Chameleon vs mobile phone

[Ulrich]

I am seeing a lot of posts where people say their Cham reacts allergic to a mobile phone (while trying to take a picture). Mine does that too all the time, yet when I come with a normal camera, he will not get scared. I can even get very close without him getting aggressive. I am just wondering, if the Cham senses the electromagnetic waves of the phone? Maybe they can sense the health danger of phones while we are not able to develop sense for that.

Ok, this is not really a discussion, but I am wondering how many of you experience the same thing and if anybody knows something about the ability of electromagnetic detection by chams/reptiles?

 

[DanSB]

I hadn't even considered that. Chameleons are very sensitive to their environment and it wouldn't surprise me if this were the case.

I would think it could be tested by trying the phone on and then with the phone off and the battery removed and see if there is any difference in reaction.

I'll try it soon and report back. Hopefully others do to!

 

[xanthoman]

chams are stress cookies, and its not good for them.

i would recommend against such experimentation. chams arent like other animals, they dont deal well with such interaction. everytime you stress your cham, they pay a health price for it, sometimes a lasting one.

imo, needlessly stressing your cham is just asking for metabolic issues to arise.

imo, a chams health is like a bank account, you need to have as much of it saved up as you can, so it will have enough strength to get through emergencies when they arise.

that video has ticked me off ever since it was posted, as far as im concerned thats cham abuse. i'd like to find a way to launch an operation valkyrie on that thing. jmo

 

[DanSB]

i would recommend against such experimentation. chams arent like other animals, they dont deal well with such interaction. everytime you stress your cham, they pay a health price for it, sometimes a lasting one.

imo, needlessly stressing your cham is just asking for metabolic issues to arise.

imo, a chams health is like a bank account, you need to have as much of it saved up as you can, so it will have enough strength to get through emergencies when they arise.

that video has ticked me off ever since it was posted, as far as im concerned thats cham abuse. i'd like to find a way to launch an operation valkyrie on that thing. jmo

There is no reference here to any videos of chams playing with phones. If you're referencing all the stupid videos of people thinking it is cute to have their chams play that bug game on the I phone I agree with you 100%. People also did it with their frogs which also irritated me. One guy got bit by his bullfrog while doing it, served him right (Those guys bite really hard).

What we are discussing here is chameleon reactions to having their pictures taken. I have heard from multiple people they react negatively with the cell phone camera ad don't mind the regular camera much.

My seegal spots up (minor stress) and occasionally does the threat display at cell phone cameras but ignores the larger camera. This could very well be due to the EMF or other cell phone electronic noise coming out of the cell phone. I think the minor stress this could cause would be outweighed by later benefits. Imagine if we could figure out a constant source of stress in captivity and find ways to eliminate it.

All of the sudden it becomes clear that moving a computer, TV, or charging cell phone a few feet could significantly improve the life of the cham for a little more stress up front.

It is a theory and should be tested in my opinion. The stress is minimal and the benefits could be huge.

 

[Ulrich]

Nobody wants to experiment with something stupid. But if the Chams react negative to electromagnetic waves, we have to find out and warn. I see so many photos taken by a mobile phone where the animal seems very stressed.

 

[Ulrich]

i would recommend against such experimentation. chams arent like other animals, they dont deal well with such interaction. everytime you stress your cham, they pay a health price for it, sometimes a lasting one.

imo, needlessly stressing your cham is just asking for metabolic issues to arise.

imo, a chams health is like a bank account, you need to have as much of it saved up as you can, so it will have enough strength to get through emergencies when they arise.

that video has ticked me off ever since it was posted, as far as im concerned thats cham abuse. i'd like to find a way to launch an operation valkyrie on that thing. jmo

I didn't get which video you were referring to at first. If it the panicky Veiled in front of an iPhone then You have completely not understood the initial question. ( and I think the initial question was quite clear already). Luckily Dan got it right. We all love to shoot our Chams and quite often mobile devices are involved. And very often on this forum people apologize for their Cham to be stressed when shot with a phone. With an old fashioned camera they seem to do fine. No proven facts here. Just an observation. But if electromagnetic waves have an impact on Cham's stress levels, then this could potentially be a problem.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

I am going to take a stab at it, and say its seeing the reflection in the larger lenses or in the shiny materials of the phones. Mine hate all cameras.


