Start of receptive colors?

[hannahbanana13]

Hi everyone! This is my chameleon Elphaba. She is around 5 months old. Are these the start of her receptive colors or are these her mature colors that she will keep through the year? This is my first female veiled cham. Any advice for how to keep her healthy during her receptive stage is greatly appreciated!

 

[Beman]

@MissSkittles @AmandaS

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi! Your young lady is very pretty! Yes, it looks like she is at the start of her receptive period. Has she been restlessly roaming thru her enclosure? That is the sure fire way to tell. I have one that spends most of the day climbing up and down and my other circles around. Have you made the upgrades I previously suggested? https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/is-my-setup-okay.178058/#post-1602570
If you haven’t already, now is the time to start getting a lay bin set up and placing it in her enclosure. You want a bin that is at least 12x12 length x width and depth can be around 9-10”. You’ll want to fill it to about 6-8” deep with play sand (available at home improvement stores) and keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Keep in mind that they don’t dig straight down, but go at an angle. One of my girls digs almost straight across. You may want to drill some very small drainage holes in the bottom of the bin so it won’t become water-logged. To reduce her stress of having a new item in her enclosure and your stress of guessing when she needs the bin, put it in from now and keep it as a permanent part of her enclosure.

 

[Fchamel]

Yes! Receptive. She looks beautiful!

 

[Rhea’s mum]

Definitely looks receptive. Beautiful patterning and colours she has.

 

[hannahbanana13]

Hi! Your young lady is very pretty! Yes, it looks like she is at the start of her receptive period. Has she been restlessly roaming thru her enclosure? That is the sure fire way to tell. I have one that spends most of the day climbing up and down and my other circles around. Have you made the upgrades I previously suggested? https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/is-my-setup-okay.178058/#post-1602570
If you haven’t already, now is the time to start getting a lay bin set up and placing it in her enclosure. You want a bin that is at least 12x12 length x width and depth can be around 9-10”. You’ll want to fill it to about 6-8” deep with play sand (available at home improvement stores) and keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Keep in mind that they don’t dig straight down, but go at an angle. One of my girls digs almost straight across. You may want to drill some very small drainage holes in the bottom of the bin so it won’t become water-logged. To reduce her stress of having a new item in her enclosure and your stress of guessing when she needs the bin, put it in from now and keep it as a permanent part of her enclosure.

Yes I have made the changes you suggested (with the exception of the larger enclosure but I have ordered it and it should be coming in early January!!) I have her laying box with play sand set up and in her enclosure but I did have to rearrange her plants so I hope that doesn’t stress her out too much. She let herself the last time I fed her and had a nice little stroll around my room haha she has been very active!