Opinions...

[Santi4407]

This might seem like a weird question but can Chams seem to notice the difference between having fake and real foliage? My 4 month old panther that currently has fake foliage seems too keep a brown coloration most of the day and the times I've put him in a schefflera I have he lightens up pretty quickly and his blues begin to show right away. My 2 year old veiled shows a difference in coloration as well times when she has had all fake foliage in her cage. Could they actually tell the difference or could it be that real plants seem to be more dense with foliage than anything fake and they become more comfortable.
Thanks

 

[DavidBuchan]

Of course we can't see the world like a Chameleon does, so it's all anecdotal evidence (I expect there are people who just use fake plants and have no problems) but I'm totally sure it makes a difference.......

 

[Olimpia]

You're probably watching them fire up because you're taking them out of their "comfort zone" or cage. Mine do that as well and they have only real plants in the cage. Most chameleons get brighter when you move them around, like when you take them outside or put them on a free range.

 

[Santi4407]

David i defintely can see it making a difference but do you think they can actually sense the difference. It seems like they can.
Olimpia I can see that for the little guy being it him fireing up.. But my veiled there has been times when I went months with fake foliage in her cage and she seems completely dull and in comes the live plant n she keeps a continuoius bright coloration. It jus makes me wonder is there more to their senses when it comes to real n live plants.. Or maybe I'm just over thinking it lol

 

[Chamamature]

I've noticed the same thing and have wondered about it aswell. I let her out to the window where we sun the plants and now she wants to be out of the cage and in the plants all the time

 

[Olimpia]

Perhaps they do prefer the live plants then, which would make sense to me. Maybe it's something as simple as the live plants are nicer to hold on to, hold humidity better, and smell nicer. Who knows what it is they are reading but at the end of the day everyone prefers natural over fake stuff. It's why people put ferns and little water fountains in their offices and go to the beach or the country for vacations. We try to keep nature out and then we crave it instinctively. I don't see why our pets would be any different. Just a theory, anyway!

 

[ChameleonNerd]

my theory is that whatever real plant you have outside the cage is probably bigger and taller than the cage. They love to be able to freely roam around and be in really high places... so just a thought

 

[hinoco1225]

I think you should consider what other factors might be making your chams brighten up along with the plant change, but at the same time, I do think they can sense a difference between real and fake foliage (at least to some extent).

 

[LittleRucker]

I just got some live plants in my cage, and still notice Fez extremely dark at times, he always looks charcoaled but the lamp is pulled away and his basking spot is around 88-90 and all around is about 80 and cooler in some places. When I take him out and place him in his free range, he shows all of his colors and so I can't wait until I can free range him permanently, but right now the apt I am in doesn't provide a safe enough area to do it unsupervised. I think that chameleons can tell a difference between fake and live plants!

 

[DavidBuchan]

David i defintely can see it making a difference but do you think they can actually sense the difference. It seems like they can.
Olimpia I can see that for the little guy being it him fireing up.. But my veiled there has been times when I went months with fake foliage in her cage and she seems completely dull and in comes the live plant n she keeps a continuoius bright coloration. It jus makes me wonder is there more to their senses when it comes to real n live plants.. Or maybe I'm just over thinking it lol

They absolutely can see a broader spectrum than we can.....when I said 'we can't see the world like a Chameleon does' I meant that we can't think or feel like a Cham.....so we don't know whether they really care about the difference. They can see the difference with their eyes, no doubt....they can see ultraviolet patterns on leaves that are invisible to us, so they can sense the difference better than we can.........

 

[Santi4407]

Great points everyone and thanks for the opinions. I was kinda feeling like maybe they might be able to smell a difference but I've never read anything in regards to having a sense of smell. And I just find it weird how they seem to make a choice with which plant they like to actually eat I've had a ficus and a schefflera and my veiled never bothered to really eat the leaves but the minute I put her in a hibiscus she starts munching on leaves. I know their eyesight is very good but makes me think what other senses they're using.

 

[Santi4407]

And seeing ultraviolet patters on leaves that's very interesting!

 

[DavidBuchan]

And seeing ultraviolet patters on leaves that's very interesting!

You'd be surprised how many plants have stripes and patterns on leaves/petals that we can't see.........runways for bees and butterflies, lol (useful for chams to see them too I guess......)