Flap-necked Chameleon

Fascinating facts about the Flap-necked Chameleon

• More than 111,000 flap-necked chameleons were exported from their native range between 1977 and 2011, making the species the third most heavily traded chameleon worldwide. The United States was the primary destination for the bulk of these shipments, reflecting the strong demand in the international pet market.
• The flap-necked chameleon occupies a vast swathe of sub-Saharan Africa, extending northward to Ethiopia and Somalia and reaching westward as far as Cameroon. Its distribution continues southward, covering habitats down to the northern regions of South Africa.
• Adult female flap-necked chameleons lay clutches ranging from ten to forty eggs, which they deposit in a hole they excavate in the soil. After being buried, the eggs undergo a prolonged incubation period of ten to twelve months before hatching.
• The flap-necked chameleon feeds on a wide range of invertebrates, hunting insects among the foliage of forests, savannas and woodlands. Its relatively large size - up to 35 cm in total length - enables the biggest adults to overpower small vertebrates, and they have been observed swallowing geckos and even other chameleons.
• Boomslangs and twig snakes are frequent predators of the flap-necked chameleon. These arboreal and ground-dwelling snakes encounter the chameleon in coastal forests, savannahs, woodlands and even suburban gardens.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Flap-necked Chameleon

As the sun rises over the savannah, the flap-necked chameleon stirs, its slender body unfolding like a leaf from the branch that cradles it, and with a slow, deliberate blink, it begins its patient hunt, tongue darting in and out with lightning speed to snare unsuspecting insects. With each step, its feet grasp and release the bark with a gentle suction, a silent, arboreal ballet that belies the fierce intent of this tiny, spiky predator. As it moves through the dappled light, its color-shifting skin a mesmerizing dance of brown and green, the flap-necked chameleon is a master of stealth and deception, a true marvel of evolutionary ingenuity.

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