what is with the dancing walk

[aequitas87]

why is it when chameleons walk they will sometimes rock back and forth while they walk. just curious

 

[Sancho]

They are opportunistic hunters that wait for prey to pass within range of their long tongues. Chameleons have a bizarre way of moving where they slowly rock back and forth between each step taken, often in time with the movement of nearby leaves being blown by the wind.

 

[SYeretzian]

In the wild they try to look like leaves blowing in the wind, or it may be a slower walk because a lot of predators look for movement to make kills. Just my opinion.

 

[aequitas87]

yea i had noticed she was doing it mostly when she was hunting

 

[jojackson]

http://www.chamaeleonidae.com/behaviour.html

The way chameleons walk is often a topic of concern to new chameleon enthusiasts. To break up their image to predators, chameleons often try to mimic a branch in the wind. To do so, they often walk very slowly while the rock back and forth as they advance very slowly. This is not abnormal and nothing to be concerned about.

 

[OntarioLizardman]

with my cham, i notice this behavior much more when i put him outside and its windy. or when i open the window and its windy outside. i think that ( at least some of the time) they feel the wind against them and take notice. instead of walking in a straight line ( that would be to obvoius to predators) they wobble back and forth to look like leaves

 

[hallenhe]

Hawaiian Jackson's enthusiast Mary Lovein refers to this walk as "the Tai Chi Mambo".