Moving Panther Chameleon Outside / Coloration

[Apollocham]

Hi. I have a male panther chameleon that I got around two months ago (he’s around 5 months old now). Since I’ve had him I’ve kept him inside in a 16 x 16 x 30” (I have a larger enclosure to move him into at around 6-8 months old) enclosure with Arcadia 6% uvb bulb & a 65 watt halogen bulb for heat. Basking around 85 F and other parts of the enclosure around 70 F. I feed him crickets, super worms & hornworms that are gutloaded and have calcium. I use vitamin D on food every 2-3 weeks. I spray him around 3 times a day and leave a dripper on top of the enclosure because he only likes to drink from the drops. He’s been great and eating a lot. Today I moved him outside (just because I live in an apartment with a roommate and figured he’s old enough) to my balcony. It gets good sunlight from around 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM. He is currently much darker and I was wondering if thats normal since hes adapting to the new atmosphere or concerning? I’ll attach pictures from when he’s inside and colorful to today when I moved him outside. Also I live in Miami so it’s not super hot right now (80s during the day and high 60s at night).

 

[Beman]

Hi. I have a male panther chameleon that I got around two months ago (he’s around 5 months old now). Since I’ve had him I’ve kept him inside in a 16 x 16 x 30” (I have a larger enclosure to move him into at around 6-8 months old) enclosure with Arcadia 6% uvb bulb & a 65 watt halogen bulb for heat. Basking around 85 F and other parts of the enclosure around 70 F. I feed him crickets, super worms & hornworms that are gutloaded and have calcium. I use vitamin D on food every 2-3 weeks. I spray him around 3 times a day and leave a dripper on top of the enclosure because he only likes to drink from the drops. He’s been great and eating a lot. Today I moved him outside (just because I live in an apartment with a roommate and figured he’s old enough) to my balcony. It gets good sunlight from around 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM. He is currently much darker and I was wondering if thats normal since hes adapting to the new atmosphere or concerning? I’ll attach pictures from when he’s inside and colorful to today when I moved him outside. Also I live in Miami so it’s not super hot right now (80s during the day and high 60s at night). View attachment 329920

So dark can be a stress color. It may just have been way too much stimulation for him especially if he was hiding while being dark.

He looks to be a good size now I would go ahead and move him into his big boy cage.