She Kept A Parrot
A Journal For Charlie
What Color Is A Dead Chameleon?
Mr. C
I snapped Mr. C one night when it was so dark that I had to guess where he was. He’d been sitting in precisely the same place without moving for two days. I assumed he was dead. I forgot about the photo. Today, when I was clearing out some old photos, I found him and lightened the photo out of curiosity. That’s when I discovered his open eye. I began to wonder. He had disappeared after two days, after all. Wouldn’t he have been brown if he were dead? I tried to delete him. This is silly, I told myself. Who cares? I couldn’t hit delete. I was becoming increasing annoyed. I went on to some nice palm tree photographs.
Finally, since I couldn’t shake him out of my head, I went back to him. I told him that he was a bad photograph and had to go. It is not personal, I said. I mean no disrespect for the ugly dead. I swear I heard him say, Yeah? Well, I’m the only Chameleon you’ll ever persuade to be still enough to photograph! Jerk! I said.
In a desperate effort to put the question to rest, I Googled What color is a dead chameleon? Would you believe the Naked Scientist scribbled in that precisely-worded question last Christmas? I couldn’t believe it either. I tried to ignore the fact that this whole thing was getting a bit creepy. Mr. C just sat there looking at me through that slit of an eye, grinning his antediluvian grin.
Such are the preoccupations of old women who don’t have to be anywhere.
NOTE: Steve over at Portraits of Wildflowers was kind enough to debunk my whole story! This little guy is an green anole lizard. Check out anoles here. And Chameleons here. Thank you for the links, Steve. (He’s still my little Chameleon!)
40 Comments on “What Color Is A Dead Chameleon?”
Comments
She Kept A Parrot 
A number of lizards change colour to blend into their surroundings. Lounge lizards do it frequently. Anole this to be true. I read it on the internet. 😀
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I’ll have to second craftcrazygran’s comment. I believe this is a green anole lizard, not a chameleon. By coincidence, I photographed one a couple of days ago in Austin and will use a picture of it in my blog sometime in the next couple of weeks. You may want to check out the article about anoles at:
http://www.wildtexas.com/wildguides/anole.php
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You are absolutely right. My son-in-law photographs them and labels them Anole lizards. My concept of a chameleon is skewed, I’m afraid. 🙂 Thanks for the link. I’m interested to know what a real chameleon looks like. If you’re looking for facts, this ain’t the repository you’d be looking in! 🙂
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There are many kinds of chameleons, some of which you can see at:
https://www.google.com/search?q=chameleon&hl=en&prmd=imvnsa&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=aTukT-TbNYaItwfKx7yZDQ&ved=0CIsBELAE&biw=1505&bih=1310
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Good lord, there are lots of kinds of chameleons! I added both links to the post. While what I write is only in jest, I don’t want to mislead folks about factual stuff. It was kind of you to help me here. 🙂 Thanks again!
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Oh, Good Grief! A chameleon looks nothing like an anole lizard! I like my little anoles better. Thanks for the information. I should have known! I’ll make a note on the post. You know you just blew the assumption of my whole story! 😉 😉 Thanks.
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You can surreptitiously change each occurrence of the word chameleon to anole, and Mr. C. to Mr. A.
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Ha Ha. Good idea. I’m afraid to start toying with “anole”! I’m entirely to wicked to be trusted… 🙂 You made me laugh. That’s a good thing.
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I was a bit saddened by the discussion on the naked scientists site about the color of the dead chameleon, but I I love Mr. C! Look at his sweet “hand.” I recall my mother mentioning a fad when she as young (growing up in Arkansas). She said that when she was a teenager (in the mid-50s), she and her friends would attach chameleons to their clothes (somehow pinning a string to their tails so that they could crawl around on their shirts, blending in with the different patterns, etc. Such an astonishingly cruel trend!
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Like pinching off the tails of lightening bugs and sticking them all over us! Kids today would not do that.
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why do you think they chose naked scientist?
and…what color are they?
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You just put a big smile on my face!
