Hearing in Chameleons

[jajeanpierre]

Does anyone know how well a chameleon hears?

Would they be able to clearly a metallic click sound? (The sound a training clicker makes.)

 

[Lathis]

Hmm...I would doubt it. Since they do not have external ears, their hearing is not good. It's more about sensibility vibration than hearing. I don't know that a training clicker would be sensible to a chameleon.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing but wondered what more experienced people knew of their hearing abilities.

 

[zlew]

Chameleons hearing is not good at all. They have more like what snakes have, where they hear/feel vibrations. I doubt they would hear a clicker. They rely on sight primarily. They would hear something like someone playing a base guitar, when you can feel the air and floor vibrating, but otherwise, not really.

 

[jajeanpierre]

How similar is chameleon hearing to Aldabra tortoises? Or turtles in general? Does anyone have any idea? Thanks.

 

[ulamachula]

From what I've read around the internets, chameleons are not exactly deaf, but they have the poorest hearing of all lizards. They pick up sounds with frequency range between 200 and 600 Hz (human voice starts around 500Hz). I have no idea where a clicker sound stands on the frequency scale, but I would guess they can't hear it.