markscherz:

drawnsheep:

eastdocht:

skyakafreckles:

mockwa:

chameleon changes color

Oh this was great

@markscherz

Marrrk. I’ve been told chams change based on background or that they don’t and change off emotion or that they don’t and change by temperature. What is the truth? Does it vary by species? I only know about dead ones turning black.

Chameleons change to a limited degree based on overall colour of their surroundings (differs between species, some more and some less), and much more strongly in response to their emotions and body temperature. Some part of the colour change is also more or less autonomically created: a chameleon will change its contrast based solely on the light, even if it is blinded. You can see this in wild chameleons you find at night by placing a leaf over the flank and shining a light on it. When you take the leaf away, the bit behind it will still be light in colour, while the rest is dark. The mechanism for that change is really not well understood.

This is edited. It’s really well done, but edited. If not, it would probably change to the color of the table behind it.