age vs colors

[sammseals]

I have a male panther chameleon named Leo. He is a little over a year old. He hasnt gotten a lot of colors yet. I can see a little red coming in on his bridge and around his eyes, but not much. His parents have vibrant reds, greens, blues, and oranges. I just wanted to hear everyones opinions. Mostly want to make sure he is not a Nosey Be. He is suppose to be an Ambilobe and Ambanja cross. Thanks.

 

[qdude46]

Full color comes in at 17 months I believe but you should see at around six to nine months so I think you got a nosy be.

 

[rionjames]

he does look like a nosy be :/ but nonetheless, still beautiful and im sure hes happy to have someone to love him!! bes get some nice bright blues, too

 

[rionjames]

have you had him long? he just looks kinds small ish to be a year, but again, all chams are different. he may be younger in that case.

 

[Jay Sick]

That fella looks awfully nosey to me get it nosey lol ahahahahaha. However i will say that fella needs more water and more food stat his fat pads on his head are way to low i'm not insulting you i'm just making a statement. I m from nj we bust balls in nj, allot. I would start this dude on a ten wax worm a day diet for 3 weeks along with the regular goodies crickets worms roaches etc etc but those wax worms will fatten his a@@ RITE UP.

Calcium with out d3 every feeding and multivitamin with d3 1st and 15 of the month also use repashy bug burger to gut load insects that will boost him asap and his colors will prove true as in true blue nosey but there is a slight chance he may be ambanja ambilobe and just lacking the nutrients to produce nice colors lots of variables in there but try all this out and see what happens

if u need any help [email protected] feel free to hit me up

 

[Jay Sick]

Also what brand of bulbs do you use for him ??????

 

[qdude46]

10 waxworms a day seems a but much especially because he could practically get addicted to them and refuse other feeders.

 

[sammseals]

Thanks guys! Thats what I thought. I still love him with all my heart, just wanted a panther with a lot of colors. A little upset that they sent me the wrong chameleon species.

I have had him since last November. So exactly a year.

Also, jaysick. He just had an eye infection in both eyes so he was not eating. I used terramycin and got all the gunk out that was in his eyes. But when they were infected, he was keepin his eyes closed so he was not eating. I hand feed and watered him so he didnt get the usual amount of food he gets since he gave me a hard time getting him to eat. Hes all good now and eating by himself again. And yes I use the calcium without d3 everyday and calcium wit d3 and multivitamin 2x a month. Also I use a 50w halogen basking bulb and a 75w black heat bulb with a misting system that goes off for 30secs every 4 hrs.

 

[sandrachameleon]

You could very well have a cross, as advertised. One never knows what a cross will turn out to look like.

You may find it interesting to know that this chameleon (all three pictures are of the same animal) is a cross that developed from largely turquois and blue to having red bands, orange and green etc. - some crosses change quite a bit as they age.

 

[sammseals]

How old was your cross when he started to have all those reds and other colors? I can start to see more colors on Leo but wasnt sure if he is still changing or just finishing. When does you chameleon change into those bright colors? I know a lot of ppl say theirs change with outside light vs indoor and other times too. Leo is the color of those pics most of the time. Sometimes he will make his strips on his sides black. Usually seems to be when hes on his cage walls. Then he turns blackish brown when hes basking but thats all. No bright colors yet. Hoping he turns out like yours or more colors. Both his parents are vibrant. Fingers crossed**

 

[djfishygillz]

I don't mean for this to come off wrong but he does look kind of skinny and small... Is he lethargic at all? What is your diet like for him? Are you gut loading? Your setup looks good from what I can see but you may need to swap out the uvb bulb.

Other then that I don't think he will be getting any reds. He just looks like a nosy be.

 

[TruBlu]

That fella looks awfully nosey to me get it nosey lol ahahahahaha. However i will say that fella needs more water and more food stat his fat pads on his head are way to low i'm not insulting you i'm just making a statement. I m from nj we bust balls in nj, allot. I would start this dude on a ten wax worm a day diet for 3 weeks along with the regular goodies crickets worms roaches etc etc but those wax worms will fatten his a@@ RITE UP.

