Animals

Arboreal and diurnal. In general, chameleons stay strictly within a certain region and hold territories which they defend against animals of both their own and other species. Males often react violently to each other. They have fixed sleeping places, which they leave in the morning to sunbathe, then move to favorable posts where they wait for prey. Nosy Be Chameleons can breed all year. Females usually lay 2 to 3 clutches per year. As many as 30 or 40 parchment-shelled eggs are laid and buried in the ground or rotting vegetation. Eggs take 5 to 12 months (depending on temperature and moisture) to hatch since a 3-5 month diapause (dormant with no embryo development) is associated with this species. After hatching, the young begin to hunt insects and disperse over a wide area. They grow quickly and reach sexual maturity before the end of their first year. In captivity chameleons rarely live longer than 4-5 years.