The chameleons are the small colour changing lizards that are popular among reptile lovers. The reptiles go through certain stages in their lives and depending upon that their size changes and also related to that they will get bigger and bigger in their life span.
In this article, we will discuss how big does a chameleon get in its entire life span. The size of the chameleon depends upon their age basically and according to that their size differs and even every chameleon will grow differently at every life stage but on average there would be a particular range that they will grow in to at a particular life stage.
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How big does a chameleon get?
The size of the chameleon also depends upon the type of species too as there are some species that will grow only as long as the size of the finger and there are some species that will grow as long as the size of an arm.
But on average the size of the baby chameleon is around 4 inches and the average size of the adult or the full-grown chameleon is between 14 to 21 inches long and this varies from chameleon to chameleon and also from species to species.
How big can a baby chameleon get?
As discussed earlier that the baby chameleon can be as big as 4 inches and the length is measured from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail of the chameleon. When the chameleon are babies the size of both males and the females are the same there is not much difference.
There is also some species of the chameleon that do not grow much and they are too small when they are babies and they measure up to 1.5 cm in length. As we know smaller the size more care is needed and the baby chameleons grow at a very fast pace and that is the reason the size of the baby chameleons is not much prominent.
Factors affecting size
There are various factors that affect how big a chameleon can get are listed below:
- Age
- Specie
- Gender
- Care and maintenance
- Genetics
- Food
How big can an adult chameleon get?
An adult chameleon can get big but its length depends on various factors as discussed earlier like the species, diet, genetics, etc. Also, we know that there are so many species in the world of a chameleon and not all are kept as pets only a few are kept at home.
So depending upon their species the size may also differ for every chameleon. The adult chameleon grow up to different sizes like the size of the male chameleon would differ from the chameleon and that is why the length is different for both male and the female. There are various species that goes up to certain sizes and these sizes are discussed below depending upon the type of the species they belong to:
1. Panther Chameleon
The Panther chameleon can grow up to large sizes in which the males can go up to the size of about 18 inches and the females on average can grow up to 14 inches. It is also said if they are kept in captivity they can even grow more if proper care is taken and do not overfeed them because if they get overweight lots of health issues would occur to them.
2. Veiled Chameleon
The Veiled Chameleon is one of the biggest species of chameleon that is known to us. The male veiled chameleon on average can grow up to 20 inches in length, while the female veiled chameleon on average can grow up to 18 inches. These sizes are very big when we talk about the chameleon but irrespective of their size they are known for their friendly behaviour. They are adorable and calm in nature and are not dangerous in nature.
3. Jackson’s Chameleon
The Jackson’s Chameleon are also big chameleon species in which the males grow up to 15 inches on average and the females grew up to 10 inches on average. They are quite popular species to be kept as pets because of their size as it appropriate for a pet to be kept in captivity and that is why many people keep them as pets as the size is so perfect.
4. Pygmy Chameleon
The Pygmy Chameleon is known to be one of the smallest species of the chameleon that is known to us and they are too small and because of their small size as discussed earlier they are too sensitive and they need lots of care and attention so that they can survive and live a happy and healthy life. They can grow as big as an adult finger and not more than that.
The average size of the male pygmy chameleon is around 8 to 9 cm and the female pygmy chameleon is a little bigger than this. But they are considered to be good pets because they can be easily tamed and also they do not have any problem when they are handled by people, but they can get stressed if not handled properly.
These are the various sizes in which the chameleon grow up to and these sizes vary every time and also these sizes vary according to gender.
The males are usually larger than females in most cases. Also, the chameleons can grow even larger if they are kept in captivity and the owners are taking proper care of them and giving them proper nutrition. The sizes that we have discussed are not exact they are the average sizes up to a chameleon can grow to depend upon their specie or their gender.
Time is taken to grow fully by a chameleon
There is a particular time in which the chameleon can grow to its full size and also this differs in various species of the chameleons.
There are some species of chameleons that can grow to their full size in 18 months and their few species of chameleons that will grow throughout their life and the difference would not be noticed. So every specie has its own time in which they grow fully and we cannot easily notice that because the change in size is slow and not so sudden. So with proper care and understanding, you can help your chameleon to grow up to their appropriate length, by providing them with whatever they want.
Conclusion
The chameleon is an amazing little lizard that has so many species and depending upon their species they grow and have different requirements. They have lots of differences and that is the reason the length of every chameleon specie is different.
The chameleon length even differs if they are of the same species because a male specie of chameleon will be usually larger than the female in most cases, but not all. You need to take care of the chameleon properly because they grow even much bigger in their captivity than they grow in the wild.
The proper care should be taken and you can slowly notice the difference in their size but do not overfeed them as this will lead to many health issues in them.
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