Dark

[CaliChameleon]

Hello my chameleon Dino seems to be always dark in color his temps are normal and everything he is around 4 months and he eats like a champ 15 to 20 crickets a day and I put a variety of other feeders too throughout the week but he is always dark for some reason but when I mist him for about 30 seconds to a minute ( I mist for 4 minutes total) but when I mist directly he gets all happy and bright green but after I am done doing that he stays green for.a second or so then goes back to being dark again so my question is Is this normal for a chameleon? I know his cage is a little small right now only 12x18x20 that's it I know it's small I will be upgrading to a bigger cage soon but I just don't know why he is always dark

 

[BocaJan]

Try putting him outside for awhile and see what happens. He might like the natural UVB and turn pretty for you. Just a suggestion.

 

[CaliChameleon]

I have done that before and he does like the sun a lot better and I even gave him a shower and he brighten up too but him being dark like that doesnt mean he is stress does it? But will a bigger cage make him a happier Cham?

 

[carol5208]

the misting could be aggravating him and they will get bright colors when they get agitated too.

 

[CaliChameleon]

Really wow we'll thank for the info ya when I misted him he runs from it and then gets to the top of the cage and then he starts to like it by going near the nozzle and doing circles in front of it but other than that he just stays dark so this doesn't mean he is stress all the time does it?

 

[carol5208]

yes, when they get upset they can "fire up" they don't always necessarily turn dark when they are stressed.

 

[CaliChameleon]

Oh wow really so I shouldn't be misting him directly I thought he really liked it but I guess not lol and well thats good I just wish he would show his colors but he is just always dark till its time for bed like 30 minutes before the lights go out he turns green but that's it :/

 

[carol5208]

well if he runs from it, then he probably does not like it! Do you use warm water?. I know my guys do not like cold water at all and much prefer the water warm, but they still run sometimes.

 

[CaliChameleon]

Well I use mainly warm water and he likes that a lot better than cold water but I just need to get him a bigger cage cause he is always at the top wanting it to talker :/ but thank you so much for the info