BuddhaBud
Established Member
So, we purchased this book a while ago, The Chameleon Handbook by Francois Le Berre... overall, decent! However, I read something in there I'm interested to discuss with you all 
Pg. 58 - "Environment Enrichment. Environment enrichment is the provision of diverse stimuli to promote the expression of species-specific behavior... Mirrors...are fine in large enclosures as chameleons do not feel threatened by their own reflection. Some aggressive species such as F. Pardalis love to come face to face with their own reflections."
Now, our Veiled chameleon has seen his reflection it literally doesn't phase him at all - might be just me humanizing him, but I feel like he knows it's his reflection & not another chameleon in his territory. He doesn't get defensive, change his posture or colors. On the contrary, I've seen other chameleons pop off the second they see themselves.
Not that I want to put a mirror in Buddha's enclosure... but this was an interesting point to read, as it seemed counter-intuitive to everything I've studied. What does everyone else think?
Pg. 58 - "Environment Enrichment. Environment enrichment is the provision of diverse stimuli to promote the expression of species-specific behavior... Mirrors...are fine in large enclosures as chameleons do not feel threatened by their own reflection. Some aggressive species such as F. Pardalis love to come face to face with their own reflections."
Now, our Veiled chameleon has seen his reflection it literally doesn't phase him at all - might be just me humanizing him, but I feel like he knows it's his reflection & not another chameleon in his territory. He doesn't get defensive, change his posture or colors. On the contrary, I've seen other chameleons pop off the second they see themselves.
Not that I want to put a mirror in Buddha's enclosure... but this was an interesting point to read, as it seemed counter-intuitive to everything I've studied. What does everyone else think?