I loved this post, it was nice to read, I laughed and enjoyed!
Since I read the title I knew I was gonna like it 🙂
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I’m glad you liked it, Pablo. I honestly thought the thing was dead until I saw the photo recently. I’d like to know why he stayed motionless for two days. He was pale-looking as if he were dead. Strange.
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Damn! I just wrote a comment and then pressed the ‘like’ button and voila! No comment and no beady eye!
So, I’ll write it again:
Oh, but he’s lovely! And you make me laugh, George! Thank you!
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I always found reptile smiles to be enchanting. They seem to have that “I know something you don’t know” air about them. In this case Mr. C knows something you don’t know–dead or alive, he knows (knew) it. 🙂 And such are the ponderings of another woman who has nowhere else to be…
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They have that all-knowing eye too. I swear it’s a kind of undeniable sentience. This guy is NOT a chameleon. He’s a green anole lizard! OOPS! 🙂
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Ha ha, this cracked me up. Nice post!!!
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My chameleon isn’t a chameleon, after all. He’s an anole lizard! Good grief! He was not only not dead, he wasn’t even a chameleon. (Can you say “not only not:?) Ha Ha. We live and learn. 🙂
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Nice shot. I see the old buzzard played hide and seek with you. You are ever so lucky to have such preoccupations. What’s the need to being anywhere else when you can enjoy yourself snapping pictures and sharing them with us. 🙂
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Ah, Totsy. You are such a jewel. Are you back from your wanderings? I have to check in. Yes, I always went around framing things in my head according to my ridiculous take on them. People do some funny stuff. Animals too. I’ve been in all the “anywhere else” places I ever want to be. I’m a hermit. But even hermits look out the window once in awhile. I enjoy all of you more than you can imagine. Thanks! 🙂
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Great fun post, George! If I may say so, this looks like a lizard though. Being that we’re from different continents and hemispheres though, is it called a chameleon there? Our chameleons are altogether different, much more prehistoric! Either way, great fun!
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He’s a chameleon. I think some of them grow to several feet long, but we only have the little ones here. They are cute and harmless and eat mosquitoes and flies so we like them.
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So interesting how completely different they are to ours! Thanks George! Please have a look at some of ours – you’ll be fascinated!
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He’s NOT a chameleon. I just found out he’s an anole lizard. You were right in the first place. Thanks! I don’t know if we even have chameleons in the wild here. Have to check!
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Yup. I did it. I googled “what color is a dead chameleon,” and there it was, the Naked Scientist. Funny! I live for these moments, you know….
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George and Elisa, you both crack me up!
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It’s because we’re both crazy. 🙂
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I was going to respond that yes, we’re both crazy it’s what keeps a woman sane….is that even possible?
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What is sane? I never found out, honestly, what that means. I’m not joking.
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To me, being sane means managing my present state of mind.
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It’s what I love about George’s blog, her comment area is more like a chat room!
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Sometimes, I ask Missy Google some outrageous question just to see if she’s awake. 🙂
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George, this is really fun to follow your thread of thought and the resulting actions. This is a great post!
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I had such phenomenal luck with the dead chameleon, I asked Google, “What color is a dead person?” That Missy Google knows everything. Did you know how long to keep dye on a dead person’s hair? Missy Google knows.
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my guess is that a dead C is precisely the color he chose to remain..
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Gong! Wrong answer. 🙂
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lol George what a lovely fun post….And I thought you were kidding about the Naked scientist part so after reading this i googled it too..oh my the naked scientist does exist and somehow this fact made every other thing so small and irrelevant 😆
but thanks to you now I know the colour of dead chameleon and the site add. of naked scientist 😉
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I thought the Naked Scientist was just too cute myself. I have to admit, I was a little surprised when he popped up.
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The naked scientist pops up? I suddenly need to know the colour of a dead chameleon. See ya!
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I swear I replied to your comments on the chameleon twice! I don’t see them. I laughed when you described the Naked Scientist discovery. My reaction was exactly like yours. I thought for a second that I was seeing things! 🙂
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