How do chameleons drink? It’s a fair quesiton, and you’ve definitely come to the right place. Did you know that chameleons won’t drink water from a traditional water dish? In fact, they’ll usually die of dehydration before they’ll do so! This isn’t because they’re stubborn or stupid animals. Rather, it’s because chameleons don’t recognize a dish of still water as a source of hydration.
Here’s one of our female yellow-lipped Parson’s chameleon mid-drink.
We all know just by seeing how clumsy chameleons are on flat land that they are arboreal lizards. This means that they spend most of their lives in trees and by extension, drink water while they are in the trees.
How do Chameleons Drink in the Wild?
What happens in the wild is that when it rains, water trickles and drips down upon the leaves and branches in the trees. Chameleons will recognize there is water present based on the moisture they are feeling and the drops they observe hitting the surface around them, and will lap up the water droplets with their tongue.
So, it would make sense that they can’t comprehend that the dish you place on the floor of their enclosure actually contains water. It’s just not natural to them.
So, you might ask, if I can’t leave a water dish for my new pet, how do I get my chameleon to drink water?
How do Chameleons Drink in Captivity?
The simplest method is to use a drip system. You can go as fancy or as inexpensive as you want. If you’re on a tight budget, you can simply get a plastic deli cup and puncture a hole in the bottom. Fill it with water, place it on top of your chameleon’s screen cage, and – voila – dripping water! A drip every second or so is a good rate. You don’t want a constant stream of water, or too slow of a drip.
Make sure the drops are landing on either a branch, or a leaf. If you want to spend a bit more money or get something that is specifically made to drip water for reptiles, try a drip system offered by Zoo Med called “Little Dripper.”
We also highly recommend misting your chameleon’s enclosure for added moisture and humidity. You can do this manually with a spray bottle a few times daily (mist until water droplets appear on the leaves), depending on how dry it is where you live, or you can purchase an automated misting system if you want to go the fancy route.
Chameleons have a sticky coating on their tongue that helps catch insects. When they drink and lick leaves and sticks for water, they can get “slobbery,” which is visible in the picture. :-)
Some species of chameleon seem to drink for long stretches (Parson’s, Jackson’s, Meller’s), while others are like camels, and don’t seem to require as much (Veiled and Oustalet’s come to mind).
Thanks for reading our article about how chameleons drink water. If you have any questions regarding chameleon hydration, feel free to ask in the comments.
From the get-go, in order to understand this blog article, you’ll need to know what the term “sexual dimorphism” means. The simplest way to explain it is that it describes a single, sexually reproducing animal where males and females look different from one another. A great example of an animal that is sexually dimorphic that all readers should be familiar with is the common chicken. Roosters are easily identifiable as the male of the species, while hens look completely different from them but are clearly still the same species.
A female Mt. Meru Jackson’s chameleon.
There are many traits that exemplify sexual dimorphism in animals, the most obvious being different genitalia. However, because chameleons lack visible distinguishing sex organs, we have to examine their other physical traits in order to determine males from females.
Generally, with most reptiles and amphibians, the traits examined to determine gender are: size, ornamentation, and coloration.
A top view of a male Mt. Meru chameleon. Notice the three horns, similar to that of a male Jackson’s chameleon.
This brings us to our question regarding Mt. Meru Jackson’s Chameleons – are they sexually dimorphic animals? Can you tell the males from the females just by looking at them?
A comparison of male and female Mt. Meru chameleons.
In short, the answer is yes.
The main difference between males and females is the number of horns/spikes present on the animal’s head. Females possess one short horn on the tip of their nose, while males have a trio of horns, one on the tip of their nose and one above each eye like a triceratops.
This is a female. You can see she has a single horn.
Another less noticeable difference between the genders is size. Males will grow to be slightly larger than females in terms of body length, weight, and slightness of frame.
Both males and females can and will display a range of colors from dark, mottled browns and blacks to vibrant greens, so color is not necessarily a good indicator of gender in this species of chameleon.
Here’s one of our baby Mount Meru Jackson’s chameleons.
