CHAMELEONS 
Chameleons are the apes of the reptile world. With the help of their forked 
feet and long, prehensile tails, they move among the treetops in a slow 
and nonchalant, but highly acrobatic fashion. 
Prominent features of these lizards are their helmet-shaped heads and 
bulging uncoordinated eyes. One eye may be staring at an insect which 
the reptile contemplates devouring, while the other rolls around, taking in 
a wider view of the arboreal landscape. After deliberately studying its 
prey — preferably a grasshopper, cricket or spider — for some minutes, the 
chameleon darts out its sticky tongue, sometimes to a length of six or seven 
inches, and snaps the victim back into its jaws. The lizard chews the food 
before swallowing. 
Male chameleons fight furiously among themselves, most often for 
food or mates. On one occasion a moth was seized by two of these crea¬ 
tures and pulled back and forth in a veritable tug of war. A single branch, 
it appears, contains room for no more than two chameleons. If a third 
appears, the other two attack him, swaying from side to side like Bowery 
toughs. Sometimes the intruder is intimidated, but often a savage battle 
ensues. The reptiles tussle with their claws, bite, mount on each other’s 
backs, and butt with their heads. On the ground they are clumsy and almost 
helpless. 
Like many other lizards, chameleons are remarkable for their color 
changes. Their most common shades are yellow and yellowish-brown, but 
they may turn green, black or gray, or else they may become mottled or 
blotched with these colors. Experiments show that these changes are not 
protective. They occur as reactions to sunlight, temperature changes, anger, 
sickness and death. One specimen placed in a position to receive sunlight 
through a wire grating showed the design of the grating for half a minute 
after its removal from the sun. 
Chameleons may lay as many as forty eggs. The young are ludicrous 
in appearance, having heads out of all proportion to their bodies. In cap¬ 
tivity this lizard lays no eggs and shows little enthusiasm for food, though 
it does drink much water. Its body may become thin and translucent, and 
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