perhaps be used as a source of water during the dry season. Behavior Reproduction and Life Cycle Veiled chameleons reach sexual maturity at four to five months and breed multiple times in a year. The female lays large clutches of up to 85 white, tough eggs and buries them in sand. The embryos experience a diapause, a length of time when they are dormant in the egg before they begin developing, increasing temperatures in the substrate initiate development. A 2004 study found that the embryonic development of chameleons (specifically the veiled chameleon) usually initiates at fertilization and continues until hatching, but sometimes development stunts at the gastrula stage for months after the eggs have been laid. The researchers involved discovered that moisture levels have little to do with this delay, but that temperature plays a determinant role in development time; an increase in ambient temperature initiates development of diapausing embryos. Juvenile chameleons can grow up to two orders of magnitude in body mass within a year of hatching. The feeding mechanisms (mouth, snout, tongue, jaw) all grow rapidly while still needing to be functional. Thus, the musculoskeletal system of the feeding mechanisms grow with negative allometry relative to snout-vent length (SVL). Studies on captured veiled chameleons showed that velocity of jaw movement tends to be greater in adults than juveniles. Thus in the development phase between adult and juvenile, there is a change in energy storage and tongue projection release mechanisms. It was found that unlike many other reptiles, the sex ratios of the veiled chameleon are not affected by incubation temperature. Even with differential mortality as a factor, the sex ratio bias is negligible. Anecdotal suggestions of temperature-dependent sex ratios in the veiled chameleon were accrued from reporting and statistical errors. Veiled chameleons have a naturally short lifespan, so even with good care, they may only live 6-8 years. Males typically live longer than females. Protective Coloration For color changing species such as the veiled chameleon, signaling is important between animals to prevent needless energy expended on attacking competition. Stable and nonaggressive states come with a static coloration and will have a dynamic change when that state is altered. Veiled chameleons will typically brighten their coloring before approaching a rival as a signal of aggression. They will also maximize their stripe brightness for as long as possible to signal the strength of their bite. The longer and brighter the