Translucent Chameleons
Translucent veileds carry clear, white or pink patches of skin, usually on the face and feet, and a heavily marked animal can be pale across most of its body. Breeders still argue over how the trait is inherited, so buy on what both parents looked like.
About the Translucent gene
Parts of the skin on a veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) have little or no pigment in the Translucent colour morph. These areas appear as clear, pink or white patches against the normal colour of the animal. Because the amount varies so much, the trade sells them as high and low translucents.
Appearance
Pale patches appear mostly on the feet and then on the head and face. A low-expression animal keeps the bold colour of a normal veiled over its body and has a few clear or pale areas on the feet. At the lowest end, there may be only a single foot or part of the tail to see. A high-expression animal looks pinkish or faded across much of its body with clear legs, a pale head, and clear skin around the mouth. Some show black patches along with the pink and white. These animals are also listed by sellers as pied or piebald veileds.
Genetics
You will see it listed as Translucent and Het Translucent. How it is inherited is disputed. Many breeders call it co-dom, a loose word for a gene that shows with one copy, and treat high-expression animals as the double and low-expression animals as the single-copy form. Some sellers list it as recessive instead. The two readings mean different things for Het Translucent, so ask the seller what both parents looked like before you pay for a het. The morph traces back to a small number of wild-collected veileds and has been selectively bred since.