Desert chameleon

Weight

39.2 g – 58.1 g

Length

11.7 cm – 12 cm

Lifespan

Not recorded

Diet

Omnivore

Longest recorded lifespan

1.4 years

Main food

Not recorded

Habitat

desert, shrubland

Young per litter or clutch

6 – 30

Age at maturity

5 months

Litters or clutches a year

2 – 3

Reproduction

Eggs

Active

By day (diurnal)

Lifestyle

Terrestrial

Conservation status

Not recorded

Countries on record

Not recorded

Not recorded

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

1. kingdomAnimalia
2. phylumChordata
3. classReptilia
4. orderSquamata
5. familyChamaeleonidae
6. genusChamaeleo
7. SpeciesChamaeleo namaquensis Smith, 1831

Synonyms Chamaeleo capensis, Chamaeleo tuberculiferus, Phumanola namaquensis

Catalogue of Life

LC, Least Concern

Common chameleon

Chamaeleo chamaeleon

Chamaeleonidae

Y

Yemen chameleon

Chamaeleo calyptratus

ChamaeleonidaeNo free photo yet

A

Asian chameleon

Chamaeleo zeylanicus

ChamaeleonidaeNo free photo yet

F

Flapneck chameleon

Chamaeleo dilepis

ChamaeleonidaeNo free photo yet

S

Sahel chameleon

Chamaeleo africanus

ChamaeleonidaeNo free photo yet

M

Monk chameleon

Chamaeleo monachus

ChamaeleonidaeNo free photo yet

CompareDesert chameleon vs Common chameleonDesert chameleon vs Yemen chameleonDesert chameleon vs Asian chameleonDesert chameleon vs Flapneck chameleon

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@misc{desert_chameleon_2026,
  title = {Desert chameleon (Chamaeleo namaquensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/desert-chameleon},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}