Myths?

[Justin18]

So I've seen a bunch of silly/bizarre myths about chameleons here on the forums. So I was just wondering, what are some of the common myths misinformed people still spread here on the forums?

(I apologize in advance if this thread is in the wrong section, I wasn't sure where to put this.)

 

[qdude46]

I don't here it often but I've hears people feed their chams and or feeders cat/baby food because a vet told them and after all the experienced people that chimed in on those convos, I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to do.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Lots of the more common myths (and why they're myths) can be found here in the FAQ: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/faq/.

My favorite:
"I was told that unless I mated my female that she would become egg-bound and die?"

 

[Justin18]

I don't here it often but I've hears people feed their chams and or feeders cat/baby food because a vet told them and after all the experienced people that chimed in on those convos, I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to do.

Haha that's interesting. If it's not in Sandrachameleon's blogs I don't use it in my gutloads lol

 

[Olimpia]

Where to start!

"Superworms will eat their way out of your lizard."
"Reptiles love/need company/cagemates."
"Reptiles will stay proportionate to the size of their cage, so you can use a small one."
"Colloidal silver can be used to cure anything! From RIs to parasites."
"Chameleons can change to match their unnatural surroundings, such as a person's striped shirt or the patterned curtains."
"A humane way to euthanize a reptile is to put it in the freezer."

And several more! They usually apply to many pet reptiles, not just chameleons. These myths are persistent (or gaining traction)!

 

[Justin18]

Lots of the more common myths (and why they're myths) can be found here in the FAQ: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/faq/.

My favorite:
"I was told that unless I mated my female that she would become egg-bound and die?"

Thanks for the link I didn't think to check there when I searched the forum before posting this thread. That's probably one of my favorite myths too. It's a tie between that one and "why won't my chameleon change color to match my shirt?" Although the latter is probably more restricted to people unfamiliar with chameleons.

 

[Justin18]

Where to start!

"Superworms will eat their way out of your lizard."
"Reptiles love/need company/cagemates."
"Reptiles will stay proportionate to the size of their cage, so you can use a small one."
"Colloidal silver can be used to cure anything! From RIs to parasites."
"Chameleons can change to match their surroundings."
"A humane way to euthanize a reptile is to put it in the freezer."

And several more! They usually apply to many pet reptiles, not just chameleons. These myths are persistent (or gaining traction)!

Those are all good ones! Unfortunately some people actually believe some of these myths and some of these myths can really hurt their chameleon! It's really sad to think about.

 

[PoshPenny]

The vet tech at Fritas last appointment when I was paying said she was sad she didn't get to see her change all cool colors then went to tap the container to say bye. I did the mom intercept and wound up kind of smushing her head away from my Cham, my husband almost died laughing, but no touchy touchy chick!--and the dr had to explain to her they are nervous creatures so no tapping and about the colors.

 

[Justin18]

The vet tech at Fritas last appointment when I was paying said she was sad she didn't get to see her change all cool colors then went to tap the container to say bye. I did the mom intercept and wound up kind of smushing her head away from my Cham, my husband almost died laughing, but no touchy touchy chick!--and the dr had to explain to her they are nervous creatures so no tapping and about the colors.

Lol that's a pretty funny story. It seems like the most common myth to people with no cham experience is about their color changing abilities. Probably because of all those paint commercials and movies like monsters inc.

 

[craig90]

"Superworms will eat their way out of your lizard."

I was told this one by so many people that I used to cut the heads off the superworms before feeding (this was years ago). Then I would try and wiggle them in front of my chameleon because once they stopped moving he wouldn't eat them..

 

[Justin18]

I was told this one by so many people that I used to cut the heads off the superworms before feeding (this was years ago). Then I would try and wiggle them in front of my chameleon because once they stopped moving he wouldn't eat them..

That one is at least plausible though lol one time my chameleon was eating a superworm and it fell out of his mouth while he was chewing it. It wasn't moving so I picked it up to try and hand feed it to him and he wanted nothing to do with it lol

 

[fluxlizard]

"Chameleons can change to match their surroundings."

