COMMON CHAMELEON

The chameleon is unique among reptiles because of its ability to change color. This adaptation allows to to both catch prey and avoid predators.

HABITS

The common chameleon lives in the forests along the coast of North Africa extending to the Middle East and along the coast of southern Spain. It spends most of the day motionless in the trees, waiting for unsuspecting insects and spiders to pass by.

The chameleon is unique among reptiles because of its ability to change color. Click to see close up

BREEDING

The chameleon leads a solitary existence and will seek out the company of other chameleons only during the breeding season. The male guards his territory fiercely against rival males and frightens them off by inflating his lungs and puffing up his body

It remarkable swiveling eyes give the chameleon all-around vision

Mating takes place in the trees, during which time the female's eggs are fertilized inside he r body. When she is ready to ay her eggs in the late summer, the female chooses a warm spot at the base of a tree she deposits up to thirty eggs.

After covering them with soil, she returns to the treetops and leaves the eggs to develop unattended. Inside its shell, each young chameleon feeds on the yolk sac, the same way in which a hen's chicks does. When it is ready to hatch in the following spring, the yong breaks out of its shell with the use of its egg tooth. When it is hatched, the young chameleon looks like smaller version of its parents.

FOOD HUNTING

The chameleon is a master of the disguise. It can change color to blend in with its surroundings and is unrecognizable to the spiders and insects it caches.

Without moving its body, the chameleon uses its eyes to locate prey. Once it spots its prey, the chameleon flicks out its sticky tongue and catches the insect.Fully extended, the chameleon's tongue is as long as its body.

The chameleon's ability to change color also helps it to stay hidden from its predators.

DEFENSE

The chameleon's ability to change color it is its primary defense against predators.

Each chameleon has basic color which broadly matches its habitat. Changes in its color are subtle and correspond to changes in light and shadows.

Beneath its transparent skin, the chameleon has red and yellow color cells that reflect the blue and white layers bellow them. Under these layers is yet another layer of brown pigment. Color changes occur when the color cells become larger or smaller, regulating the amount of multicolored reflection each layer produces.

KEY FACTS

Sizes

Head & body length: 8-12 in.

Tail length: As long as head and body

Tongue length: As long as head and body.

Breeding

Breading Season: Late summer.

No. of eggs: 20-30 laid on the ground. Young emerge the following spring.

Lifestyle

Habit: Solitary except during breading season. Daytime hunters.

Diet: Almost all insects and spiders.

Related Species

There are about 100 species of chameleons. The largest is about 2 ft. long, and the smallest 2 in. The larger species will catch lizards, small mammals, and birds.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first reptiles lived on earth in the Permian period aproximatelly 200 million years ago.
Some charmelons sport crests on their heads.Jacson's charmeleon (C.jacksonii), carries a trio of frightening horns.
When not use, the charmeleon's tail satys coiled up.

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