Scard of the Sun...

[Travis Blades]

Hello all,
I have a question.. My 3-4 month old Ambanja is scared of the sun lol I dont think he has ever been in the sun.
I have tried to take him outside before and he gets all dark and scared so i bring him back in, well today is a nice sunny warm day in socal so i took him outside in his cage and set him in the sun, well he gets all dark and has been hiding behind a few leaves with his head pocked out looking at the sun and looking around for the last 2 hrs lol

Question is should i leave him out there to get use to it or bring him back inside to reduce stress?

Also i went out there and hand fed him some Phoenix worms he liked that then i sprayed him with a little mist and he liked that alot

 

[Sancho]

Hello all,
I have a question.. My 3-4 month old Ambanja is scared of the sun lol I dont think he has ever been in the sun.
I have tried to take him outside before and he gets all dark and scared so i bring him back in, well today is a nice sunny warm day in socal so i took him outside in his cage and set him in the sun, well he gets all dark and has been hiding behind a few leaves with his head pocked out looking at the sun and looking around for the last 2 hrs lol

Question is should i leave him out there to get use to it or bring him back inside to reduce stress?

Also i went out there and hand fed him some Phoenix worms he liked that then i sprayed him with a little mist and he liked that alot

I'm not 100% sure but it seems alittle hot right now to leave a cham in the sun. But i'm no expert just my 2cents

 

[alhickabee]

I have no clue but here's a weather link:
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCA0911?from=enhsearch_didyoumean
Currently 77*F
High of 82*F

 

[Sancho]

I have no clue but here's a weather link:
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCA0911?from=enhsearch_didyoumean
Currently 77*F
High of 82*F

I'm surely at or over 82* right now. It's 87* in downtown and I know Rancho gets 3-5 degress hotter then downtown. I used to live in rancho

 

[Travis Blades]

yeah it is about 94 outside, Is that to hot>? His cage is about 1/3 in the shade

Misting him alot tho

 

[alhickabee]

Ohh geez weather channel is way off then...haha I looked up the weather there out of curiosity, and decided to post the link since it only take 10 sec and saves others a bunch of typing. Did no good though...haha Man I wish it was that warm here, it's barely gonna get up to 70 today!

 

[Travis Blades]

haha weather channel say its 83f...

 

[Vegas Chad]

94 is fine to keep them outside all day so long as you keep it misted and have shade for him to get under. Should you leave him out? Its up to you...

 

[alhickabee]

not weather.com (weather channel's online site)...w/e I was just trying to help others help you, sorry weather.com is not accurate..... Good looking cham tho

 

[kenya]

You should put him in a shady area and mist him more often than normal (I mist about once an hour while my chams are outside and have a dripper set up to drip much more than I would if it were inside).

Him turning dark is normal- dark skin absorbs heat and light better than lighter skin. White would reflect. I don't think he is scared; he is probably trying to find shade and basking at the same time, hence being dark and getting under things in his cage.

 

[OntarioLizardman]

maybe it just stresses him out?

 

[sandrachameleon]

perhaps cover half the cage with something, so that he can feel secure and hide there while he gets used to the big open sky

 

[royden]

He's not scared of the sun, he's scared of being out of his enviroment.

 

[addicted]

I'm surely at or over 82* right now. It's 87* in downtown...

yeah it is about 94 outside...

Jealous!!! it's -7C (19F) here! Too cold for me and my cham

 

[sandrachameleon]

Man I wish it was that warm here, it's barely gonna get up to 70 today!

No complaining! Its ZERO celcius here.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Jealous!!! it's -7C (19F) here! Too cold for me and my cham

BBBBBRRRRRRRrrrrrr

 

[addicted]

BBBBBRRRRRRRrrrrrr

Couldn't have said it better myself
It's actually warmed up a bit, last week temps were down around -20C (-4F)

 

[Justin Carl]

Dont Worry

Chameleons can be scared of the sun.
I own several that duck and cover at the first sight of sunlight.
They will shrink up their body and curl around a branch, arm, etc.
It's totally normal, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
It seems that veileds will do it more then panthers, but I have noticed that both species can be affraid.
Eventually they will come around if you leave them outside long enough.
I have several animals that I keep outside non-stop for several months, and even the scared ones will come around.

Good luck.

PS-You can't beat natural sunlight.

 

[kinyonga]

I would say that what is happening is that you are taking them out of their territory by moving them and so they are reacting to it. They have to be aware of their surroundings and be ready to defend/protect themselves. Just my take on it....

 

[jojackson]

Question is should i leave him out there to get use to it or bring him back inside to reduce stress?

Bring him back in. Perhaps a few minutes in part sun (sun dappled shadow of a tree maybe) each day, and slowly get him accustomed to it. Remember to ensure against overheating!

Its a big bright scarey world for a small chameleon, the younger a reptile is, the more 'on the alert' it will be for predators. I recently had my 2+ month cham outside doing the same thing. I made a choice to leave the outdoor sunning till hes almost adult size, (around 6 months). Artificial uv and supplimentation will have to suffice till then.

I think mine freaked because sunlight is so much brighter than his artificial lighting, hed never seen it before, plus its a new enviroment (full of dangers to him). I dont think you would see a very young cham in the open sunlight in the wild, they would tend to seek the security of bushy shrubs.