Small Chameleon with odd colors?!?

[BayChams]

Hi, I have a 8 month old female veiled chameleon (translucent). She is VERY small for her age, around 7 inches long from head to tail. Lately, her colors have been looking gray and unattractive... She does not have anything in the room that could stress her, and there have not been any recent changes in her habitat.

The temps in her cage are about 75 F during the day, and 70 F at night. The humidity is about 60-65%. I am kind of worried about her, but she eats normally, and her poop is normal. Her diet consists of crickets, mealworms, and waxworms (at the moment).

On the weekend I removed the golden pothos in her cage, to see if this was the problem, because she had been eating some of it, and I recently heard they are slightly toxic for chameleons.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[wavingsnail]

What are her basking temps?

 

[BayChams]

Basking temps are at around 85F.

 

[bobcochran]

Sorry! Simulcast??

 

[BayChams]

???

 

[BayChams]

Here is a picture of her. Sorry for the bad lighting...

 

[wavingsnail]

Her turrets look very sunken in.

Either dehydration, illness, or both.

 

[Antihero383]

She definitely looks very dehydrated to me

 

[BayChams]

OK, I'll mist her cage more often. If she doesn't get any better soon, should I take her to the vet? Also, is it normal for her eyes to be such a dark color? When I got her, her legs, as well as her eyes, were dark purple... Another question that I have is if it is normal for her to have one black eye and one gold one.

Thank you!

 

[BayChams]

Also, is something wrong with her size? I really think she should be a bit longer than 7 inches from head to tail...

 

[Carlton]

OK, I'll mist her cage more often. If she doesn't get any better soon, should I take her to the vet? Also, is it normal for her eyes to be such a dark color? When I got her, her legs, as well as her eyes, were dark purple... Another question that I have is if it is normal for her to have one black eye and one gold one.

Thank you!

Do you mean that the iris of the eyes are different colors? I've never seen that. Maybe one has been injured and scarred over? She may still move the turret around but might not be able to see anything. Her feet look pink. I wonder if she is partly translucent. Or she's lost the pigment or top layer of skin off her feet. Some better pics from the side would help. She does look very parched and possibly her growth was stunted when she was much younger.

 

[BayChams]

Yes, she is high translucent. Could her growth have been "stunned" when the mailman threw the box she was in onto my front porch when he delivered her about 5 months ago?!?

 

[Carlton]

Yes, she is high translucent. Could her growth have been "stunned" when the mailman threw the box she was in onto my front porch when he delivered her about 5 months ago?!?

No probably not. Her size and coloration could simply be due to genetics. If the breeder was trying to select for the translucent trait possibly his chams that showed it the best might have been smaller individuals.

 

[BayChams]

Oh, ok! I thought FLchams had more translucent veild adults with good colorings...

 

[Carlton]

Oh, ok! I thought FLchams had more translucent veild adults with good colorings...

Well, as she's so depleted and dehydrated it must affect her overall colors. As she gets better it may well change. Also, many veileds go through a duller phase while their hormones are shifting into maturity. I don't know anything about how the translucent morph affects this.

 

[Ponyboy]

Her eye turrets look very sunken in..you said her poop looks normal..are you sure? I'm assuming the urate is normal then as well?

 

[Veild Cham Owner]

Is she eating like she normally does?

 

[BayChams]

Is she eating like she normally does?

Yes, she is.