Please Post Resting Ambilobe Pics

[JasonSinger]

Hi Everyone:

We have a recently purchased Ambilobe male (about 7 months) and are having trouble determining if he is darker than he should be (stressed or cold). The basking spot is at 85-90 so we are thinking possibly stressed, however it is possible the colours are just his normal resting colours.

If we could get a few pics of your Ambilobes resting (not fired) colours, that would be awesome.

 

[JasonSinger]

Also - there is construction happening on my building for the next 6 weeks which creates a good amount of noise throughout the day - would this cause stress?

 

[Dez and Delilah]

Also - there is construction happening on my building for the next 6 weeks which creates a good amount of noise throughout the day - would this cause stress?

Chameleons don't have ears so you don't really have to worry about the noise. They can, however, sense vibrations so if the construction is rattling the cage or something it might be an issue.

How long have you had your chameleon for? Sometimes it can take them a little while to adjust to their new surroundings. It might be helpful if you posted some pictures of the little guy!

 

[carol5208]

They don't really hear just feel vibrations, so unless your building is shaking, then maybe he would feel the vibrations of the construction and that could possible get him nervous. As far as the the color, if he is basking he is probably just trying to absorb the heat and they will get darker. My Sambava is dark(er)right now basking under his light. Also, if you just got him then, he might just be stressed from being in new surroundings. Your basking temp is good. I just edited this post!--I see another member beat me to it, so our info looks almost identical! lol!

 

[JasonSinger]

I just bought him about a week ago and I know it takes time for them to adjust, I just want to make sure its not something worse.

I notice it way more in the morning, and he does roam the cage so I am thinking perhaps it is just stress - but as everyone can relate, I just want the little man to be ok

 

[carol5208]

Better you worry and be on top of things, than to not! You could always fill out the https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
just in case to make sure you have everything set up just right

 

[Dez and Delilah]

I just bought him about a week ago and I know it takes time for them to adjust, I just want to make sure its not something worse.

I notice it way more in the morning, and he does roam the cage so I am thinking perhaps it is just stress - but as everyone can relate, I just want the little man to be ok

If he's mostly darker in the morning it could be because he's a bit cold and hasn't warmed up enough yet.

What are your ambient temperatures over-night? How do you measure the temps in your enclosure?

 

[JasonSinger]

My overnights are between about 70 and during the day the ambient stays steady at about 75. I just use a cheap thermometer (not a gun). Like I said he is pretty active during the day and lightens up a bit but generally is darker than I think he should be - I'll hopefully be able to snap a few pics tonight.

 

[pantherlover]

panthers try to hold a darker color during the day. youll find a male panther might brighten up when hes hunting because hes preoccupied looking for food. if your concerned about if hes stressed or not, its easier to gauge based on if his tail is curled & hunched low to a branch like sleeping position but not sleeping. they get so bright at night bcause they are completely relaxed when sleeping...

 

[pssh]

My guy is not an ambilobe, but I will post some reference photos since he can, at times, look like an ambilobe. (I could never get a good picture of him with blue bars though...)

It can be anything from this darker color

To a nicer lighter color like this except with less red on his face (the flash made him a bit lighter than he really was, so his bars were actually a bit darker.)

It just depends on the temperature and what he is doing

 

[sandrachameleon]

You could post photos of yours if you'd like us to comment. Darker overall generally suggests its just warming up. Dark vertical bars is more suggestive of stress. Every ambilobe looks a little different.
This is my ambilobe when he was about four months old, normal colours:

This is the same guy when he was maybe a year old, normal resting colours:

 

[Olimpia]

Here's my 10 month ambi showing his darker resting colors. He immediately hisses at the camera, so his blue bars are more black, but close enough:

But these days he's living outside full time, and his resting colors outside are completely different from what they are inside. He gets a yellow background, baby blue bars, and orange head and tail. The photo below is close enough, but again, he was angry at the camera so he's a little fired up:

 

[JasonSinger]

Oooo ok ... yeah he looks more like the top picture there
He is also shedding today so maybe it was a little added stress.

 

[sandrachameleon]

They're usually a bit brighter after a shed.

 

[JasonSinger]

Oh wow I missed a few posts - but thanks for the info Sandra. He was darker overall which would indicate warmer up as you said. Ill see how he looks after hes done shedding