Senegal gets spots outside

[stepho]

Every time I take my Senegal chameleon outside he gets these large dark spots. Not sure what it means. Any ideas?

He only does this outside. It is different than the "low stress" black spots he was covered in when I bought him.

I've been following this http://chameleonnews.com/08FebFrancis.html for my care sheet. It doesn't list this particular coloration.

 

[Carlton]

It is still a stress pattern, but he may be ramping up beyond the "medium stress" you see indoors because he feels even more exposed to view. And, when indoor chams get out in full sunlight their colors tend to intensify. When a cham's stress level continues to climb, the spotting tends to get even darker and "bleed" into their other markings.

 

[Slug]

Mine looks like that from time to time. I am still figuring out it's little cues myself.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Senegal stress patterns from low to high with Karma:
Light dots
Darker dots
Triangle pattern (light)
Both dark dots and triangles

 

[stepho]

So should I not take him outside anymore? The spotting goes away as soon as I pick him up to go inside. Which he is certainly more stressed then.

 

[sandrachameleon]

So should I not take him outside anymore? The spotting goes away as soon as I pick him up to go inside. Which he is certainly more stressed then.

does it have an outdoor cage that it will get used to in time, or is it always a new (stressful) adventure?

 

[stepho]

I put him on a large hanging pothos whenever I take him out. It isn't totally enclosed so I have to watch him while he is out. He spends a lot of time looking out the window when he is inside, so I've been trying to take him out as often and for as long as possible.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

A cheap outside enclosure could be one of those butterfly enclosures that just pop up, they're not as sturdy as other chameleon enclosures but a senegal is small enough to be in one and it's easy to move around. Once your chameleon gets used to it I doubt it would be as stressed.

 

[stepho]

I have been wanting to make him a new indoor cage anyway so I guess I will get to work on that and use his current one outside.