Chameleons

Chameleons are the transformation artists of the animal kingdom: Depending on their mood, they can change their color and shape.

Characteristics

What do chameleons look like?

Chameleons are reptiles and look like lizards: they have an elongated body, four legs, and a long tail. The smallest species are just three and a half centimeters tall, the largest are up to one meter long. The crest on the back and the helmet-like extension on the head are striking. Some even have small horns on their noses.

Their eyes are unmistakable: they are large, protrude from the head like small balls, and can move in different directions independently of one another. With them, some species can see clearly up to a kilometer away. Because the top layer of scaly skin is tough, it cannot grow. Chameleons, therefore, have to shed their skin regularly. To make it easier for them to shed their old shell, the animals often rub against branches or stones.

Chameleons are perfectly adapted to life in trees. They can hold on well even in windy conditions because their hands and feet have been transformed into real pincers: The toes and fingers are fused together in twos and threes.

The bundle with the three toes or fingers points inwards, the one with two outwards. The tail also serves to hold on: it can wrap itself around branches and additionally secure the animal. That is why it is also particularly stable and cannot break off and grow back again, as is the case with other lizards.

Males and females can be distinguished by the heel spur: this is an extension on the back of the leg that only males have. One of the best-known chameleons in Madagascar is the panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis). The males are 40 to 52 centimeters long, the females are up to 30 centimeters.

Depending on where they come from, they are colored very differently. The males are green to turquoise and have light, sometimes red stripes on the sides of the body. The females are usually less conspicuous. Although panther chameleons are originally only found in Madagascar, humans have also introduced them to the islands of Mauritius and La Réunion, which lie east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Where do chameleons live?

Chameleons only exist in the so-called old world, i.e. in Africa, in southern Europe, and in southern and southwestern Asia. Chameleons are tree-dwellers: they mainly live on the branches of trees and bushes, sometimes also in low undergrowth. Species that live in regions where there is little plant life are adapted to live on the ground.

What types of chameleons are there?

There are around 70 species of chameleon. A particularly large number of different species live on the island of Madagascar off the southeast coast of Africa.

How old do chameleons get?

Chameleons live in the terrarium for four to five years. How old they get in nature is not known.

Behave

How do chameleons live?

Chameleons are known for their ability to change color. It’s not just about adapting to the ground and being invisible to enemies. Rather, chameleons show whether they are angry or aggressive, or whether a male arguing with a rival feels stronger or weaker than his competitor.

So color is a substitute for language in chameleons. Also, some chameleons change color depending on the time of day: they are much brighter at night than during the day. Not all chameleon species can take on all colors. Some lack the shades of green, others cannot blush. When they change color, the small reptiles often change shape as well.

To intimidate opponents, some inflate themselves to the point of being almost spherical, while others have large head lobes that they can erect. Chameleons are real loners and neither males nor females get along with each other.

Each animal has a fixed territory that is fiercely defended against other chameleons. There they also have a permanent place to sleep, from which they climb to sunny spots in the morning to warm up.

Chameleons don’t know any rush: they usually sit so well hidden between the branches that you can stand right in front of them without seeing them. They move very slowly, rocking back and forth as they walk. This makes them harder for enemies to see because they look a bit like a leaf swaying in the wind.

Friends and foes of the chameleon

Although chameleons try to be inconspicuous and use camouflage, they sometimes fall prey to birds.

How do chameleons reproduce?

Even during the mating season, chameleons are shown to be belligerent loners. Then several males fight bitterly for a female, but males and females also fight with each other – sometimes even during mating!