Even on moody autumn days, we have plenty of wild novelties in store for you in an increasingly picturesque forest environment, including a new home for our veiled chameleons in our exotic Palm House that warms up both body and soul. The two males have already taken residence in this naturalistic terrarium, so you can come see them any day of the week.
Native to coastal mountains, sub-deserts and bushy woodlands in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus) are a relatively large chameleon species, with an average body length of 35 to 45 cm, peaking at 60 cm for males. Their other common name, cone-headed chameleon, derives from the iconic casque found on their heads. Primarily active during the day, they hide in trees and ambush insects, their main food items, by capturing them with their long and sticky tongue. Interestingly, they only drink water from drops accumulating on leaves and do not even recognize still water surfaces. Besides their environment, there are a number of other factors that can cause changes in their green foundation color, blotched and striped with yellow, brown and blue by default, including emotional state, communication with conspecifics, or the reproductive cycle of females.
Rather popular as pets, veiled chameleons are included in both the International Union for the Conservation fo Nature’s (IUCN) Red List and Appendix II of CITES.
We have a number of daily thematic activities on World Animal Week, including guided tours around the Palm House:
