Need help with my Nosy Be

[Slicknick09]

Nosy Be 7 months old
UVB - zoo med 5.0 compact fluorescent UVB bulb
heat - zoo med 100 watt blue bulb
humidity - ranges from 50% to about 80%
foliage - umbrella tree.
basking temp is about 85-90.

Im just curious what color should my cham be during the day. Most of the time hes a dark green with some barring showing and a white stripe across hos body. Only when he eats and drinks does he become that nice nosy be blue. Is he dark to absorb heat? Should he always be that brilliant blue color?

 

[ReptileLove18]

they change color based on mood, absorbing heat like you said, and age. from your description he can either be absorbing heat, which they generally turn darker as they absorb heat so that is normal. or that could be his stress pattern. i would say if he is this coloration and pattern most of the day especially while basking its just him absorbing the heat from the basking light

 

[Slicknick09]

That's what I thought. Most of the time I see him basking but ill catch him crawling sometimes in the lower part of the enclosure showing his blue coloring. I think the spot where he basks isn't close enough to the bulb. This might be why hes mostly darker colors. I don't think its stress due to the fact that he hand feeds. Ive only had him one month and he hand fed for me the first day I had him. I would assume that the biggest stress inducer would be me and since he hand feeds with no problem. I think hes ok? right?

 

[ReptileLove18]

what is the basking temp and the ambient temp?

stress can be from being in a high traffic area, too much handling without taking the time to get him slowly used to it, things like that. it sounds like he settled in pretty quickly if he ate from your hand immediately

from the info you have given us, he sounds fine. is he eating good and pooping on a regular basis? are there any other concerns you have? if you want me to just look over your husbandry to make sure everything is as it should be thats always a good thing, better to be safe then sorry. if you are willing to do that, please copy and paste this form into your reply filling in your answers. we use this form to help members who have health concerns with their chams and those who just want to make sure they are doing everything right https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[biffle]

It could be a combination of age a stress. You shouldn't expect him to show his full colors until he is been with you for a few months and around 9 months old. Some chams are early bloomers while some take a few months longer to develop. The late bloomer often end up looking as good or better than the early bloomers.

JMO, Jason

 

[ReptileLove18]

It could be a combination of age a stress. You shouldn't expect him to show his full colors until he is been with you for a few months and around 9 months old. Some chams are early bloomers while some take a few months longer to develop. The late bloomer often end up looking as good or better than the early bloomers.

JMO, Jason

you are so right!! i completely forgot to even go over the age aspect of it

this article shows how each cham develops at slightly different rates even with the same care and how by 12 months of age, both chams in the article had reached basically reached their adult coloration! the article was written by one of our members, Olimpia, and has photos showing their progression.

http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/07/two-panthers-growing-up-photo.html

 

[Slicknick09]

the ambient room temp is 75 and where the thermometer is its says its 85-90. As far as high traffic, im not really in my room. He basically sees me wake up, mist him a few times and then go to sleep. I handle him once a week to weigh him. I brought him to the vet when I frist got him cuase I just felt something was wrong. Sure enough he had two different parasites. Hes eating normally. I give him silks and crickets and hornworms everyday. He started his first shed with me since I had him. He poops every other day to two days.

 

[Slicknick09]

I alternate with the worms.

 

[ReptileLove18]

the ambient room temp is 75 and where the thermometer is its says its 85-90. As far as high traffic, im not really in my room. He basically sees me wake up, mist him a few times and then go to sleep. I handle him once a week to weigh him. I brought him to the vet when I frist got him cuase I just felt something was wrong. Sure enough he had two different parasites. Hes eating normally. I give him silks and crickets and hornworms everyday. He started his first shed with me since I had him. He poops every other day to two days.

well the temps sound pretty good, the basking is supposed to be around 85 for his age

sounds to me like you are doing pretty good with him! great job getting him into the vet and dealing with the parasites so quickly!

are you using any supplements?