Interesting facts about chameleons
If you are looking around online for an article with useful information about Chameleon Care, then look no further, today is your lucky day. Owning a Chameleon is just slightly different from other pets you may have owned before. Caring for this kind of pet makes you unique and clearly sets you apart from others. Here are some excellent tips to ensure that you have an enjoyable experience taking good care of your precious pet and to help provide them with the right ambiance to thrive.
Lighting
Maintaining the proper lighting is critical for taking good care of your lizard. You will need two types of bulbs for basic upkeep – a UVA/UVB bulb and a basking bulb also. The UVA/UVB bulb as you may have guessed is necessary to mimic the sun’s light. As you may recall from science class, the sun delivers great UVA lighting which is what we can all see. It will help bringing out the color in your chameleon care. This particular bulb also provides UVB which is what enables your Chameleon to synthesize vitamin D3. Thus, this allows your precious pet to maximize their calcium intake for maximum health benefits. Next, you will also require a basking bulb. This bulb is responsible for bringing the heat needed to keep your Chameleon beautiful and warm. Let’s not forget that reptiles are cold-blooded creatures that need the remarkable ability to regulate their temperature.
Humidity
Taking the right steps to ensure the optimum humid environment for your reptile is also important. The origin of the Chameleon’s natural environment is wet, therefore, by replicating their original habitat, you can help them feel more at home, providing extreme comfort indeed. You can hand mist several times a day, and this will usually suffice to keep the humidity up. It also, of course, depends on the overall humidity factor where you live. There are other ways to boost the humidity factor at your home. You could invest in a cool mist humidifier and keep it running at all times; your precious pet will surely be appreciative. If this technique doesn’t appeal to you, then you can try buying an automatic misting system such as the Mistaking. It allows you to program the listings on a set timer that will go off throughout the day and mist the cage area effectively. Make use of whatever method suits your needs the best. These methods will also provide the benefit of drinking water for your darling creature.
Environment
Last but never least, the proper environment needs to be set up accordingly. The enclosure where you house your Chameleon needs to be a screened one for the purpose of ideal air circulation. It goes without saying that you need the proper enclosure to fit the size of your pet. Once you’ve taken care of this, you can then let your imagination run wild. Consider decorating the cage with both live and fake plants. Stimulate your Chameleon by placing vines all around the cage for him or her to climb. Make sure there is a place under the basking spot for them to bask and enjoy their surroundings. Allow some of the cage to be slightly darker, so there is a difference in temperature. Simulate the look and feel of a jungle with some open areas to give your precious pet a high-quality life.
Species of Chameleons
Chameleons are lizards-type reptiles consisting of over 200 species mostly spread out on three continents with 11 main species in existence. These species have different lengths, forms of reproduction, size, favorite foods and nature of habitats. They average a lifespan of between 2-10 years depending on the species.
Do chameleons bite human?
Chameleon basics
Chameleons vary greatly in size, physiology, and body weight with the smallest averaging about 15mm and the longest averaging in at about 68.5cm. They have a clear compound eyes in which the lower and upper eyelids are connected. Its eyes have a small hole from which the pupil can observe the environment.
Each eye can focus on different spaces simultaneously enabling chameleons to have a complete, 360 view of its surrounding. These reptiles have two different types of reproduction with the egg-laying (oviparous) chameleons laying their eggs 3-6 weeks after copulation.The ovoviviparous chameleons, on the other hand, have a gestation period of about 5-7 months.
There are 11 main species of chameleons. These are the pygmy chameleon, the veiled chameleon, Parsons, the Senegal Chameleon, and carpet. There is also the Millers species, the Panther, the Graceful, the Jackson’s, the Fischer and the Flapneck.
5. Colorful Facts you didn’t know about
I. 50% Of Chameleon Species Exist Madagascar
About 100 of the 202 chameleon species can be found in the Island of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean coast, while 59 of these species do not exist anywhere else in the world. Most chameleons live in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Europe, and Southeast Asia, though they have recently been introduced in the southern USA.
II. Body Color Changing
Most chameleons change their color between brown, gray and shades of green. It takes about 15 seconds for the chameleons to change its colors. The chameleons are born with a particular type of cells that have a pigmentation within. These cells (also known as chromophores) have four ranges of colors with the outer layers have white or blue pigment, and the inner ones have red or yellow pigments. Studies have shown that light, moods and temperature is what alters the colors of a chameleon, not the surrounding.
III. They rely on ultraviolet vision.
Chameleons have the dual ability to see both in the visible form and in an invisible mode. When they are exposed to ultraviolet lights, they tend to become hyperactive and more predisposed to play and feed. Ultraviolet light is also known to significantly affect their pineal gland making them more likely to mate and reproduce.
IV. Males chameleons have more decorated
Male chameleons tend to be bigger than their female counterparts. They are also more likely to have more body colors and various protrusions including horns and nasal growths. Some males tend to have oversized growths above their heads and a few have small protuberances on their skin.
V. Chameleons don’t have Ears
Chameleons do not have the outer and middle ear, so they lack eardrums, ear lobes or ear openings. Because of that, they hear through detecting vibrations in the air and ground around them. They can detect sound frequencies of between 200-600 Hz.