Original Wild Facts, Reptiles

Wild Fact #965 – Peek-a-boo, I See You – Chameleon

Photo compliments of http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/cheats/images/cheats-chameleon.jpg
Photo compliments of http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/cheats/images/cheats-chameleon.jpg

Happy Friday ladies and gentlemen and to my Canadian readers, happy long weekend!! I have probably been pushing the limits this week with longer than usual posts so I will try my best to keep this one a little shorter, since it is Friday and all!

I bet by reading the title of today’s Wild Fact (go ahead and read the title again, I will wait) you think that this fact will be on how chameleons can change colour to match their surroundings.  Well, I tricked you, today’s fact is about another chameleon adaptation.  For the record they change colours as a form of camouflage as well as a social indicator to other chameleons. All right, so if the changing of colour isn’t unique enough to be Wild Fact #965 then what else is so gosh darn cool about the chameleon?

It all has to do with the way the chameleon hunts.  You see, chameleons eat small to mid-size insects such as locusts, mantises, crickets and grasshoppers (some of the larger chameleons may eat small birds and other lizards).  Since chameleons may actually be deaf they rely very heavily on sight to hunt these little critters.  Even though they are deaf they may still be able to communicate via vibrations in the ground, similar to snakes. Okay, back to the whole eye-sight thing! The upper and lower eye-lid of the chameleon are fused together which leaves a small pinhole opening for the pupil to see through.  You are probably thinking that this doesn’t seem like it will help the crazy, colour changing chameleon hunt its prey.  This small pinhole would allow the chameleon to focus a little easier but the real interesting part is the fact that they can focus and rotate each eye individually. Let’s put that a different way, one eye can be focused to the right while the other eye is focusing in on something to the left.  This feature effectively allows them to see 360 degrees at any time.  Although, when they see a scrumptious meal, they are able to focus both eyes on the target which will bring it into stereo.  Just remember the next time you think you are sneaking up on a chameleon, it probably sees you!

Chameleon Fast Fact – Chameleons can see small insects from a distance of 5-10 cm away.  I know this doesn’t sound like much but for a lizard, that is pretty impressive. The fact that their tongue is sometimes longer than their body length, they will have no problems catching these insects.

So much for keeping the post shorter.  Oh Well!

Thanks for another great week of comments everyone!  Have a great weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

3 Comments

  1. How cool is that! Since I assume they change colours to match their surrounding to blend in. Is there a set number of colours they can change too or is it where ever they are they adapt to that surrounding (doesn’t matter what surrounding)?

    Happy Thanksgiving as well!

    1. So if I am understanding the question right you would like to know if chameleons can change to any colour depending what they are on. For example, if you put a cute little chameleon onto your tie-dyed 80’s tee-shirt will they be able to blend in? Since there are numerous species of chameleons some will have different colour changes than others. For the most part though chameleons can change to the following colours: pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown, yellow and turquoise. I am not saying that every chameleon can change to all of these colours but differents species can change to different colour combinations.

      I hope this helps answer your question.

      Thanks for a very interesting question!

  2. Interesting post Nathan, keep them coming.
    Candy get some sleep!
    Happy Thanksgiving Weekend everyone – count your blessings, we have so many living where we do!

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