Veiled Chameleon

The veiled chameleon is a large chameleon species native to the mountainous regions of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, distinguished by a tall, helmet-like casque on top of its head that grows larger with age, especially in males, and is thought to help channel condensation into the animal's mouth in its arid native habitat. Like other chameleons, it can change color across a range of greens, yellows, browns and blues depending on mood, temperature and social signaling, and its eyes can move and focus independently of one another, giving it an almost 360-degree field of view while it scans for insect prey. Veiled chameleons capture prey with a long, sticky-tipped tongue that can extend to more than the length of the animal's own body in a fraction of a second, and their prehensile tail and specially adapted feet make them well suited to gripping branches as they move slowly through vegetation. The species has become one of the most commonly kept pet chameleons worldwide due to its relative hardiness and tolerance of captivity compared with many other chameleon species, and it has established invasive populations in parts of Florida and Hawaii.