Jammoos
Member
(Assuming this is the right place to post this~) I've been lurking these forums for admittedly too long and noticed a common theme, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information about translucent veiled chameleons. Anywhere. From what I've seen you have to dig in countless different sources anywhere online to find snippets of random information that sometimes isn't backed up at all. In my very best attempt to remedy this I decided to compile everything I've found/learned that's been backed up. I'd like to preface this by saying that this is what I know to be true, if something I say is incorrect or if you have information to add please don't hesitate to tell me. My point in posting this is to hopefully reduce any misinformation or confusion as to what the morph is, and I can't do that if I inadvertently share something incorrectly. so w/o further ado, this is what I know:
What's the difference between high color/end translucent and low end/low color translucent?
A high end (or high color) translucent is a chameleon w/ 100% translucence. This means they have no non-mutated alleles that would affect their colorations. It's a common misconception that high ends just have translucent accents on their feet and face. In reality, however, a true high end is fully translucent all over its body. This misconception comes from the fact that even high ends can have some pretty typical chameleon colors on the rest of their body. Although the most translucent parts of a high translucent chameleon will be its feetsies and face, a true high-end chameleon will have much paler/pinker/more faded colors on their entire body. (Side note: if a chameleon lacks pigment on its entire body it might have hypomelanosis as well as translucence. I'll talk about that a bit later)
A low end (or low color) translucent chameleon is 50% high translucent and 50% non mutated normal baby. Because the translucent trait is codominant, low-end translucents will show both translucence and normalcy in their appearance. They'll typically have "normal" bold colors on their body w/ a few patches and areas that have a translucence to them. Again the most common areas for translucence will be on their feet, although some low translucents have faint hints of translucence on their face aswell.
Is the translucence a form of hypomelanosis?
Few sources site the translucent veiled chameleon as being hypomelanistic, meaning they have melanin, but much less than a typical veiled chameleon. I personally, however, think that it's probably closer to translucent bearded dragon morphs. Some trans beardeds are hypomelanistic, but some aren't. Another thing to note is that hypomelanosis varies from recessive to incomplete dominant depending on the case, whereas the translucent gene in veiled chameleons is fully codominant, meaning the translucent gene is not directly related to hypomelanistic traits in a veiled chameleon.
Why is this? The difference between codominance and incomplete dominance are important here: although both alleles aren't fully dominant, an incomplete dominant allele is recessive, whereas a codominant allele is neither dominant nor recessive. Another big (and very important) difference between the two is how they show up w/ another trait. In incomplete dominant alleles, they'll blend w/ another dominant/recessive trait resulting in offspring w/ a blend of both. (If you put blueberries and strawberries in a blender, the result would be purple.) Meanwhile, in codominance, both traits show simultaneously and separate from one another. Low colored translucent veiled chameleons don't have a "blend" of translucence and "normalcy" they have parts of them that are translucent, and parts of them that aren't. (A fully high color translucent will have the normal chameleon colors, but they'll be paler and more faded)
So, TL;DR: I'm sure some translucent babies have hypomelanosis, but I don't think they need to be hypomelanistic to show translucence.
Can I get a translucent from two 100% non-translucent parent chameleons?
Short answer? Yes. Long answer?
Despite almost all translucent chameleons today being fully captive-bred, it's not a manmade morph. The first translucents were found in the wild minding their own business, completely untouched by man until that point. Meaning, in theory, it can occur (extremely rarely) out of nowhere, from two non-translucent parents. This, however, hasn't been proven and the chance of that happening is so incredibly rare that if you really want a translucent cham I recommend just buying an already morphed little buddy.
How does the trait pass down?
Being a codominant trait, translucence in veiled chameleons passes fairly straightforwardly:
Highcolortrans + Highcolortrans = 100% High color translucent babies
Highcolortrans + Normal = 100% low color translucent babies
Lowcolortrans + Highcolortrans = 50% Low color babies, 50% high color babies
Lowcolortrans + Lowcolortrans = 50% Low color babies, 25% high color babies, and 25% normal, non-mutated babies
Lowcolortrans + Normal = 50% Low color babies, 50% normal babies
Why do they look like burn victims?
They're all smoking hot
Does translucence affect the chameleons' health?
There's no evidence of translucent veiled chameleons being hindered by their morph. You can take care of them the same as any other veiled chameleon unless they have an unrelated health issue.
No, seriously, they look like hairless cats.
To be fair, all chameleons are bald. These guys just like pink pantyhose, give them a break.
Why do you like them?
