Color and skin

[flaminglazer72]

I have two questions. I've looked up what the colors for a veiled chameleon generally mean but I get different answers each time. Can someone just give me a basic list of what color means what? Also, My juvenile male veiled is shedding for the first time and is trying to rub off the skin. Is this normal?

 

[jpowell86]

Every chameleon has a different personality, but on the whole, dark colors = Stressors, vibrant bright colors = Excitement(like seeing another male veiled) and a simple muted green coloration = Relaxed(more of just a natural state). And yes, it is completely normal for your cham to be working the dead skin of his body. He will do this with his feet or by rubbing his body and head against objects in the enclosure.

 

[flaminglazer72]

Every chameleon has a different personality, but on the whole, dark colors = Stressors, vibrant bright colors = Excitement(like seeing another male veiled) and a simple muted green coloration = Relaxed(more of just a natural state). And yes, it is completely normal for your cham to be working the dead skin of his body. He will do this with his feet or by rubbing his body and head against objects in the enclosure.

Ok cool. His coloration is kind of strange to me. He is mostly a darker green. Almost cammo green and brown. I don't know if its because hes stressed, or because hes warm...

 

[urawrath]

when chameleons are under their basking lamp they tend to become darker so they absorb the heat and light better to better heat themselves

 

[jpowell86]

What are the temps in his enclosure?

 

[flaminglazer72]

What are the temps in his enclosure?

Normal room temp is 70 degrees f and his basking is around 85 degrees

 

[jpowell86]

Normal room temp is 70 degrees f and his basking is around 85 degrees

How old is he?

 

[flaminglazer72]

How old is he?

Honestly I don't know exactly. The Pet store I went to just had "baby veileds" no specific age. If it helps hes about 6.5-7 inches from mouth to the tip of his tail

 

[jajeanpierre]

He's just a little baby, so keep his basking temperatures lower than for an adult. Have a look at the care sheets for veileds that are on this web site.

His color will change a lot as he grows up. He--are you sure you have a male?--will go from mostly green to more muddy colors. The muddier colors of a young male will turn to more vibrant colors as an adult. When relaxed, he will always be a duller color than the pictures you see posted of excited adult male veileds in all their bright yellows/greens/blues of a displaying male veiled. A veiled that is all bright and displaying is a stressed animal which you don't want him to be.

If you look at the very back of his hind feet, right where the leg and the foot join, a male veiled will have a little fleshy nob. Females do not have that bump. Even small baby males have that bump.

Basically, anything that shows very distinct colors such as black spots is a stressed/excited veiled. As he gets older he will get yellows and blues and psychedelic stripes on his eye turrets when he is excited. A normal color of a relaxed adult male will be green with muddy stripes/bars on his body and down his tail as well as some rust and black. If he's basking in the sun, he might turn quite dark to absorb more heat. If he is overheating, he might become quite pale but I'm not sure if that holds true with veileds.