Hey I poo pood this for years in my educational presentations.

Turns out- they do change colors to blend in, in response to predators. Not only that, but they change in ways that specific predators will find them difficult to see (change for a bird vs a snake).

Somewhere in my posts in the last year or two was a link to a scientific paper on the study that showed this.

I'm too lazy to look for the paper link, but I search engined it (ixquick) and this nice link popped up:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13944-chameleons-finetune-camouflage-to-predators-vision.html

So nowadays when I talk about color change and chameleons, it is a little more complex than thermoregulation and communication.

Edit- Oh here's a link to the paper I think:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610148/

Edit edit- so I guess we have seen yet another one here on the forums, the myth that it is a myth that chameleons change colors to blend in. LOL

 

[PoshPenny]

This girl expected Frita to turn blue on the blue warming disc, then brown on my sweater, ect.... but I tell them all same thing, she can and does change colors and it's usually to let me know she is pissed. And she doesn't do it on demand. Like a dog catching a frisbee. I got it so much at thanksgiving " hey make her change colors " which I responded " hey get out of my Cham room or I'll kill you"

 

[Olimpia]

Flux, I probably should have rephrased it! I meant non-natural surroundings like tablecloths and t-shirts, sorry. I'll go edit it, because I completely agree that they do camouflage.

When I volunteered at Daytona with Dr. O's tie-dyed chameleons, we had to wear tie-dye to go with the company's theme. I think every other person asked me if they were brightly colored to match our shirts. Even when the panther was bright, solid red and we were wearing pretty typical tie-dye with no red, so I just assume people are color-blind!

 

[Psychobunny]

Hey I poo pood this for years in my educational presentations.

Turns out- they do change colors to blend in, in response to predators. Not only that, but they change in ways that specific predators will find them difficult to see (change for a bird vs a snake).

Somewhere in my posts in the last year or two was a link to a scientific paper on the study that showed this.

I'm too lazy to look for the paper link, but I search engined it (ixquick) and this nice link popped up:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13944-chameleons-finetune-camouflage-to-predators-vision.html

So nowadays when I talk about color change and chameleons, it is a little more complex than thermoregulation and communication.

Edit- Oh here's a link to the paper I think:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610148/

Edit edit- so I guess we have seen yet another one here on the forums, the myth that it is a myth that chameleons change colors to blend in. LOL

Yeah, I have read the research on this subject.
To me, it never made any evolutionary sense for the color changing to be restricted to mating and temperament.
Chams have no other defense against predators, like venom, large sharp teeth, armor platting (like turtles), etc.

 

[fluxlizard]

When I volunteered at Daytona with Dr. O's tie-dyed chameleons, we had to wear tie-dye to go with the company's theme. I think every other person asked me if they were brightly colored to match our shirts. Even when the panther was bright, solid red and we were wearing pretty typical tie-dye with no red, so I just assume people are color-blind!

LOL now that is funny!

But I can see how with beautiful male panthers people might think that!

 

[MSAquatics]

At my last vet vist with my newest melleri, the vet tech came back in with him after weighing him and confessed she and the others had been placing it by a red towel to see if it would change colors. I was kind of annoyed by it, I told her the Cham was stressed out enough, and please don't add to it.

Leland

 

[Chuck G]

Myth... "You will buy more than one and become addicted to chameleons"
This is indeed a Fact!

 

[Olimpia]

At my last vet vist with my newest melleri, the vet tech came back in with him after weighing him and confessed she and the others had been placing it by a red towel to see if it would change colors. I was kind of annoyed by it, I told her the Cham was stressed out enough, and please don't add to it.

Leland

I get that too and it's frustrating. You'd think people would realize that when you come in wearing, say, a red t-shirt and the chameleon on your arm is bright blue or green and yellow, that it's obviously not a true ability. But I get that at the vet every time I go as well.

 

[Justin18]

Myth... "You will buy more than one and become addicted to chameleons"
This is indeed a Fact!

So far I've remained strong and haven't bought a second chameleon yet! Although I want many more!