I have also seen this with birds of prey, they will see another raptor "in" the lens and become quite frustrated with the whole experience.

 

[Ulrich]

Phones with matte cover have tiny lenses

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

Hmm, it only takes a tiny reflection to see a threat, i remember i couldn't take photos of the raptors with my cell, cause he'd get mad. its one of the casio rock phones. however that is a great point.

I'm not really sure how electromagnetism would effect a chameleon, but stranger things have certainly happened.

 

[arnau666]

my cham is ok with the mobile phone ! no angry reaction or scared !

 

[MagicEngineer]

Modern cell phones have an infrared led. This led is used in anything from inter-phone communication to remote control apps. Two of the most common uses are range finding for the cameras auto focus and, in more advanced cameras, face detection. My hypothesis would be that the chameleons are simply seeing this very bright infrared light and getting spooked.

Edit: Also my automated cricket dispenser uses a very strong electromagnet in its normal operation. My cham has shown no reaction to it. Since it is tied to the release of crickets, if he were able to detect the magnetic waves I believe he would eventually associate the magnetic field with feeding time. So far there has been no indication of such an association.

 

[BocaJan]

Cool, a cricket dispenser. What a great tool.

 

[DanSB]

I tried the experiment I suggested today.

In the past (a month or so ago) when I tried to get camera phone shots Pipin was very unhappy and didn't mind the regular camera.

Today I got nothing. He has gotten to be very used to me and trusts me as his food source. Either way I acted like I was going to take his pic with my blackberry and he just eyed it curiously with no difference at all when the battery was removed.

I think the reflection theory is better at this point. That and in general you need to get a lot closer with the camera phone to get a decent pic.

 

[serenitystarlite]

None of my chameleons have any reaction when I take their pictures with my cell phone. I have 2 panthers and a pygmy.

 

[Echoezra]

My guys just always want to climb onto the top of the phone. Lol. All three of them have done it.

 

[Carlton]

I didn't get which video you were referring to at first. If it the panicky Veiled in front of an iPhone then You have completely not understood the initial question. ( and I think the initial question was quite clear already). Luckily Dan got it right. We all love to shoot our Chams and quite often mobile devices are involved. And very often on this forum people apologize for their Cham to be stressed when shot with a phone. With an old fashioned camera they seem to do fine. No proven facts here. Just an observation. But if electromagnetic waves have an impact on Cham's stress levels, then this could potentially be a problem.

Most of my chams hated all camera lenses...it was the reflective surface, the electronic flash, and my behavior in handling the camera; basically sticking this unfamiliar-looking shiny thing right up close to their faces and continuing to pester them even if they moved away from me. I don't have a cell phone and don't see the need for one, so can't weigh in on the whole EMF idea. The exposure to EMF for the brief time needed to take a snap shouldn't cause lasting damage. If you believe it will, why do you risk your own health by using the cell phone in the first place? Sorry, until someone shows me proof of health problems proven to be directlycaused by occasional exposure to a phone I'll remain very skeptical!

 

[serenitystarlite]

I always thought it has more to do with the sudden movement of this weird object (the phone or camera) coming towards them. If I slowly move my phone towards my chams, they don't react. If I move suddenly or get too close too fast, they puff a little but it's the same reaction if I do that with my hand or any other object. I always thought they just don't like the surprise of something moving towards them too quickly. My veiled used to attack anything that came too close to her regardless of what it was or how fast it moved. My panthers and pygmy only puff if I move quickly. I don't remember my senegal or jackson's chameleons reacting to much of anything really other than the cat.