Morning color change while basking.

So this morning I noticed that the temp in my cham room got down to 68 degrees. I'm not too worried about that since the heat was on and holding it steady there on our last day of the year below freezing. As soon as the lights came on the poor little guy ran up by the heat lamp and turned almost black. It was crazy to see this color change out of him since I had not seen it before. The room quickly warmed and then he started to turn a equally crazy green that I had not seen either. I wasn't able to get pics of him completely black like he was, but what I did get shows him rather dark. So I though it was worth sharing.

Normal basking color


This morning when lights came on


About 30 min after the lights came on

I'm a new chameleon keeper (beginner level) and I read a lot of information about chameleon so I think I know what's happen with your chameleon.
At first, since it was cold (68 degree F, you said), the chameleon will turn to dark color trying to absorb as much heat as possible to warm itself up until it gets to its prefer temp (around 80-85 F), and then it will turn to light color to reflect the heat and try to stay at its prefer temp. So I think it's very normal for your chameleon to do what he did. However, for panther chameleon, 68 F is very cold so you should try to keep the cage at 70-80 at night and 80-90 during the day.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

LoveLittleLion said:

I'm a new chameleon keeper (beginner level) and I read a lot of information about chameleon so I think I know what's happen with your chameleon.
At first, since it was cold (68 degree F, you said), the chameleon will turn to dark color trying to absorb as much heat as possible to warm itself up until it gets to its prefer temp (around 80-85 F), and then it will turn to light color to reflect the heat and try to stay at its prefer temp. So I think it's very normal for your chameleon to do what he did. However, for panther chameleon, 68 F is very cold so you should try to keep the cage at 70-80 at night and 80-90 during the day.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

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ok I will correct you! It is ok for the temps to go far below 68. They can dip into the low 50's and your chameleon will be ok. I let my two guys sleep outside a few night as we were doing construction in our house. It got into the 50's and they were fine. I turned on their lights a little earlier so they could warm up if they needed. Blackhawk, I see you are from Chicago! Me too. I am a big Bears fan. My sister loves the blackhawks. Is that where you get your name from? Where they come from in Madagascar there are several months where the temps are in the 50's. They can survive it.

LoveLittleLion said:

I'm a new chameleon keeper (beginner level) and I read a lot of information about chameleon so I think I know what's happen with your chameleon.
At first, since it was cold (68 degree F, you said), the chameleon will turn to dark color trying to absorb as much heat as possible to warm itself up until it gets to its prefer temp (around 80-85 F), and then it will turn to light color to reflect the heat and try to stay at its prefer temp. So I think it's very normal for your chameleon to do what he did. However, for panther chameleon, 68 F is very cold so you should try to keep the cage at 70-80 at night and 80-90 during the day.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

Click to expand...

You are correct, kinda. That night just happened to get below freezing and his room got a bit cooler than normal. We will not see temps like that again until fall. By that time the glass that's near his cage will be covered again for the cold cold season. But you are correct to point it all out. I also have the ceramic heaters to place over his cage for when it gets super cold. But I don't yet have a thermostat to control them for the those nights. That is something else in the works for the cold seasons. Either way a few degrees for a short time is not that big of deal.

carol5208 said:

ok I will correct you! It is ok for the temps to go far below 68. They can dip into the low 50's and your chameleon will be ok. I let my two guys sleep outside a few night as we were doing construction in our house. It got into the 50's and they were fine. I turned on their lights a little earlier so they could warm up if they needed. Blackhawk, I see you are from Chicago! Me too. I am a big Bears fan. My sister loves the blackhawks. Is that where you get your name from? Where they come from in Madagascar there are several months where the temps are in the 50's. They can survive it.

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That great to hear your from here. I may hit you up on a few local questions depending on how long its been since you were in the area. I am a huge blackhawks fan but that is not where the name comes from. I am an Army crew chief on Blackhawk helicopters, and the FAA tail number on my aircraft ends with 007. So I just put them together and it seems this name is available on all the sites I visit.

LoveLittleLion said:

I'm a new chameleon keeper (beginner level) and I read a lot of information about chameleon so I think I know what's happen with your chameleon.
At first, since it was cold (68 degree F, you said), the chameleon will turn to dark color trying to absorb as much heat as possible to warm itself up until it gets to its prefer temp (around 80-85 F), and then it will turn to light color to reflect the heat and try to stay at its prefer temp. So I think it's very normal for your chameleon to do what he did. However, for panther chameleon, 68 F is very cold so you should try to keep the cage at 70-80 at night and 80-90 during the day.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you.

Click to expand...

Oh and welcome to the site! I just now noticed that this was your first post. If your a new chameleon keeper then you have found the perfect place to spend your online time.

carol5208 said:

ok I will correct you! It is ok for the temps to go far below 68. They can dip into the low 50's and your chameleon will be ok. I let my two guys sleep outside a few night as we were doing construction in our house. It got into the 50's and they were fine. I turned on their lights a little earlier so they could warm up if they needed. Blackhawk, I see you are from Chicago! Me too. I am a big Bears fan. My sister loves the blackhawks. Is that where you get your name from? Where they come from in Madagascar there are several months where the temps are in the 50's. They can survive it.

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Thank you for the info. Ultimately I would love to have the Nose Be and Faly, so I am working my way up. Currently I have a Jackson about 18 month old and he's doing just fine, especially with San Diego weather.

blackhawk007 said:

Oh and welcome to the site! I just now noticed that this was your first post. If your a new chameleon keeper then you have found the perfect place to spend your online time.

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Thank you. I'm glad that I found and joined this forum because it has a lot info and many experienced breeders/keepers whom I can learn from.

blackhawk007 said:

That great to hear your from here. I may hit you up on a few local questions depending on how long its been since you were in the area. I am a huge blackhawks fan but that is not where the name comes from. I am an Army crew chief on Blackhawk helicopters, and the FAA tail number on my aircraft ends with 007. So I just put them together and it seems this name is available on all the sites I visit.

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Well that is even cooler than being a blackhawk fan!!! I am a Chicago girl at heart and always will be . Been in Fla for 24 yrs but it has not changed my feelings for my home town!!! i love all the Chicago sports teams but especially the Bears. You can ask me anything you want and i will try and answer! So you have not been in Chicago long then?handsome little dude by the way!!!

LoveLittleLion said:

Thank you for the info. Ultimately I would love to have the Nose Be and Faly, so I am working my way up. Currently I have a Jackson about 18 month old and he's doing just fine, especially with San Diego weather.

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no problem. i have been on here for over two years now, and I swear I learn something new everyday!!!