BLACK panther cham

[JSERBIN]

so im rearranging my office and since it was about 80 degrees today i took Picasso (male ambilobe approx 3mos ) cage and all outside to get some sun since id be moving my desk around and using a vacuum and figured it would be less stressful on him but when we got outside he almost instantly turned so dark he blended with the black mesh on his cage! even my wife asked if it was normal for chams to get so dark, i mean he looked flat black! my 7 year old liked it said he was a ninja cham lol but is this normal? i tossed in a few crickets and hand fed him a mealworm his head lightened up for a few seconds and he hunted down a few of the crickets but i figured hed be happy to be outside am i stressing him out? my wife says im a paranoid first timer but id rather ask too many questions than not enough.

 

[reptoman]

They turn dark in sunlight to absorb heat. Was it a little cool outside?

 

[Canny Chams]

Its to absorb more heat and UV. When they are dark, no sun reflects its all absorbed

 

[JSERBIN]

thanks for the info, it was about 80 degrees when i took him out and maybe a few dgrees cooler when i brought him back in. thats interesting though to know hes just trying to absorb all he can

 

[Echoezra]

Yeah, that's normal. I can't get any nice colourful pictures of my faly Zelig outside no matter what the temperature, he'd just get overwhelmed and stressed by all the new sights and noises, and turn all dark.
I will say though, my guy is more comfortable on me when outside. I tried the cage thing a few times, thinking he'd be more secure and comfortable, but no. It was the same type of cage, size of cage, I had vines and plants in there, but no dice. Crazy black. Very stressed.
But then, back on my arm... relaxed. Still nervous and eyes looking all around, but a greenish brown, not the crazy black stripes and sucked-in skinny hiding.
My other guy Zaphod had the same reactions. Not to the extreme that Zelig does, but definately relaxes much more on me.
So I don't bother with the cage anymore. If we go out, we go out together.
It's gotten me more vitamin D, anyways.
By the end of the summer they had gotten a little more confident to the point where they would make their way off my arm and onto the edge of the chair i was sitting on. One time they ventured onto my son's hockey net. lol. I would take those opportunities to run into the house to pee or get a fresh drink, lol. But I don't leave them unsupervised for more than a minute, don't trust the birds.
They would have gotten more outside time if they had enjoyed chilling in a cage, I wouldn't have been so worried about leaving them out there without me.
But it does make me feel pretty sweet that they trust me so much and view me as their protector.

There is nothing in this world like seeing Zaphod's flared up colours in the bright sunlight. ;D

 

[SilverDragoness]

Wait Zaphod like from hitchhikers guide the the galaxy? If so props I love that name for a cham.

 

[Echoezra]

re: Zaphod's name

Of course!! As if there's any other...

(When I find him a girlfriend, she will be named Trillian.)

Wait Zaphod like from hitchhikers guide the the galaxy? If so props I love that name for a cham.

 

[JonRich]

My Cham always turns dark in the AM when i turn on his backing light. About an hour later once his body temp goes up he turns very light.

 

[Escalade]

ive only seen my cham turn black when hes mad, he turns brown when hes basking most of the time

 

[JonRich]

ive only seen my cham turn black when hes mad, he turns brown when hes basking most of the time

see post #24
https://www.chameleonforums.com/i-adopted-veiled-help-few-questions-68592/index3.html