A lot of people think to change their colour based on their surroundings – sort of like camouflage. However, this isn't true, they actually change their colour due to several different factors, including:
health:
vector woke from his slumber with a large yawn
it had been ages since he had a decent nice sleep
and now he was going to go continue this seemingly nice day with a good quality breakfast
getting out of bed and he began to head downstairs
he had expected a certain chameleon in the corner meditating like he did every morning
only to see the corner chameleon-less
"that's weird" vector thought to himself
Espio never let himself sleep in
but last days event seemed to replay in his head
while he and charmy had been watching tv, the ninja had been hard at work training outside in the pouring rain
vector had even tried ordering the teenager back inside when it got particularly bad, but he simply ignored his boss
it was nearly midnight when the chameleon finally came inside
vector tried to scold ninja but he simply went to bed
"I'm going to have a serious chat with him when he wakes up," vector thought to himself
but for now, he would let the kid asleep, if this was an indication of him needing a sleep in then he would allow it
it had been two hours since vector had woken up and now he was getting worried
charmy soon came flying down ready for breakfast (honey pancakes) and instantly asked the large reptile where the smaller one was
"esp was training hard yesterday charms, he's probably just really tired" vector reassured the small bee, and himself in the process
"still weird," charmy said worriedly
that was an hour ago
vector was just about to go up to check on the chameleon when the figure of him entered the room
however, there seemed to be something clearly up
his skin was really light, he seemed to be shivering and eyes were closed slightly
"Woah, esp you alright?" vector asked worriedly as the chameleon went to make his cereal
"m, fine" the ninja uttered sleepily as he gripped the box with shaky hands
"really, cus you look sick," charmy said anxiously as Espio sat at the table with them
"no, I'm not I, I just had a rough night" Espio mumbled
it seemed the chameleon thought there was a bowl in front of him as he began to pour the cereal, only for it to fall on the table
"uhhh, yeah...looks it" vector uttered worriedly as he and charmy stared at the display
"Hey, um, we've got no missions for today, why don't you get more sleep" vector said, trying to lead the chameleon back to bed
"no, I don't need sleep, I...I'll, I'll be outside" Espio stumbled, as he got off his seat
but vector instantly put a stop to it as he put his hands on the chameleon's shoulders, pushing him back into the seat
"Espio, you can't be serious, you're already freezing as it is and if you go outside in that still heavy rain then you'll be in much worse shape then you are" vector scolded
"ok fine, I'll just stay inside then" Espio sighed
happy vector let him go, and instead of going outside he went back to his bedroom
proud vector decided he decided he earnt another set of pancakes, happy the chameleon had to stop being stubborn and went to bed
or that's what he thought the chameleon was up to
if the ninja couldn't train outside he decided in his sleepy state mind that he would train inside
pushing his body to the limit when it really wasn't in the best shape to do so
vector heard a thud and a drop from upstairs
instincts kicking in he rushed up the stairs to check on his teammate
"Espio... I'm respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority as your boss by coming in any way" vector shouted as he knocked on the door and then opened it to enter
what he saw caused his heart to beat faster and faster
on the floor, Espio was gasping for air and shivering with eyes closed and scrunched
"oh, chaos esp" vector announced in horror as he lifted the little chameleon into his arms
placing a hand to his head he had to cartoonishly take it off just as fast, it was like it was on fire
meanwhile, his body was freezing and his skin was an extremely dark shade of purple
"charmy, get a cold rag and blankets, espio's really not well" vector shouted as quickly placed the chameleon into bed
"got em vec" charmy announced as he entered the room with the required equipment
vector thanked charmy and reached for the rag and placed it on the ninja's head, middle of his awkward horn
"poor Espio" charmy stated sadly as he placed fluffy clean blankets onto the bed, pretty much trapping the seemingly more relaxed chameleon inside
"will he be ok?" charmy asked vector worriedly
to this vector gave Charmy's head a little pat of reassurance
"don't worry kiddo, espio's tough, he'll get through this" vector smiled
Espio had soon regained consciousness to eat warm soup, drink water and sometimes, unfortunately, throwing it up
but not enough to really remember what was happening
but his skin soon started to get lighter and back to its original colour
"mmm, ugh my head" Espio groaned as he woke up once again, only this time, he had finally regained the ability to remember
"Hey sleepy bones, how you feeling ?" vector asked with a soft smile
Espio looked to his left where his teammates were looking over him with worried yet relived smiles
"in all honesty, not great" Espio admitted sheepishly
"well, if we're all being honest, tell me why you've been pushing yourself so much these past few days" vector began to interrogate
"vector" Espio tried to groan but the crocodile interrupted him
"no esp, you got us really worried about you, you pushed yourself to the state of exhaustion and illness and I need to know why" vector continued
Espio knew there was no way of getting out of this
with a sigh, the ninja began to explain "remember that tournament where I faced that stupid duck thing, bean....and lost" Espio mumbled embarrassedly
instantly vector knew why the chameleon had been pushing himself, but he decided to let the ninja continue
"After that, It seems like I've been slipping and I just, I want to redeem myself" Espio finished
vector sighed as he placed a reassuring hand on the chameleon's shoulder
"Esp, there's nothing to redeem, that tournament was ages ago and you've accomplished so much since then, you don't need to prove anything, your more powerful then you realise, so please don't ever do this ever again, you scared us here" vector empowered the chameleon, ending the sentence with a laugh
"ok" Espio replied with a smile
tiny but vector would take it
"Did anybody say ice cream"
their youngest mascot came back into the room with three bowls office cream, vector had whispered the chameleon was heating up, so he thought ice cream would cool him back down again
"yes, thanks charmy" vector thanked the bee as he retrieved the two bowls
"ok, open up bud" vector said as he readied to spoon-feed the still sick chameleon
"your kidding" Espio stated annoyedly
"nope, the way you're still shaking I bet the ice cream gets on those covers in three minutes flat" vector stated
"I don't want-" Espio was about to protest before a spoon of ice cream cut him off
"you haven't eaten in ages and you're burning up, so I'm not taking no for an answer" vector stated as he took the spoon back out ready for another scoop
Espio merely grumbled but complied as he opened his mouth for another bite
"think of it this way, don't get sick, and we won't need to baby ya" vector continued
to which Espio happily agreed to as he finished his ice cream and went back to sleep, the more rest he would get means the faster he would be back on his feet and beating eggman butt
A sick chameleon can will start of lighter, but usually, then change semi-permanently to something darker.
When your chameleon is brown or beige all the time, you should consult a vet
Dark colours make it easier for the chameleon to warm up, as dark colours absorb more heat from light. The first thing you should check for is that the enclosure is warm enough and that the chameleon can reach the close enough to warm up