Excerpt: Chameleon The chameleon's changing skin color plays an important role in communication among individuals. It changes under the influence of the lizard's mood, such as fear or anger, the amount of light, and the temperature or humidity. Males that can make themselves brighter are more dominant and attract more females. A submissive male displays brown or gray. Females use their colors to accept or reject a male; their color display can also signal a pregnancy.