Ask Question. Asked 7 years ago. Active 3 years ago. Viewed 8k times. Improve this question. Michael 2 2 silver badges 5 5 bronze badges. They seem to try to blend in with the trees. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Also note that their torso shape resembles a leaf: Why do they move like this even when there is no wind and they are not sitting on a tree?
Improved stereoscopic vision Chameleons are predators that use their tongue to catch prey e. Improve this answer. Community Bot 1. Berit Larsen Berit Larsen 6 6 bronze badges. Are you categorizing chameleons as prey or predators? The imitate leaves because of limited matbolism To cut a lomg story short.
They dont oscillate due to physiological processes do they Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. This slow movement provides less distraction, and the prey will not sense its predator approaching. Once the chameleon gets close to its prey, it shoots its tongue and sticks to the insect. The tongue of a chameleon is twice its body length such that it does not have to move so fast in search of food.
Instead, it only needs to get close to its prey and cover the remaining distance with its tongue. The evolutionary adaptations of chameleons, including their slow movement and ability to change color , are still a mystery to many. Like other vertebrates, chameleons move a limb at a time in a pattern of moving the left foreleg, then the right hind leg, and so on. This feature enables a chameleon to survive in the wild and live most, if not its full lifespan.
Chameleons walk slowly from one branch to another because they lack the physiology and habitat to run or hide from their predators. Unlike other lizards, chameleons lack a running skeleton and muscles, and even if they wanted to, they could not run as fast as other lizards. Since chameleons are arboreal pets, they do not need fast movements to run away from their predators.
Instead, they need strong claws to provide the grip and prevent them from falling while escaping from predator attacks. The arboreal habitat also lacks spaces to hide; hence, the need to utilize other adaptive features.
The slow-motion in chameleons make it easy for them to catch prey and stay hidden from their predators. Despite their slow-motion, they can still survive in the wild since most of their prey, including snakes and birds, are not very intelligent in their hunting techniques.
Also, their foot adaptation enables them to have a tight grip, making it difficult for birds, which can easily access them on trees, to prey on them. To compensate for the slow movement, chameleons have an incredibly fast tongue. It takes 0.
The speed at which a chameleon shoots its tongue is so fast that you can barely see the movement with your bare eyes. This tongue is also long and sticky, making it a useful tool for catching insects even in the air.
Their tongue is between 1. It also expands on its end, forming a suction after catching the insect. Watching your chameleon walk can be very entertaining. If you like gazing at your pet in its enclosure, you have probably noted its funny movement. This alone can be a source of entertainment and bonding, given that chameleons are solitary pets and do not like human interactions.
Chameleons have a funny back and forth movement to reduce the chances of their predator seeing them. This funny motion breaks their image to their predators. It blends a chameleon with its environment by mimicking the moving leaves and branches in a breeze, making it difficult for a predator to spot a chameleon as it moves. With their leaf-shaped body shape and green color, it is even more difficult for a predator to spot a chameleon in the wild.
Most enclosures do not allow the breeze in captivity, and the setup has fewer branches and leaves. A chameleon in captivity will still move in this funny motion due to its instinct. Also, despite the impact of evolution on pets bred in captivity, chameleons will still exhibit this movement in either habitat.
For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Thread starter aequitas87 Start date Feb 4, Sancho New Member. They are opportunistic hunters that wait for prey to pass within range of their long tongues.
Chameleons have a bizarre way of moving where they slowly rock back and forth between each step taken, often in time with the movement of nearby leaves being blown by the wind. SYeretzian New Member.
In the wild they try to look like leaves blowing in the wind, or it may be a slower walk because a lot of predators look for movement to make kills. Just my opinion. To break up their image to predators, chameleons often try to mimic a branch in the wind. To do so, they often walk very slowly while the rock back and forth as they advance very slowly. This is not abnormal and nothing to be concerned about.
Click to expand OntarioLizardman New Member. You must log in or register to reply here. Similar threads I.
0コメント