Introduction to Veiled Chameleons

Series Summary

Chameleons are arboreal reptiles often found in the trees and bushes of Africa and Madagascar. There is a great variety among chameleon species when it comes it size and body structure, with total length ranging from one inch to almost three feet. The most notable characteristic chameleons posses is the ability to change their skin color. Color change is an expression of the environmental and physiological conditions of the lizard, and can also be a form of communication among other chameleons.

In this free video series, our expert will teach you all about Veiled Chameleons. You will learn how to make an appropriate habitat for your veiled chameleon, with proper lighting and humidity. You will also learn about veiled chameleon diets and environmental dangers, and get tips on how to tell if a chameleon is sick or eggbound. Get expert tips on breeding veiled chameleons and caring for them as pets. If you are looking for a unique reptilian pet, the veiled chameleon may be the pet for you.

Video Transcript

"NICOLE BRAGG: On behalf of Expert Village, I'm Nicole, and I'm here to tell you about Veiled Chameleons. I have a pretty widespread reptile collection and one of the most interesting reptiles I have is my veiled chameleon. She is definitely one of the ones that people are most interested in when they come to view my collection. She is very unique. Chameleons, in general, are very unique. They have eyes that are capable of moving two separate directions at once, which allows them to comprehend actually two different pictures. Their brains are actually made to comprehend two different things at once. So, that's part of their defense system. They also have the split feet that are actually shaped something like this, they have three toes on one side and two toes on the other, so, they have five toes altogether. But they are kind of wedged together to form a good gripping action for the leaves and branches that they tend to live on in the wild. They also have very unique color patterns, which vary according to their mood and temperature, and also their surroundings. Chameleons come from several different places around the world, mostly, tropical areas and mountain regions. There are several different species of chameleons out there. This one is the female Veiled Chameleon. There's also Jackson's Chameleons which have several different subspecies within the Jackson's Chameleons. There's the Mt. Kenya Jackson's and the Meru Mountain Jackson's Chameleon. Now, we also have the Pigmy Leaf Chameleon. There are several different species. There's the Kenya Leaf Chameleon, there's the Fisher's Chameleon, there's a Usambara Giant Three-Horned Chameleon, which are very unique, also very widely collected, a little bit more difficult to keep than most though. And there's--you know what, just look in your local pet store, do your research on-line, there are several different chameleons out there available for purchase. If you're looking for something that's easier to keep, I'd go for something more like the Veiled Chameleon. The more difficult ones are the Pygmy Chameleons. The smaller ones, they range in sizes from 3 1/2 inches up to 14 or 15 inches in length."