Personally, I find them all beautiful. I like that they all have that little extra level of individuality since translucence shows differently on each cham. Despite this being a mostly captive-bred morph, they were originally found in the wild, so I don't think an owner of one is fully responsible for the morph looking the way they do. One person saying they don't get why they're liked doesn't keep them from being born w/ their defect. I think we should love all chameleons, regardless of whether or not it looks like they put pantyhose on their head. For me, reptile keeping is about loving animals most people don't like, and trying to understand them (the animals) and respect them when others do not. So I say power to the lil weirdos!
What's the difference between high color/end translucent and low end/low color translucent?
A high end (or high color) translucent is a chameleon w/ 100% translucence. This means they have no non-mutated alleles that would affect their colorations. It's a common misconception that high ends just have translucent accents on their feet and face. In reality, however, a true high end is fully translucent all over its body. This misconception comes from the fact that even high ends can have some pretty typical chameleon colors on the rest of their body. Although the most translucent parts of a high translucent chameleon will be its feetsies and face, a true high-end chameleon will have much paler/pinker/more faded colors on their entire body. (Side note: if a chameleon lacks pigment on its entire body it might have hypomelanosis as well as translucence. I'll talk about that a bit later)
A low end (or low color) translucent chameleon is 50% high translucent and 50% non mutated normal baby. Because the translucent trait is codominant, low-end translucents will show both translucence and normalcy in their appearance. They'll typically have "normal" bold colors on their body w/ a few patches and areas that have a translucence to them. Again the most common areas for translucence will be on their feet, although some low translucents have faint hints of translucence on their face aswell.
Is the translucence a form of hypomelanosis?
Few sources site the translucent veiled chameleon as being hypomelanistic, meaning they have melanin, but much less than a typical veiled chameleon. I personally, however, think that it's probably closer to translucent bearded dragon morphs. Some trans beardeds are hypomelanistic, but some aren't. Another thing to note is that hypomelanosis varies from recessive to incomplete dominant depending on the case, whereas the translucent gene in veiled chameleons is fully codominant, meaning the translucent gene is not directly related to hypomelanistic traits in a veiled chameleon.
Why is this? The difference between codominance and incomplete dominance are important here: although both alleles aren't fully dominant, an incomplete dominant allele is recessive, whereas a codominant allele is neither dominant nor recessive. Another big (and very important) difference between the two is how they show up w/ another trait. In incomplete dominant alleles, they'll blend w/ another dominant/recessive trait resulting in offspring w/ a blend of both. (If you put blueberries and strawberries in a blender, the result would be purple.) Meanwhile, in codominance, both traits show simultaneously and separate from one another. Low colored translucent veiled chameleons don't have a "blend" of translucence and "normalcy" they have parts of them that are translucent, and parts of them that aren't. (A fully high color translucent will have the normal chameleon colors, but they'll be paler and more faded)
So, TL;DR: I'm sure some translucent babies have hypomelanosis, but I don't think they need to be hypomelanistic to show translucence.
Can I get a translucent from two 100% non-translucent parent chameleons?
Short answer? Yes. Long answer?
Despite almost all translucent chameleons today being fully captive-bred, it's not a manmade morph. The first translucents were found in the wild minding their own business, completely untouched by man until that point. Meaning, in theory, it can occur (extremely rarely) out of nowhere, from two non-translucent parents. This, however, hasn't been proven and the chance of that happening is so incredibly rare that if you really want a translucent cham I recommend just buying an already morphed little buddy.
How does the trait pass down?
Being a codominant trait, translucence in veiled chameleons passes fairly straightforwardly:
Highcolortrans + Highcolortrans = 100% High color translucent babies
Highcolortrans + Normal = 100% low color translucent babies
Lowcolortrans + Highcolortrans = 50% Low color babies, 50% high color babies
Lowcolortrans + Lowcolortrans = 50% Low color babies, 25% high color babies, and 25% normal, non-mutated babies
Lowcolortrans + Normal = 50% Low color babies, 50% normal babies
Why do they look like burn victims?
They're all smoking hot
Does translucence affect the chameleons' health?
There's no evidence of translucent veiled chameleons being hindered by their morph. You can take care of them the same as any other veiled chameleon unless they have an unrelated health issue.
No, seriously, they look like hairless cats.
To be fair, all chameleons are bald. These guys just like pink pantyhose, give them a break.
Why do you like them?
Personally, I find them all beautiful. I like that they all have that little extra level of individuality since translucence shows differently on each cham. Despite this being a mostly captive-bred morph, they were originally found in the wild, so I don't think an owner of one is fully responsible for the morph looking the way they do. One person saying they don't get why they're liked doesn't keep them from being born w/ their defect. I think we should love all chameleons, regardless of whether or not it looks like they put pantyhose on their head. For me, reptile keeping is about loving animals most people don't like, and trying to understand them (the animals) and respect them when others do not. So I say power to the lil weirdos!
