Veiled Chameleon with odd black spots

[Veille]

I recently got my chameleon after reading up how to take care of them, but I am totally clueless on why this is happening. My chameleon is Veiled, male, and five months old. He is getting these black spots all over his body, scattered and random so they can't be bruises or burns. We feed him crickets and meal worms and mist him three times a day, and have a heat light. I really want to know what's wrong as the only answers I have found online are about bruises, burns, and diseases. It happened two hours after we got him.

I don't have any pictures of him with the spots at the moment, but I do have one of him when I got him. Just imagine him with black polka dots all over his body.

 

[JimmySpinks]

The black spots thing sounds like a stress pattern - If you got him very recently then he needs time to settle in before much handling or even attention.
Here is a basic caresheet to check you have his setup right - https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/
Here are good tips for 'taming' him - https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/the-taming-of-the-chameleon.97352/

 

[Misha]

The black spots/stripes are because he is stressed like "JimmySpinks" said. It also means he is angry/scared. I have a male veiled chameleon too and I read up on the color changes for them and the moods and this was one of them. So no worries for you there! He is new so you don't want to mess with him for awhile, they suggest over a week to let him get settles into his new home. So getting stressed easily is normal. Good Luck. I'm still learning things here and there about my chameleon but iv done my research for while!

 

[Veille]

The black spots/stripes are because he is stressed like "JimmySpinks" said. It also means he is angry/scared. I have a male veiled chameleon too and I read up on the color changes for them and the moods and this was one of them. So no worries for you there! He is new so you don't want to mess with him for awhile, they suggest over a week to let him get settles into his new home. So getting stressed easily is normal. Good Luck. I'm still learning things here and there about my chameleon but iv done my research for while!

The spots are gone, but now he is almost completely black. I haven't handled him or gave him any attention except for misting. In the photo I gave you, his stripes are visible, but now you can barely see his stripes. (I haven't handled him yet; the hand in the photo is the original owner whom I got the chameleon from)

 

[Misha]

The spots are gone, but now he is almost completely black. I haven't handled him or gave him any attention except for misting. In the photo I gave you, his stripes are visible, but now you can barely see his stripes. (I haven't handled him yet; the hand in the photo is the original owner whom I got the chameleon from)

I never seen a chameleon get all black or almost black? You have a picture you can upload? All I know from research is that they are stressed/scared or mad when they get the black dots/stripes. And usually if you put them back in the cage and don't bother they disappear fairly quickly. What watt is your basking bulb? I don't know what a burn looks like on a chameleon but I'm not sure why he would be almost all black.

 

[Graves923]

If he is dark or almost black he could be stressed due to being in a high traffic area in your home (if he is of course). It could also be that he his trying to adsorb more heat from the basking light. Give him time to adjust to everything. New enclosures and moves can be stressful. Mine stayed dark for almost a week before relaxing but as soon as I would approach he would darken up again. Took almost 2 months before he would not react to me being in the room.

 

[Veille]

If he is dark or almost black he could be stressed due to being in a high traffic area in your home (if he is of course). It could also be that he his trying to adsorb more heat from the basking light. Give him time to adjust to everything. New enclosures and moves can be stressful. Mine stayed dark for almost a week before relaxing but as soon as I would approach he would darken up again. Took almost 2 months before he would not react to me being in the room.

He's in my room, which I only go in to sleep, so I don't think it's the high traffic area. Should I put a blanket over his enclosure to give him his space? And should I stop misting him? He doesn't seem to like it

 

[Graves923]

Dont put a blanket over his enclosure. He will never get used to people walking by if the blanket is cover his cage. Also, I imagine your lights are on top so a blanket over the lighting is a fire hazard.

Also, do not stop misting. If you are hand misting, most chams dont like it since hand pumps spray larger droplets compared to an automatic mister like a mistking or climist system. Water temp also could cause the cham to move away.

I warm the water in a microwave for a few seconds so its luke warm. My cham still hates misting but I make sure he gets sprayed 3 times a day for atleast 2 minutes each time. Dehydration is something you want to avoid

 

[starryskiezz]

Hey! Your cham was probably stressed due to relocation and is still getting used to everything, especially since he's young still. I wouldn't put a blanket over his terrarium, and definitely don't stop misting! A lot of chams run away from the misting, but it's for his own good and he will learn to tolerate it better over time. Also, check the temperature of your habitat! For my veiled Bames, I have noticed he either becomes darker when he's cold or grumpy, and if he's super mad/scared he'll turn stripy with very distinct black lines! Chameleons are very timid and easily scared when they're younger.

