Is my Jackson's cham upset or not?

[Sharka]

So i know when a Jackson's chameleon turns a darker color, its stressed. today we had some decent sunshine come through and Roshi, my jackson's, was completeley green then turned a very dark dark brown. is he just making himself darker to absorb more sun? or did something really upset him?

 

[Ace]

mostly likely just to get some sun...did he change lighter after going inside? if so, then nothing to worry about...but if he keeps being dark nearly all the time , then something is stressing him is the general case....

 

[Sharka]

hes fine now. he's normally a very happy green fellow. thank you! I also want to know when he sleeps, he turns a bit darker too. Is that a natural instinct to better blend in so predators wont see him? because Panthers tend to change colors when they rest too. is it the same for jackson's cahmeleons?

 

[Ace]

i think all chams "lighten up" when they sleep and they dont have much control of their color when sleeping....you saying he is darker puzzles me...maybe you should take pics when he is awake light green, then awake dark, and finally asleep pic.....and post them her and maybe the forum people can help you

 

[Sharka]

i'll post pics of him awake and sleeping. its very strange. he's normally a very calm cham. always bright green and doesnt mind contact with people which is kept to a minimum. but when he sleeps he just turns darker for some reason.

 

[xanthoman]

darkness???????? jmo

they can turn dark for a # of reasons (including stress), but turning dark during or after basking or during sleep, can also be part of their thermo regulation process to absorb & conserve heat. as long as its urates and feces look & smell healthy, and it isnt acting stressed otherwise, then i wouldnt be overly concerned. this seems more common with younger jacksons than it does older ones. imo the older they get, the less likely they are to darken for thermoregulation. ime, healthy adult xanths that are happy with their enviroment, dont turn dark that often. i would keep an eye on its feces and urates and a close eye on its behavior in general. it could be just as simple as getting stressed by the trip outside, or it could be an acclimation issue if its wc, imo, any xanth bought in Hawaii is more than likely wc (or at least hatched from untreated wc), and likely has parasite issues, so if you plan on keeping it long term, then a fecal float by a qualified herp vet is probably in order. if it starts turning dark regularly, and that darkness is accompanied by loss of appetite, unhealthy looking or smelling samples, any sort of trembling, unsteadiness, or unusual cham behavior, then there is likely other problems at hand. sorry i couldnt give more of a definitive answer, but there are a lot of variables (including the individual cham its self), more info would be helpful jmo