INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHAMELEONS

Chameleons like all other reptiles have five toes, except their toes are grouped on the forefoot, two outside toes and three inside toes. The hind toes have an opposite arrangement. The tails of chameleons are a useful factor for climbing up high which can wrap around the tree branches.

Chameleon's tail cannot be broken off and regrown. Another distinctive feature of these reptiles are their eyes. They have a scaly lid shaped like a cone and a round opening in the middle for the pupil. They eye can be rotated and can focus its eyes separately and look at two different objects. It can view 360 degrees around its body.

Chameleons are known to camouflage, that is they can change their color to match their surroundings, but it is not possible for all colors. They have four layers of skin, the outer protective layer called the epidermis, chromatophore layer, the melanophore layer and the nether layer. The veiled chameleon, one of the largest chameleon found in Saudi Arabia. They have a casque on their head which acts as a water collector. At night, the droplet of moisture roll down the casque and into the chameleon's mouth.

One of the smallest chameleons in the world is the Brookesia. Chameleons have a diet consisting of insects like locusts, stick insects, grasshoppers and crickets. Since chameleons are slow movers, they use their long tongue to catch the insects. The tongue has a sticky tip. Most of the female chameleons lay egg and the numbers may vary. When the eggs are ready to be laid, the female climbs down and buries a hole in the ground for their eggs. The female then leaves the site and the eggs are incubated.

A few days after the young chameleons hatch they start to hunt for food and learn how to survive without their parents. The incubation is around 4-24 months. Chameleons have a lifespan of around 10 years. The term chameleon means earth lion which is a greek word, "Chamai" and "leon".