Another Late Bloomer?

MerCham

MerCham

New Member
My chameleon was born ca March 30th and has yet to show any real color. He is definitely male, so I'm not worried about that aspect and he is definitely healthy and active, so I'm very grateful. The most color is shows is sometimes he gets a "teal cast" (see 1st pic below). But most of the time, he is a grey-green with dark markings (other pics below). Shouldn't he be showing some more colors about now?

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DSCN2347.jpg
 
Not necessarily. My chameleon at 5 months was an "ugly duckling" as my daughter would call him. Very drab and gray in color with a little bit of red stripes on his tail and chin. It was just like one day, he exploded with color but it took a good 10 months I would say to finally get some decent coloring. He is a Sambava and according to the breeder she said they are slower to color up.
 
My ambilobe blue bar was the same. It wasn't until he was about 7-8 months before he just started showing all of these amazing colors!

Maybe start taking him outside everyday for 10-15 minutes at a time? I know when I take my guys outside they start showing amazing colors!
 
Hey guys, thanks for the replies. He's an ambilobe from the Kammers. & yes, just like you say, I've seen some red markings every now & again on his tail and some teal showing on him, but otherwise, he's pretty sedate in color. I am new to cham-keeping, so wasn't sure when they start to color up. As I say though, he is very healthy and just a joy to have around. We actually do our best to make sure his environment is calm and safe for him, so I thought maybe that he was just 'normal hangin' around color, but when you see pics of ambilobes they are always so colorful I got to wondering when they change. Thanks for the replies.
 
He is still very young, so you have nothing to worry about. He will be colorful, you just need to give him some time ;) With each shed his colors will be better, so just be patient :)
 
In addition, would you mind posting your husbandry for us just to take a peak? Typically chameleons who climb on their screen are unhappy with something, that could also be keeping him dull(stress colors)
 
Olimpia said:
This should hopefully put you at ease: http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/07/two-panthers-growing-up-photo.html
Here is my faly-banja and my ambilobe both growing up. The ambilobe took months and months to both color up and grow. Your boy is still young, but usually you see a significant difference by about 6 months of age.
Click to expand...


Hey that was great, thanks for posting! It was fantastic seeing how they go through the changes as they grow. You have a great guideline on what to expect & about when.

As far as my husbandry goes, I decided to address this even though I wasn't asking for help in that area. I bought my complete setup from the Kammers who asked for pictures & approved the way I set the cage up before they sent Sivad to me. My little guy seems to be doing great in that department with no problems in his behavior or eating. And also, just so you know, I'm not a 13 yo with their cool new toy-pet; I'm 51 yo and did a great deal of research before I purchased Sivad & continue to do so. Believe me, if I even suspect a problem with the enclosure or his health, I will be the first one writing here again yelling for help, as I've done in the past. These forums can be very helpful even though there are a lot of different opinions here about how to care for chameleons. I take what I read here, add a heavy dose of what the Kammers suggest & go from there. So far, so good and I appreciate you asking about Sivad's care. He seems to get on the screen mainly when there is a cricket on the screen that he wants to eat, so I think he is ok in that department. I've also seen him get on the floor of the cage when chasing down a cricket, although he climbs right back up when he is done. The main problem I seem to be having right now has to do more with the umbrella plant in his cage shedding leaves. I mist 2 - 3 times a day and will also use a dripper once a week. The plant pot catches all the water. I think it may be too much and so I'm cutting back on the amount I'm dripping. Some of the leaves are turning yellow, which tells me too much water.

But back to the original question: I had read an earlier thread someone had posted about having a 'late bloomer' and thought I'd ask for a bit more guidance on color development. I knew I'd get a helpful response here & I did Thanks so much for all the replies.
 
Just a though, how do you know he id "definitely" male? It is hard to see a tail bulge in those pictures, and if you are only going by what he was sold as sometimes even the most reputable places can make an honest mistake. If you personally see a tail bulge that i'm just not seeing in the pictures you can disregard my curiosity, but if not would you mind posting a picture of the base of his tail? Just to satisfy my curiosity :D
 
carol5208 said:
Not necessarily. My chameleon at 5 months was an "ugly duckling" as my daughter would call him. Very drab and gray in color with a little bit of red stripes on his tail and chin. It was just like one day, he exploded with color but it took a good 10 months I would say to finally get some decent coloring. He is a Sambava and according to the breeder she said they are slower to color up.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you’re still on here after 9 years. Can you please email me? I’m having problems with my Sambava also. [email protected]
 
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