For the past couple weeks the Terhune Lab has been cleaning chameleons for the Willson Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences here at UArk. The video below is a timelapse of the beetles cleaning an adult veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) over the course of two weeks.

• Chamaeleo calyptratus originates from both Saudia Arabia and Yemen in the southern Arabian Peninsula. They are arboreal lizards, living in the trees, or lower near the ground in bushes and shrubs on the plateaus of mountainous regions, forests and valleys.
• The veiled chameleon is one of the few species of chameleons that can tolerate wide temperate ranges; most prefer to live in temperatures between 75-95°F.
• Our veiled chameleon specimen originated from Florida. Although not native to this region, professional breeders often release chameleons in South Florida (where they flourish and reproduce due to the favorable environment) and then return later to harvest them for sale to the pet industry.

See more information about Chamaeleo calyptratus here: Animal Diversity Web