Black cham??!!

CrazyCalvin

CrazyCalvin

New Member
Really really sorry guys if this something similar has been posted before, i did a search but couldnt find anything.

I found my Chameleon yesterday huddled up in the corner of his tank and he was black!! I put my hand in as i thought he was dying and he didnt even react to me. I scooped him up (he was cold) and placed him under his basking lamp and left him alone for the afternoon. I honestly thought the next time i saw him he'd be dead!! :( :(

I know females can go black but doesn anyone have any idea why Calvin suddenly did this?? its as if he went into the corner to die, never seen him so dark in the 8 months he's been alive!!!
 
Thanks guys, have filled this out as good as i cud :)

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon, aged 9 months, had him for 7Handling - 2/3 times a week, he's a friendly cham
Feeding - fed twice a day, first thing in the morning and about 5pm. 8-10 locusts per day, which are gut loaded.
Supplements - feeders are dusted with calcium and repcal
Watering - sprayed twice a day for 10 mins each time, always see him drinking
Fecal Description - recent droppings look a little on the moist/runny side! History - Never had any issues with him, ever!

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 3'x2' wooden vivarium with glass doors.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 uv light and 60w basking bulb, uv light on 10 hrs per day.
Temperature - Basking temp is around 80 and the rest of the tank 60-70, not sure of the temp in the night but i do turn the basking light right down
Humidity - i need to get a new hygrometer to measure the humidity as my last one broke but like i said nothing has recetly changed and he's been ok for the pas 6 months.
Plants - No live plants in his vivarium
Placement - Cage is in my living room but i live on my own and am very rarely at home in the day and in the evening i just sit on the sofa-there isnt anything around that would cause him unnecessary stress
Location - located south wales

Current Problem - See post above
 
please visit the vet IMMEDEATELY, if your chams already black there´s most probably something very serious going on. He might die if he doesn´t get professional held so make sure the vet you´re going to is experienced with chameleons.
You spry for 10 minutes? seems like way to long to me
 
he's been ok today and has perked up now, he's his normal colour again and seems healthy, sorry i didnt mention this in my earlier post, but this is why im so confused because it was a one off thing?!
 
CrazyCalvin said:
yep definately a male, ive posted pics of him here before and a lot of people confirmed he's male. He seems perfectly fine today, hes confused me
Click to expand...

Just making sure. sometimes females turn black cuz of egg issues.
Keep a close eye on him. If he does it again, go to a vet. you may want to go to one now
 
black

Was he too cold and turned black to try and absorb some heat? I've read on here multiple times taht they darken themselves up to absorb warmth.
 
https://www.chameleonforums.com/calvin-56557/

theres a picture of him here and im pretty sure he's male :) but thank you i will keep a close eye on him, i was so upset yesterday!! I'm going to look for a reptile vet in the area tomorrow in case i need to take him although dont want to stress him out anymore at the moment.

I'm hoping it was down to heat!!
 
CrazyCalvin said:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/calvin-56557/

theres a picture of him here and im pretty sure he's male :) but thank you i will keep a close eye on him, i was so upset yesterday!! I'm going to look for a reptile vet in the area tomorrow in case i need to take him although dont want to stress him out anymore at the moment.

I'm hoping it was down to heat!!
Click to expand...
Could all come down to heat. They will go black, to absorb sunlight/heat. Was he somewhere were he could see natural sunlight?
 
Last edited:
SSimsswiSS said:
Could all come down to heat. They will go black, to absorb sunlight/heat. Was he somewhere were he could see natural sunlight?
Click to expand...

Thats exactly the colour he went, but no he was hiding huddled up in the corner of the tank, it tooke me ages to find him! and when i picked him up he was really cold so i held him under the lamp for a while, he was almost lifeless
 
60 to 70 is a bit too cold for an ambient temp. If you could boost the ambient temp from about 70 to 77 and keep the baking temp relatively the same it would be beneficial. 60 to 70 sounds like a good night time temp.
 
pantherlover said:
60 to 70 is a bit too cold for an ambient temp. If you could boost the ambient temp from about 70 to 77 and keep the baking temp relatively the same it would be beneficial. 60 to 70 sounds like a good night time temp.
Click to expand...

i feel the need to turn the basking light right down in the night as i thought they needed complete darkness to sleep?? although he often sleeps even thought the room is quite lit up. so i shudnt turn the temp down so much in the night??
 
