Veiled Chameleon
from $13.95
(Chamaeleo calyptratus)
The veiled chameleon is one of Florida’s most visually impressive non-native species. This species is native to the Arabian peninsula and was first introduced to Florida through the pet trade. Now, after recognizing the profit that can be made by collecting and selling Florida’s wild chameleons, “Chameleon ranchers” have started collecting a handful from one area and illegally releasing them in another, in hopes that they will reproduce enough that the ranchers can return and collect specimens from this new population of chameleons in order to sell them. After no more than a minute of searching, I found our first chameleon, followed by 9 more in the next half hour. This goes to show how well chameleons thrive in the habitat that southern Florida reluctantly offers them. Though these chameleons are a non-native species, they are not as detrimental to the area’s native species as many other non-native species in Florida, and are near the bottom of the FWC’s removal priority list. These chameleons are not going anywhere soon.
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(Chamaeleo calyptratus)
The veiled chameleon is one of Florida’s most visually impressive non-native species. This species is native to the Arabian peninsula and was first introduced to Florida through the pet trade. Now, after recognizing the profit that can be made by collecting and selling Florida’s wild chameleons, “Chameleon ranchers” have started collecting a handful from one area and illegally releasing them in another, in hopes that they will reproduce enough that the ranchers can return and collect specimens from this new population of chameleons in order to sell them. After no more than a minute of searching, I found our first chameleon, followed by 9 more in the next half hour. This goes to show how well chameleons thrive in the habitat that southern Florida reluctantly offers them. Though these chameleons are a non-native species, they are not as detrimental to the area’s native species as many other non-native species in Florida, and are near the bottom of the FWC’s removal priority list. These chameleons are not going anywhere soon.
(Chamaeleo calyptratus)
The veiled chameleon is one of Florida’s most visually impressive non-native species. This species is native to the Arabian peninsula and was first introduced to Florida through the pet trade. Now, after recognizing the profit that can be made by collecting and selling Florida’s wild chameleons, “Chameleon ranchers” have started collecting a handful from one area and illegally releasing them in another, in hopes that they will reproduce enough that the ranchers can return and collect specimens from this new population of chameleons in order to sell them. After no more than a minute of searching, I found our first chameleon, followed by 9 more in the next half hour. This goes to show how well chameleons thrive in the habitat that southern Florida reluctantly offers them. Though these chameleons are a non-native species, they are not as detrimental to the area’s native species as many other non-native species in Florida, and are near the bottom of the FWC’s removal priority list. These chameleons are not going anywhere soon.