Have you ever wondered why chameleons change color? We think it’s fascinating that these little lizards possess this ability and we wanted to shed a little light on the “why” behind this unique behavior.
Chameleon Camouflage
It’s a common misconception that chameleons change color primarily to blend in with their surroundings and avoid predators. While camouflaging with their surroundings is a positive byproduct of this behavior, there are actually stronger factors at work when it comes to color change.
While it is true that some species of chameleons, such as the Pygmy Chameleon (Rhampholean sp.) use color change as a way to blend in, this is a pretty specialized case. Pygmies actually don’t change color in the traditional spectrum – you won’t see a red, blue, or even bright green Pygmy. They change between light and dark shades of brown and are shaped to resemble dead leaf litter on the forest floor.
An adult pygmy chameleon. Notice its pointed shape and lack of curly tail which help it resemble leaf litter. These little guys are pretty much brown their whole lives.
Another common erroneous belief is that a chameleon will change color to mimic it’s background. For instance, chameleons are commonly portrayed in pop culture as being able to rapidly transform themselves from green to purple to black and yellow stripes based on whatever they’re close to. This is not true.
This is a translucent veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). Notice how it has white and black splotches. These are a result of selective captive breeding and are not a result of the chameleon trying to resemble the white backdrop behind it.
Chameleon Mood
The foremost reason chameleons change color is to communicate their mood, whether it be to other chameleons, potential predators, or even to their owners.
Notice the difference in color between these Meller’s chameleons. Above the chameleon is drabber because it is not being handled. It does not feel threatened or stressed, so it doesn’t feel the need to brighten up and show dominance. In the bottom photo, the chameleon is being handled, which can make the grumpier species feel angry, which in turn causes them to display brighter colors.
A general rule of thumb when it comes to interpreting your chameleon’s color is that brighter colors mean a more dominant animal. For example, if two males to come into view of one another, they will both puff up and turn a brighter green in order to display aggression and try to defend their territory. They are both trying to communicate to the other that they are the head honcho and whoever is bigger and brighter is more likely to win should they come to blows in the wild.
This is a brightly-colored Rudis chameleon (Trioceros rudis) with her baby piggy-backing. Her bright color is a general indicator of her good health. This live birth occurred at our facility.
Dark, drab chameleons can be this color for a number of reasons. One, is a physical response to light and temperature (see the subheading below on temperature and lighting for more details). The other could be because the animal is unhealthy. This is not always the case, as certain species just tend to be in the brown color spectrum naturally (Oustalet’s, Pygmies, and Elephant Ears to name a few), but if your Jacksons or Panther is consistently drab and brown, you need to adjust something in its care regimen, probably its light and/or heat source.
Female chameleons will change color to indicate that they are pregnant or receptive/non-receptive to a potential mate. Males will also display more brilliant colorations when they are trying to impress a female.
Lighting and Temperature
Have you ever noticed how wearing black in the summer is generally going to make you hotter? The black clothes absorb the sun’s rays more and the same is true of a darker-colored chameleon’s skin.
Reptiles cannot thermoregulate their body temperature the same way that mammals do, so they have lots of tricks up their sleeves to help them warm up when needed. Sometimes when a chameleon is very dark or drab in color, it could be trying to absorb more heat.
This is a hatchling Veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). It is young and still has some learning to do as far as color displays are concerned.
We hope that you learned something new by reading this article. If you’re inspired to purchase your own chameleon, Backwater Reptiles has many species of chameleons for sale on our website.
Are you wondering how to incubate chameleon eggs? One of the most rewarding experiences you can have as a reptile hobbyist is the successful hatching of an egg clutch. If you need help or suggestions as far as breeding goes, we have a very in depth blog article all about breeding Panther chameleons. But, for the purposes of this article, we’ll assume you’ve already got a clutch or two of your own incubating and we’ll focus specifically on what to do once your eggs are starting to hatch.
It all starts with this, right?! Here’s a pair of our Panther chameleons mating. The female will lay eggs about a month later.
