Within its natural range, it inhabits arid and semi-arid areas, such as Karoo shrubland, sandy desert and gravel plains, even foraging in intertidal zones. It is terrestrial, and is usually seen walking along the ground, although young are often found climbing. Behaviour Feeding habits Unlike the arboreal chameleons of the genus Chamaeleo, its tail is not prehensile, but otherwise it still hunts in the same way, slowly stalking its prey and catching it with its long tongue. Unusually for a chameleon, they will also chase down prey attempting to flee and will sometimes seize them with their jaws rather than with their tongue. Namaqua chameleons primarily feed on insects, eating mostly tenebrionid beetles and to a lesser extent oedipodine grasshoppers. They will occasionally feed on lizards (including young chameleons of their own species), snakes, and various other arthropods. In one exceptional case, an individual was seen catching and killing a Peringuey's adder twice its own length. They mostly hunt their prey in sandy dunes and rocky areas, but some coastal populations also forage for marine arthropods in intertidal zones, making it the only chameleon species to do so. Although typically feeding on live prey, in captivity they can sometimes be weaned onto dead food items. When hunting potentially dangerous prey, individuals quickly learn to disable its weapons first (biting the heads of snakes and lizards, the fangs of spiders, the stingers of scorpions and hymenopterans, etc) before finally dispatching and consuming it. This species also regularly consumes plant matter in the wild, and is one of several chameleon species recorded doing so. Plant matter may account for up to 29.1% of their diet amongst coastal populations and 20% amongst those inland, although an average of 2.8% for coastal and 1.5% for inland populations are more common. Of plant material, the "fleshy parts" of Zygophyllum stapffi are most commonly eaten. In captivity, plant matter is still consumed, especially succulents, but less frequently than in the wild. This suggests that the species may actually be an omnivorous chameleon, which is further supported by the presence of potassium in the excretions of the nasal glands as is the case with herbivorous lizards. Inorganic material such as small stones, gravel, and sand are also ingested. They account for as much as 30% of the diet in coastal populations and 1.1% in inland populations, although an average of 6.2% and 0.5% is more common, respectively.