The Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus): An Omnivorous Lizard

The Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus): An Omnivorous Lizard
by Tony Gamble
Reprinted from the Minnesota Herpetological Society newsletter

Veiled chameleons are adaptable lizards. They live in harsh terrain on the southern Arabian Peninsula. This region's environment can be quite variable. Annis (1995) describes three general habitat types. 1) Humid coastal plains, these environments are generally humid with low rainfall and high temperatures (86 to 110°F). 2) Western and Southern mountain lopes, these receive exceptional amounts of seasonal rainfall and mild temperatures (68 to 86°F). 3) High mountain plateaus, these environments receive little rainfall and experience wide fluctuations in temperature with nighttime frosts commonplace. Within these environments, chameleons are generally found near gullies and seasonal riverbeds (wadis). One possible adaptation to these varied and unpredictable environments, that is unique among chameleons, is the addition of vegetable matter to the diet. The high water content of fruits, flowers, and leaves is a welcome supplement to these otherwise insectivorous lizards. This article is an overview of the omnivorous habits of the veiled chameleon.
Veiled chameleons are primarily insectivorous. In captivity this translates into feeding juveniles small crickets, mealworms, and fruitflies while adults eat large crickets, superworms, and waxworms. Like all insect-eating lizards, vitamin and mineral supplementation is recommended as well as gut-loading the insects prior to feeding. DeVosjoli (1994) discusses this subject quite well and I refer the reader to his excellent book for more details. C. calyptratus can be raised to adulthood and subsequently bred on a diet of nothing but live insects.
Ron Tremper was, in the early 1990's, the first private person in the U.S. to have consistent success breeding veiled chameleons. From the beginning he recommended keeping live Pothos plants in with C. calyptratus, not only as a decorative hiding spot, but as food for the lizard (Tremper, 1992). At the time this seemed absurd since it was widely known that chameleons were insectivorous. The allure of seeing this behavior, though, was too great and each chameleon cage got a brand new Pothos plant. For several months the plants remained intact, used only for climbing. When the animals were about five to six months old I began to notice leaves disappearing. Finally, I saw it. After spraying a cage with water, one female continued to lick a leaf even after the droplets of water were gone. This licking quickly turned into chewing and before my eyes, she ate an entire Pothos leaf! After talking to other chameleon keepers I learned that some animals relish apples and strawberries as well. This amazed me. The race was on to see what else C. calyptratus would eat. One item of interest is that the chameleons seem more inclined to eat something if it looks wet. The table below is a composite of my own investigations and information found in the literature concerning the omnivorous habits of C. calyptratus.
Vegetable Items Eaten by C. calyptratus
Pothos leaves* (Tremper, 1995)
Ficus leaves* (Tremper, 1995)
Acacia leaves (Tremper, 1995)
Sansevena leaves*
Romaine lettuce* (Stahl and Blackburn, 1996)
Kale*
Endive*
Red leaf lettuce (Stahl and Blackburn, 1996)
Escarole (Stahl and Blackburn, 1996)
Mustard greens*
Dandelion greens and flowers*
Hibiscus flowers*
Apple*
Papaya*
Mango*
Pear*
Banana*
Strawberry*
Raspberry*
Blueberry*
Carrot*
Sweet potato*
Acorn and butternut squash*
* These are items I have observed C. calyptratus eating.