At Backwater Reptiles, we incubate our eggs in shoebox sized plastic boxes. We don’t drill any holes or provide any special means of ventilation (they don’t get much air circulation in nature being buried 6-12 inches underground).
You can purchase these types of plastic boxes at any large department store. We fill the boxes with Perlite that is damp but certainly not dripping wet, label the boxes with the clutch date, close the lid, and store on a shelf at room temperature.
We make various notes on the incubation box, including date eggs were laid, species, quantity, and any miscellaneous notes. In this instance, we crossed a female Oustalet’s chameleon with a male Panther chameleon.
We’ve learned that the natural rise-and-fall of indoor temperatures provides the perfect environment for 90% of chameleons. We’ve hatched-out over 18 different species, and the only one that we don’t get strong hatch percentages with is the Carpet chameleon (Furcifer lateralis). We generally experience 100% hatch rates for Panther, Veiled, Sailfin, Flapneck, Oustelet’s, Pygmy, Verrucosus, Johnston’s, Two-horned, et al.
Many hobbyists purchase small pre-made incubators for their chameleon eggs, but we’ve found they are unstable and can experience sudden wide temperature fluctuations. If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this: quick temperature fluctuations are dangerous–very slow, gradual changes are far less so.
This is one of our chameleon egg incubation stations. As you can see, we stack them so that they won’t be disturbed.
Chameleon Eggs: Part Deux
The amount of time it takes for the eggs to hatch varies based on the chameleon species, but for the purposes of this article, we’re using a clutch of Sailfin (Trioceros cristatus) babies that we had hatch this week (our fourth clutch). This particular clutch was laid on March 3rd, and took a little over six months to hatch.
Once you notice a single baby in the Perlite, it’s best to keep it in the box for a while as the eggs seem to “communicate” and incite the rest of the eggs to hatch. Some scientists believe there is some type of chemical communication involved.
You’ll notice that your hatchlings are very timid, weak, and clumsy. This is all normal! Just like human babies, hatchling chameleons of any species, not just the Sailfins pictured, need to learn how to use their limbs.
Here’s the beginnings of a clutch of Sailfin chameleon (Trioceros cristatus) hatchlings. There are still a few eggs that will hatch, so the babies have not yet been moved to their new enclosure. We’ve learned that babies walking around inside the incubation chamber often somehow “trigger” or “message” the other eggs to know it’s time to hatch.
The babies will climb all over each other, use each other as stepping stools, and be generally awkward and bumbling for a few days. They might even curl up in little balls and appear for all intents and purposes to be dead, but it’s just the shock of the new world. Eventually they will snap out of it.
This sail fin hatchling doesn’t seem to realize its been born yet.
Once all of your eggs have hatched, it’s safe to move the babies to a separate home. We house our babies of a single species all together in small versions of adult cages. Keep the plant life and climbing materials in their cages minimal so that you don’t lose the little guys as they are very small! It’s also wise that your cage not be too tall as they stumble and fall often when they’re babies. Just like toddlers learning to walk, they have accidents and can fall off the plants/climbing materials and if you don’t want them to injure themselves, it’s best if they don’t have too far to fall.
They also need to be able to spot prey insects, and the more clutter you have in the enclosure, the more difficult it is for them. We usually affix a plastic plant to the top of the screen cage (near the UVB lighting–we use ReptiSun 5.0 bulbs), because the baby chameleons like soaking up the rays, and if you don’t provide a way for them to get off the top of the cage (by way of easily accessible leaves), sometimes they seem to be confused as to how to maneuver elsewhere.
This little guy is wary of the camera. :-P
We feed our hatchlings hydei fruit flies and pinhead crickets at birth once or twice a day. As they grow just a bit, you can increase the size of the prey items accordingly.
Baby chameleons need humidity, and plenty of it. Dessication (dehydrating) is their biggest enemy, and it’s an ever present threat. Mist, mist, and mist again. We have our’s set up with an automatic misting system, so that we don’t even have to think about it.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our article on how to incubate chameleon eggs! The Sailfin chameleon hatchlings from this post should be large enough to be shipped to new homes within about three months. They’re a wonderful species with a unique appearance, and they generally thrive in captivity, especially when you start with captive bred babies.
