When people think of how Chameleons and Communications works, most people think it’s just the color changing, but more. Chameleons change color to express mood and turn a darker color when wanting to keep warm and lighter colors when trying to cool off. They
will also “puff up” and become quite colorful when they are frightened or threatened.
Chameleons changing colors to match their environment is a myth.
Instead, chameleons do other things to let you know how they’re feeling. For example, when in the wild, chameleons
will walk as if they are a leaf; they will move back and forth slowly while taking steps, they will also sway side to side like a leaf blowing in the wind. Generally, they do this walk to avoid predators or to sneak up on prey.
Many chameleons will also gape (leave their mouth open), and this is a warning to you that they do not want to be messed with. Many chameleons, when approached, will headbutt and attempt to bite, but the open mouth, gaping, is the warning that they’re going to let you have it.
A more mild warning, and will come from our chameleons that we’ve bonded with is a “huff” or a
“puff” of air that they will blast at you through their nose, this is a warning as well and can also be taken as a “hey, you’re annoying me right now.”
Tongue punching is another form of chameleon communicating and is used for scaring off predators. What has been noted by many who have experienced this is that they tend to go for the face or eyes. It is believed that they do this to scare off predators, and with females, they do it to let males that they are not receptive to mating and “back off!”
Lastly, Bio tremors are another way of communicating and have been studied in Veiled chameleons. Bio tremors feel like a vibration; they been measured at 25-600Hz and Veiled chameleons use this form of communication when they are expressing dominance, in courtship
and with “human disturbance,” which is similar to the “huff” or “puff” they produce through their
nose as a warning.