Turns dark after eating.

[louiesowner]

My chameleon is green all day then evening time when we feed him Ill throw like 5-10 crickets and he hunts them all right away till there gone then he turns real dark. I only ask because I read dark means they are stressed. Is this normal or are we stressing him out by watching him, we sit about 5 feet back from the cage. btw he stays dark for a good hour even under the lamps.

Thanks for your help.

 

[blood4eva69]

Well, lets jus see if anyone can confirm this cuz im still learning, he is getting uv to help his digestion. But like i said, wait till someone confirms this

 

[MWheelock]

After he eats he is probably turning dark to help collect light and heat. Increasing metabolism for digestion.

Chameleons will also turn dark to collect light for UV exposure in the same way.

The trick is figuring out if he is just staying dark all the time or if he is staying dark at strategic parts of the day to sun himself.

 

[louiesowner]

After he eats he is probably turning dark to help collect light and heat. Increasing metabolism for digestion.

Chameleons will also turn dark to collect light for UV exposure in the same way.

The trick is figuring out if he is just staying dark all the time or if he is staying dark at strategic parts of the day to sun himself.

Thanks, I searched and searched and couldnt find results.

Also this is a silly question. When he poops its like 4 giant rat tirds and a pile of white stuff like bird poop. Is that normal poop?

 

[MWheelock]

yes. That is normal.

 

[louiesowner]

Thanks alot for the help.

I have one more question....for now.

When I feed him 5 crickets he eats them all real fast then I give him 5 more and same thing. Then I stop but Im afraid hes still hungry. Do I keep throwing crickets in till he decides hes full or can they overeat and hurt themselves.

Thanks again for the help I really just want to make sure hes happy. Hes a very cool pet and I can see how this can get addicting Im ready to turn my office into a chameleon habitat.

 

[Jerambis]

Depending on their age sort of depends on how much you want to feed them. They will almost eat as much as they can get a hold of. Over feeding them can lead to many problems such as a growth rate that is much too quick for the cham's bones to handle which can lead to MBD. For my chams I usually go by the caresheet from Kammerflage creations for males:

0-4 months old: 8-9 one to two week old crickets a day
5-12 months old: 5-6 three week old crickets a day
13+ months old: 6 adult crickets everyother day

Just don't forget dusting your crickets with essential vitamins and etc is also just as important.

 

[FaunaBgirl]

Just wondering why you feed at night? I feed mine first thing in the morning so that he has all day of light and basking to digest. Lights go on at 7am and lights out at 5pm. That will be changing soon as I will put him on the 12 hour cycle soon for DLS time coming up this weekend.

 

[louiesowner]

Just wondering why you feed at night? I feed mine first thing in the morning so that he has all day of light and basking to digest. Lights go on at 7am and lights out at 5pm. That will be changing soon as I will put him on the 12 hour cycle soon for DLS time coming up this weekend.

Ok I fed him in the morning today and he didnt turn dark. Its just at night he turns dark all night long. He is very dark too all night. Is this normal?

 

[Heika]

Hi... not sure why he does that. Most chameleons turn lighter at night. I suppose it could be that you were feeding him at night. It really is better to try and feed during the day so that your chameleon has several hours to bask and digest that meal before they cool down when they sleep. You will have to let us know if he starts turning lighter at night now that you are feeding him in the morning.

Heika

 

[Brad Ramsey]

You're not misting him or the enclosure right before bedtime are you?
I just had a thought that if he was wet or it was too wet around him when lights went out he could get too cold which could cause him to be that color.
Night time temp should be a dry 65 to 68 degrees.
Just trying to troubleshoot.

-Brad

 

[mimibozzo]

Can you tell me what MBD is?

 

[MWheelock]

If you look back, I wrote a big write up in 2008 about this.
The heading is Supplementation/MBD1
I think there was a 3 parts to it,the main part was#2.
You'll have to have someone else tell you how to find the file.
Matthew

 

[jannb]

If you look back, I wrote a big write up in 2008 about this.
The heading is Supplementation/MBD1
I think there was a 3 parts to it,the main part was#2.
You'll have to have someone else tell you how to find the file.
Matthew

Here's the file Dr. Wheelock is referring to: https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/

Here's some more info on MBD: https://www.chameleonforums.com/wha...ase-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/