Are you overwhelmed by the litany of Leopard gecko morphs available? There are so many Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularis) morphs on the market that it can be hard to know what the names mean if you’re not an expert on the subject. In this article, we will show you photos of our most popular morphs and explain why or how that morph got its name.
Pinstripe Leopard Gecko
Commonly morphs are named after something they resembles in every day life, such as a fruit or a color. This particular morph is named because it causes the gecko’s spots to blend into lines or “pinstripes” on its body. Pretty straight forward.
Take note of the stripes on this pinstripe leopard gecko’s sides, one of many popular morphs.
Blazing Blizzard Leopard Gecko
The blazing blizzard morph is a variation on the standard blizzard morph. When a gecko is a blizzard, it lacks patterns (stripes, spots, or tail banding) and will range in color from grey to pure white. They also occasionally display yellow highlights.
Blazing Blizzard Leopard geckos are sensitive to light, which is why this guy was blinking in the photo.
The “blazing” added onto the blizzard gecko means that the animal is both albino and patternless. The main aesthetic difference between this morph and the standard blizzard is the lack of any grey tints. Both the blizzard and the blazing blizzard can have yellow highlights present.
Leucistic Leopard Gecko
Leucistic Leos are also known as patternless or “Murphy’s Patternless” morphs. This is because when the animal is leucistic, its genetic makeup causes it to lack certain types of pigment.
This photo makes it easy to see why the alternate name for this morph is “patternless.”
High Color Leopard Gecko
When referring to morphs and the names of reptiles, “high” indicates a particularly strong expression of a particular genetic trait. So, if a gecko is high color, it means that its colors are particularly vibrant.
A super high color morph Leopard gecko. Notice how most of its body lacks pigment, except for the tail and top of the head.
This morph is also referred to as hypomelanistic, which means that the gecko displays a greatly reduced amount of color in its body, but some spots may be present on the head and tail.
Snow Leopard Gecko
Also known as “Mack Snow,” this morph means that the gecko’s main body color will be white and any spots or markings will be black. Essentially, the gecko is black and white with little or no yellow or orange tones present.
This is a mack snow leopard gecko. Notice how there are extremely faint yellow undertones to his skin. This is what makes his morph different than the super snow morph.
Super Snow Leopard Gecko
The super snow or “super mack snow” morph is an exaggeration of the snow morph. The black and white contrast on these geckos is very noticeable and they have solid black eyes.
This is a super snow leopard gecko. This morph is created by breeding a mack snow to another mack snow.
Albino Leucistic Leopard Gecko
Albinism is the lack of the pigment that causes black tones in skin or scales, so any albino leopard gecko will lack black spots or tones. When the gecko is also leucistic, it lacks any discerning pattern. You could also call this morph “Albino Patternless.”
Albino leucistic or albino patternless leopard gecko morph.
Interesting side note on albinism in leopard geckos – it’s not necessary for the gecko to have red eyes in order for it to be considered albino.
Enigma Leopard Gecko
When they’re babies, leopard geckos of this morph are splotchy, but as they mature, the splotches become speckles. They also have white tails.
Notice how this enigma’s tail is nearly completely white.
This is a popular morph for breeders because when crossed with other traits, it tends to amplify the trait.
Super Giant Leopard Gecko
There are two forms of this morph. First, there is the giant leopard gecko, which grows to weight 80 to 110 grams and can display any combination of morphs that express color.
A male super giant albino leopard gecko with regenerated tail.
Next, there is the super giant, which is what we have pictured as an example. Naturally, the super giant gets larger than the giant.
Tangerine Leopard Gecko
If you haven’t guessed already, the tangerine morph displays a bright orange color that is quite stunning.
One of our super giant tangerine morph leopard gecko.
Please be aware that there are more morphs out there than the ones we discuss in this blog. These are the most popular and therefore most commonly bred morphs. Morphs can also be combined in specific instances depending on the lineage.
A collage of the various leopard gecko morphs we’ve discussed today.
