How far can he see?

[StreetMoggy]

Hi folks, I just recently moved my chams home to the living room, it's in a corner of the room. About 2 feet away begins the book shelf where my bearded dragon lives.
Usually if my beardie sees a lizard he waves as a sign of submission. I have not seen any waving, so I don't think he knows my Cham, mr.peabody is there.

Peabodys colours have been good but he has been hanging out facing the bearded dragon for a few hours.
What do you think?

 

[Carlton]

Hi folks, I just recently moved my chams home to the living room, it's in a corner of the room. About 2 feet away begins the book shelf where my bearded dragon lives.
Usually if my beardie sees a lizard he waves as a sign of submission. I have not seen any waving, so I don't think he knows my Cham, mr.peabody is there.

Peabodys colours have been good but he has been hanging out facing the bearded dragon for a few hours.
What do you think?

Your cham can definitely see across a room. Their distance vision is very very good. Whether he realizes that he's seeing another lizard or not isn't as certain if your beardie spends most of his time quietly in one spot. I would guess that both lizards can easily see each other in the typical room, but maybe the cham is harder for the beardie to pick out from the cage foliage.

 

[chamfriend1]

I'm curious... I had a bearded dragon for a long time and she used to do the wave as well.. from the time she was a baby all the way up to fully grown..(and I said it that way because she reached almost 17"..and from what I was informed of that's big for them..) not really as much as she got older but still did it.. I was never able to find a reason or idea of what they were doing this or why... mind if I ask where your information came from?? there may be a source of information I never found and would like to...

 

[Lancecham]

Chameleons can see great distances. I have seen them reacting to airplanes flying overhead.
Bearded dragon females will do "the wave" to tell the male to stay away.

 

[bobcochran]

I live in the flight path of an international airport, it cracks me up when jets fly over because all the older chams track the jets as if they're a bird of prey. But they know the plane is really high and not too much danger because they watch with only one eye!

 

[Sanababit]

I live in the flight path of an international airport, it cracks me up when jets fly over because all the older chams track the jets as if they're a bird of prey. But they know the plane is really high and not too much danger because they watch with only one eye!

Wow, that is what happened to me to, i was hand feeding my cham and noticed one of its eyes was facing upward and when i looked up a plane was flying through

Sana

 

[jajeanpierre]

I live in the flight path of an international airport, it cracks me up when jets fly over because all the older chams track the jets as if they're a bird of prey. But they know the plane is really high and not too much danger because they watch with only one eye!

My parrots look at overhead danger the same way--they **** their head and look with one eye. There's a reason one eye is better than two, but I can't recall and can't find it with a Google search. Looking with one eye does not mean they are less concerned. I can rate my birds' concern level by how intently they watch--if they look up with one eye and lock onto something, I am scanning the skies looking for danger as well (I fly them outdoors). I often can't see the danger even when I look, but I know its there.

 

[Carlton]

My parrots look at overhead danger the same way--they **** their head and look with one eye. There's a reason one eye is better than two, but I can't recall and can't find it with a Google search. Looking with one eye does not mean they are less concerned. I can rate my birds' concern level by how intently they watch--if they look up with one eye and lock onto something, I am scanning the skies looking for danger as well (I fly them outdoors). I often can't see the danger even when I look, but I know its there.

I think the "looking with one eye" behavior is related to what part of their eye has the best visual acuity. For example...hawks will turn their heads upside down in order to watch something overhead. That's because the part of their retina with the most sensitivity is located in the upper area of the eye (which enables them to see prey far below them when flying normally). When they have to watch something above them, they turn their heads upside down to get the best image.

The eyes of non-predatory birds tend to be located more on the sides of their heads so they have a broader field of vision all around their sides and back (to spot a predator better). Their visual acuity is probably better directly to the side, so using one eye may be better than trying to focus two eyes to the front.

For a cham, that has very mobile eyes that don't require much head movement to scan the world (and less head movements means they don't give their location away in foliage), each eye has two lenses and pretty independent visual acuity. If they are simply watching something, they don't need much precise distance focus, so one eye works, and the other eye can continue to watch their surroundings.

And, remember that what may have attracted the attention of your parrot or your cham might be the movement of the jet, not the exact image of what was moving. Most wild creatures' eyes are better at seeing movement rather than stationary objects. Predators and potential prey move...permanent features of their surroundings that may not be a threat don't.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I think the "looking with one eye" behavior is related to what part of their eye has the best visual acuity. For example...hawks will turn their heads upside down in order to watch something overhead. That's because the part of their retina with the most sensitivity is located in the upper area of the eye (which enables them to see prey far below them when flying normally). When they have to watch something above them, they turn their heads upside down to get the best image.

The eyes of non-predatory birds tend to be located more on the sides of their heads so they have a broader field of vision all around their sides and back (to spot a predator better). Their visual acuity is probably better directly to the side, so using one eye may be better than trying to focus two eyes to the front.

For a cham, that has very mobile eyes that don't require much head movement to scan the world (and less head movements means they don't give their location away in foliage), each eye has two lenses and pretty independent visual acuity. If they are simply watching something, they don't need much precise distance focus, so one eye works, and the other eye can continue to watch their surroundings.

And, remember that what may have attracted the attention of your parrot or your cham might be the movement of the jet, not the exact image of what was moving. Most wild creatures' eyes are better at seeing movement rather than stationary objects. Predators and potential prey move...permanent features of their surroundings that may not be a threat don't.

Thanks for your explanation.

I agree with you that birds (and chameleons) are better at spotting movement, but my parrots have extremely good long distance vision. They can identify a Peregrine falcon when I can barely make out a speck in the sky. They ignore others, sometimes even mid-sized hawks, that they do not view as threatening. (I was on a migratory route for Peregrines, so saw a lot of them. The only other falcons were Merlins and Kestrels that have completely different flight styles.)

A bird that flies long distances would have a biological need for good long-distance vision. I'm not sure that applies to a chameleon who is more concerned with danger or food within a few feet.

 

[StreetMoggy]

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up putting a placemat agnist the beardies tank and my Cham was immediately more active, so I think he is happier now. I can't believe how well those little eyes can see! Really amazing

 

[kinyonga]

Chamfriend1...Beardie waving...
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Inlandbeardeddragon.cfm