to be breeder quality I would see that by now, right?

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Found a orange head roach (1/2" nymph) crawling 4 feet off the ground on the bathroom wall. I'm freaked out. It's NJ with winter coming and household temps at mid 60's during day but if I see more I am done with this. I didn't think they would leave a warm humid enclosure to wander into a 50% relative humidity 65 degree room.
Please tell me that there is no chance they can live long like that.
Started adding Superpig to the feeders but I am still not too impressed with coloration- if he was going to be breeder quality I would see that by now, right?

Some guys are just slow growers. I saw a 4 month old male that was beige, then he started with his colors. It shouldn't matter if he is "breeder" colorful at age 6 months, it is not like that will matter when he is 2 years old and at his total coloration.

 

[Carlton]

I think he's gorgeous! Be sure your expectations of an animal that is an individual are not unrealistic.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I see blue bars! What other color is it that you feel is missing? That look is quite popular! Unless the breeder you got him from does serious line breeding (and even then it happens) all kinds of colors can come out of every batch of babies! If you want a chameleon that looks a certain way I would not buy one any younger than a year and a half old! These are caled holdbacks and they usuall cost top dollar!

 

[Franquixote]

Actually, under his throat today I noticed he is getting some pretty bright colors- oranges and reds and yellows so hopefully he will start showing them soon.
I think that "Superpig" supplementation has helped in the last 2 weeks or so- contains natural pigment enhancers for feeders, I have been putting a *tiny* bit on the feeders too.

 

[Franquixote]

I guess my question should have been does he look like he is going to be a blue bar ambilobe... I spent a few months looking for one specifically so I am hoping it works out like that.