For a 9 month male you should probably raise the basking temp from 80 to around 85-88 f. He was probably just cold and couldn't get enough heat. Also id just feed him once a day, they need time to digest food while basking so just feed in the morning
 
Rob G said:
For a 9 month male you should probably raise the basking temp from 80 to around 85-88 f. He was probably just cold and couldn't get enough heat. Also id just feed him once a day, they need time to digest food while basking so just feed in the morning
Click to expand...

ok thank u, you've all been really help ful :) this site is fantastic i've got to say :)

he very rarely sits under his basking lamp, just hovers around it....strange
 
CrazyCalvin said:
i feel the need to turn the basking light right down in the night as i thought they needed complete darkness to sleep?? although he often sleeps even thought the room is quite lit up. so i shudnt turn the temp down so much in the night??
Click to expand...

I think maybe you misunderstood what I meant to say... I was saying to boost your day time temp up. Indeed they do need around 12 hrs of darkness. If the enclosure drops to between 60 and 70 at night thats perfect but if you could get your daytime temp up higher without making the basking spot much hotter that would be good.
 
CrazyCalvin said:
Feeding - fed twice a day, first thing in the morning and about 5pm. 8-10 locusts per day, which are gut loaded.
Supplements - feeders are dusted with calcium and repcal
Watering - sprayed twice a day for 10 mins each time, always see him drinking
Cage Type - 3'x2' wooden vivarium with glass doors.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 uv light and 60w basking bulb, uv light on 10 hrs per day.
Temperature - Basking temp is around 80 and the rest of the tank 60-70, not sure of the temp in the night but i do turn the basking light right down
Humidity - i need to get a new hygrometer to measure the humidity as my last one broke but like i said nothing has recetly changed and he's been ok for the pas 6 months.
Plants - No live plants in his vivarium

Current Problem - See post above
Click to expand...

A few ideas:

What's your gutload? Are you feeding him anything other than locusts?
You listed 2 sources of calcium but no vitamins. Do both types of calcium have vitamin D3? Do either of them have it?
What kind of ventilation in your cage? If it is completely solid sided it could get too warm. How cold does your room get at night? Was it unusually cold the night before he was black? If he really gets chilled he may not wake up enough to climb to his basking area the next day.
Any visible lighting on at night? The temp should drop at least 10 degrees at night...NO visible lightbulbs. How old is your ReptiSun bulb?
Get that new hygrometer. It's vital, especially in a solid sided viv.
Why no live plants? In a general sense, if live plants do OK in your viv your cham will too.
 
Carlton said:
A few ideas:

What's your gutload? Are you feeding him anything other than locusts?
You listed 2 sources of calcium but no vitamins. Do both types of calcium have vitamin D3? Do either of them have it?
What kind of ventilation in your cage? If it is completely solid sided it could get too warm. How cold does your room get at night? Was it unusually cold the night before he was black? If he really gets chilled he may not wake up enough to climb to his basking area the next day.
Any visible lighting on at night? The temp should drop at least 10 degrees at night...NO visible lightbulbs. How old is your ReptiSun bulb?
Get that new hygrometer. It's vital, especially in a solid sided viv.
Why no live plants? In a general sense, if live plants do OK in your viv your cham will too.
Click to expand...

My gut load is fruit and veg-mainly apples, lettuce potatoes etc and no I dnt feed him anything other than locusts as he didn't seem to take to crickets.
I use nutrobal which has vitamins in it and alternate this with calcium.
My room isn't unusually cold during the night-i do leave the window open but if anything it can get quite warm in the room.
No I tend to turn the basking lamp down in the evening/night so its completely dark in there but I do worry that his viv may then be too cold??
My reptisun bulb is only 6 months old and I haven't got any live plants in the tank because when I did this last he got stuck down the side of the plant pot??

He's perked up the last couple of days-but still isn't the brightest green he's been and just doesn't seem right to me :(
 
May you give us the concrete temperatures throughout the day and night?
You should try to give him more things than just locusts, how often do you feed and how much do you feed?
 
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