Calcium with out d3 every feeding and multivitamin with d3 1st and 15 of the month also use repashy bug burger to gut load insects that will boost him asap and his colors will prove true as in true blue nosey but there is a slight chance he may be ambanja ambilobe and just lacking the nutrients to produce nice colors lots of variables in there but try all this out and see what happens

if u need any help [email protected] feel free to hit me up

you literally have no idea what your talking about

 

[sandrachameleon]

How old was your cross when he started to have all those reds and other colors? I can start to see more colors on Leo but wasnt sure if he is still changing or just finishing. When does you chameleon change into those bright colors? I know a lot of ppl say theirs change with outside light vs indoor and other times too. Leo is the color of those pics most of the time. Sometimes he will make his strips on his sides black. Usually seems to be when hes on his cage walls. Then he turns blackish brown when hes basking but thats all. No bright colors yet. Hoping he turns out like yours or more colors. Both his parents are vibrant. Fingers crossed**

He was mostly blue for his first year, then within perhaps about 6 months he was totally different. That's part of the excitement when you have crosses - they are forever developing and unique. Most of my crosses have changed over time.
He looks more or less the same colour whether he is inside or outside.
The first photo, where he is mostly blue, was taken indoors around late spring/early summer 2011. The second photo, also indoors, was taken early spring 2012. the last photo, taken outside, early Fall 2013.

I do not think you have a nosy be - at least not a pure one.
He does look a bit thin though, and quite small for his age. Is he getting enough to eat and drink?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Here is another example for you. This animal (also a cross) happens to be the father of the one pictured above.


As a Juvy

Young adult around 1 year

At about two years, mostly green with some thin orange red bars:

By the time he was in his prime (over 3, under 6), he was largely orange and torquois when at rest (as pictured), and quite stunning orange, green and golden when flared up

By seven he lost a lot of his vibrancy and was more dull and more green gray:

 

[MelissaB]

Sandra, thank you for posting those photos. It's amazing how much they can change over time.

 

[sammseals]

Yes thank you for the pics. Makes me feel a little better. The way yours changed looks like Leo can too.

Djfish: if you read my earlier post I explained why he is skinny right now. He had an eye infection in both eyes. I t ook care of it n his eyes r fine now but when they were infected he would not eat. Yes he is lethargic right now but thats bc I had to hand feed him due to him not being able to see with the infection. He gave me a really hard time with it so I could only get him to eat about 5 worms a day at the time. I got the gunk out of his eyes 2 days ago. Hes all better now n eating on his own so hes back to his usual diet. I feed him 8 crickets, 5 mealworms, and 2 waxworms a day.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hes all better now n eating on his own so hes back to his usual diet. I feed him 8 crickets, 5 mealworms, and 2 waxworms a day.

glad the eye issue is resolved. Until he has a healthy weight, you might consider a more fulsome diet. mealworms provide very little nutrition, and waxworms almost nothing but fat (I acknowledge he could use a little of that right now). Have you considered adding gutloaded butterworms, gutloaded silkworms and gutloaded superworms, instead of the waxworms?

 

[sammseals]

I dont know where to get butterworms or silkworms or I would. And I can get superworms but petsmarts are huge so I am scared to feed them to him. I have a petsmart n pet supply plus by me and thats all. Not sure where to go to get the other worms. Any suggestions? I would love to make more of a variety for him.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I dont know where to get butterworms or silkworms or I would. And I can get superworms but petsmarts are huge so I am scared to feed them to him. I have a petsmart n pet supply plus by me and thats all. Not sure where to go to get the other worms. Any suggestions? I would love to make more of a variety for him.

maybe ask them to pick out 2 or 3 of their smallest superworms. They can be about twice the length of his head, and as wide as the space between his eyes. and if the superworms work out, you may find this link useful: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/443-superworm-substrate-gutload-one.html

Here are some places you might buy butterworms etc.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/171-where-buy-feeders-online.html
and also check the site sponsors and the classifieds on this forum