So yeah... check his basking temp right under the light, and also check the temp of the coolest places in his terrarium. Keep misting (ex. I hand mist Bames once in the morning when I wake up and once around dinner for about 20 sec, in addition to keeping some plants that I water once a day to maintain his humidity), as chameleons need lots of moisture! Personally, what I find works for Bames and I to maintain his humidity is placing a couple layers of paper towel in the bottom of his home, along with some chameleon safe plants that thrive in humid conditions. I like to water these plants to the point the water saturates the paper towel underneath, in addition to misting twice a day! However, if you do this, make sure to change your paper towel once a week or more frequently, as your chameleon may drink from the paper towel and you don't want them to drink contaminated, dirty water.

Owning a chameleon is definitely a learning experience, so make sure to be patient and you'll figure your cham out in time! If he's stressed simply because of the new people/environment, hopefully this will also improve over time. These lil critters take a bit to get used to people/new things, though. Good luck angel! <3

 

[Veille]

Hey! Your cham was probably stressed due to relocation and is still getting used to everything, especially since he's young still. I wouldn't put a blanket over his terrarium, and definitely don't stop misting! A lot of chams run away from the misting, but it's for his own good and he will learn to tolerate it better over time. Also, check the temperature of your habitat! For my veiled Bames, I have noticed he either becomes darker when he's cold or grumpy, and if he's super mad/scared he'll turn stripy with very distinct black lines! Chameleons are very timid and easily scared when they're younger.

So yeah... check his basking temp right under the light, and also check the temp of the coolest places in his terrarium. Keep misting (ex. I hand mist Bames once in the morning when I wake up and once around dinner for about 20 sec, in addition to keeping some plants that I water once a day to maintain his humidity), as chameleons need lots of moisture! Personally, what I find works for Bames and I to maintain his humidity is placing a couple layers of paper towel in the bottom of his home, along with some chameleon safe plants that thrive in humid conditions. I like to water these plants to the point the water saturates the paper towel underneath, in addition to misting twice a day! However, if you do this, make sure to change your paper towel once a week or more frequently, as your chameleon may drink from the paper towel and you don't want them to drink contaminated, dirty water.

Owning a chameleon is definitely a learning experience, so make sure to be patient and you'll figure your cham out in time! If he's stressed simply because of the new people/environment, hopefully this will also improve over time. These lil critters take a bit to get used to people/new things, though. Good luck angel! <3

Can you tell me some plants I could use for the humidity thing? I'm pretty sure he's just cold and stressed, and needs more warmth. I dont know how to check the temperature of the heat light but when I touched it I burned my finger slightly so I'm pretty sure it's good.. I misted him today and he hissed at the bottle and bit the tip. Should I mist for two minutes straight? How much should I soak the enclosure?

 

[Veille]

Dont put a blanket over his enclosure. He will never get used to people walking by if the blanket is cover his cage. Also, I imagine your lights are on top so a blanket over the lighting is a fire hazard.

Also, do not stop misting. If you are hand misting, most chams dont like it since hand pumps spray larger droplets compared to an automatic mister like a mistking or climist system. Water temp also could cause the cham to move away.

I warm the water in a microwave for a few seconds so its luke warm. My cham still hates misting but I make sure he gets sprayed 3 times a day for atleast 2 minutes each time. Dehydration is something you want to avoid

I think Melon I found out a way to calm him down. A cricket was on his back, and he was hissing at it, really dark colored with really big black spots, so I tried to get it off with my gloves on, and he climbed up on my hand. The cricket fell into the cage and Melon immediately started getting lighter. I've never seen him change color so fast. He tried to climb up my arm but I used my other hand and did the whole forever path thing. He was really vibrant green and yellow (his normal colors, but brighter). When I put him back in the cage (it was a struggle, he really wanted to stay on me) he was still vibrant and hung on to the door, wanting to come out. Is this normal for chameleons??

 

[Graves923]

Some chameleons dont like being caged up. Depending on the personality of the cham, they could feel stressed by it or just feel more relaxed in a free range set up. My chameleon, on the other hand, likes being in his cage and gets nervous when I handle him. I have yet to try a free range set up with him though.

 

[Veille]

Some chameleons dont like being caged up. Depending on the personality of the cham, they could feel stressed by it or just feel more relaxed in a free range set up. My chameleon, on the other hand, likes being in his cage and gets nervous when I handle him. I have yet to try a free range set up with him though.

He's dead. He died. I don't know. He has one large black spot on his side I dont know what happened

 

[Misha]

He's dead. He died. I don't know. He has one large black spot on his side I dont know what happened

I took Calcifer too the vet the other day and I was talking to her about what happens when a chameleon turns black and she says they will usually turn black right before they die.... I am sorry for your loss. </3