Finding a chameleon
I was at a retreat center north of Nairobi for a few days this week. In the midst of our meetings, I found this guy walking down the side walk. We’ve seen chameleons on occassion at our office and in our back yard. This was the first time I ventured to pick one up. He was a cool little guy. His coloring was dark in the picture above . I’d just taken him off of my black jacket before taking this photo. Maybe that was why he was dark? His color did lighten up (see below).
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Cool!
Yeah, he was crawling up my arms. I’d like to say that he was enjoying myself…but, I haven’t learned to speak chameleon.
WOW!!! That’s VERY cool!!…and cool that you got such a good shot of him too!!! I love all the little details you can see — the tiny little texture dots, all the shadings of color, and how he’s gripping onto your fingers. VERY NEAT!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chameleon.
Did you pick up anything else out there? ;P (still working on selecting your name…ha!)
Well bonus points for bravery! They are amazing animals.
Do they bite? I saw someone else pick one up, so I didn’t even think about it when I picked it up.
Ros and Steve Bagwell’s little girl often had one for a pet. So I am guessing they are harmless
Did he change colour?
Yeah, he started changing color on my jacket.
That was great.
That is a very cool chameleon. My six year old would love to have that guy. Chameleons turn dark, however, when they are stressed or angry, usually the former. Unfortunately, we know this from experience.
Well, I do suppose being held wasn’t all that comforting to him. Did you have one get angry when you were holding it?
Yes, our son Levi, the 6 year old, had a chameleon for about 8 months. We lost him in a bush. But he would always go instantly dark when you picked him up. But after a fly or two, he brightened right up.
BTW, chameleons are universally feared by Ugandans, almost as much as snakes.
According to some local beliefs, if you put it on your head your hair will fall out.