Should Monk Be Brighter?

[Valiant]

Hi Folks,

Hooray for the wise members of chameleonforums.

Monk is 1 year and about 2 months old. He seems to be generally in robust health and we treat him right with a low-stress environment and a good mix of food ("super"worms, silkworms and tomato hornworms in a regular mix. no crickets because my wife hates them).

we have the privelege of having bought him from a conscientious breeder less than 2 blocks away from us- the farthest he has ever had to travel in his fairly spoiled existence.

one benefit of having the breeder so close by, who we buy our food from, is that we also know Monk's parents.


all that a setup to my question:

Should Monk be more brightly coloured at this age?

both his dad and his granddad (Tom, rest in peace who just died at the age of 8) are extremely bright and clean coloured veileds with exceptionally clear blues yellows and greens typical of the kind. they are really beautiful.

we aren't vain about the colour of our lizard or anything like that, we just want to know that his Less Than Perfect Adult Bright colouring is NOT a symptom of stress or ill health, and just because he hasn't fully grown up to his jewel like colours.

he seems generally healthy, we just want some crowd opinion on whether or not he could be signalling stress to us.


like I said, healthy, good environment, well-tempered and well-fed and watered. humidity in the room sits from 50-65 and he's got great heat and lighting.

thanks for your time, have a look a the snaps below.

 

[Nosybe]

All chameleons colours develop at different rates. A chameleon that shows plain or drab colours is happy and relaxed. They only show bright colours when they are excited, angry, or trying to impress a mate.

 

[pba110]

Sometimes I worry about the same thing with mine with regards to color. My cham rarely fires up, actually, pretty much never, and is usually a little on the dull side.
Genetics is a weird thing. Additive traits, recessive genes, etc can create an average looking cham from two bright parents. I suppose the only way to "purebreed" a colorful trait is with multiple inbreedings which would result in other problems? However, with the way breeding programs are now I think the future only looks brighter for our little friends. Can't wait till blue veileds and Oorena Mena are available widespread.
Even with all that said I think your cham looks pretty awesome. Sort of a blue tint as well

 

[KiwisMommy]

hi! i'm still learning a ton about chams. i just got my first one last week. he's a 4mo old vieled and hes just green and brown. i was told he'll get more colorful as he gets older. yours is beautiful!!!!!!!!! i love the blue. maybe hes just a late bloomer haha

 

[sandrachameleon]

Not every chameleon is a super star colour wise. Even knowing the parents and grandparents doesnt guarantee the offspring will look the entirely the same. that said, even the "dull" ones arent dull to me - they all are amazing creatures.

Lighting may also play a part. Many feel natural outdoor lighting is the best way to see your chameleons potential (short of stressing it with a mirror or during breeding dances)

Do you have more pictures of your chameleon (full body including legs)? If we're looking for signs of health, more pictures and a more thorough completion of the "how to ask for help" questionaire may be useful.