It has been suggested that inorganic material may help with digestion or removing parasites. Regarding the former explanation, coastal populations which ingest more plant material also ingest more inorganic material. This species has a high metabolic rate and is voracious, often feeding until the stomach has been completely filled, and immediately begins feeding again after food has traveled to the small intestine. Individuals in the wild are usually found gorged to the limit; an adult has an average of 12 meals a day, each meal usually consisting of about 19-23 large darkling beetles. This is a reflection of food in the Namib Desert being highly abundant and constantly available; a condition that is difficult to replicate in captivity. As a result, captive individuals do not grow as fast as they do in the wild. Water Water is of critical importance to Namaqua chameleons, which drink dew water and fog condensation on surfaces such as vegetation, rocks, and sand. Heavy fog rolling in from the ocean occurs most days of the year through much of their habitat, being present in the mornings and afternoons, but occasionally persisting through the entire day. They also obtain moisture content from food, especially darkling beetles and plant matter. However, they can also drink water through capillary action; small channels in the scales can transport water across the body. In an experiment, dyed water placed on the side of its body visibly moved to its back and towards the head and tail. The chameleon then turned its head and drank the water that collected on its body. More unusually for a desert reptile, it has an extraordinarily small bladder that is nearly useless for storing water. Furthermore, little storage space for water is available in the gut as it is typically filled with food. It appears that this is because sufficient water is readily available through regular fogs, food, and the cloaca reabsorbing moisture from urine, the latter which is aided by the salt glands removing excess minerals. Additionally, as a reptile, its rate of loss of water is far lower than in mammals and can also obtain relatively more water from the protein degradation of food. However, this species must have a regular source of drinking water other than its food and humidity in order to survive. Predation Namaqua chameleons are preyed upon by jackals, hawks, and eagles, and possibly monitor lizards. Similar to other