Strange color changes

Loki

New Member
Ive noticed that when I take my chameleon out of his cage so I can clean it he actually turns lighter rather than darker. I put this to the test today, I had to clean his substrate so I took him out of the cage (light colors, no change) my husband held him while I took out the substrate then we put him back in while I cleaned it and let it dry. He may be having some trouble with dealing with change in his enclosure I think, because he seemed really stressed by the difference. He changed to his dark - stress colors and when I came back quite a while after to check on him he hadnt changed. So just to test my theory that he always will change lighter when I take him out of his cage I put my hand in for him to climb on, I got him out of his cage and immediately he changed back to his regular light green color. Do you think maybe he could be afraid of his enclosure? Its sized for a full grown adult (hes still a baby) Temp ranges 90 f at the top to 75 f or so at the bottom. He has a drip system and a small shallow pond which he drinks from (cleaned daily) and the only other unusual thing I can think of about his enclosure is that some of the fake vines I put in there were red because I couldnt find any green this time of year. What do you think??
 
It could be too hot. Temp for a baby should be 80-85 at the top. Best guess without knowing more.

Try to fill out the "ask for help" form and post a picture of your little guy. These two things help everyone to know what is going on. You can find this form in the health section of the forums. Just cut n paste it.
 
I dont have a ton of time right now, Im about to help the husband with dinner and Ill post the form later if we still cant figure much out but more than anything I was wondering how would a cham usually act if hes afraid of his enclosure? Also what would cause him to change lighter than when hes left alone and at rest? Other than mating I mean.
 
Yea, I figured it out. I took everything out of his enclosure and put one thing back in at a time while he was in there (usually I take him out so I dont scare him) and found out he was bothered by the red leaves. Thanks anyway :D
 
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