Bad Guy Jim Flaherty of the Chameleon Company

[jishillencik]

Jim Flaherty of the Chameleon Company located in central Florida is responsible for a large number of escapees from his breeding facility and is more than likely responsible for a wild population of Furcifer pardalis in the area.

On May 15th, Jim posted information on the "Florida Panther" in a chameleon group on Facebook. The following screenshots are relevant bits of the conversation where Jim speculates the locality of the pictured chameleon as well as a description of other wild specimens he has found and demonstrates intimate knowledge of the population.

Now most of the thread is too lengthy to really summarize but I would like to highlight a few points.

1) Jim Flaherty is the only person (that contributed to the thread) to have found and caught roughly 50 wild specimens over the course of a few years

2) The locales he describes to find are the ones he lists to be working with on his website, http://www.chameleoncompany.com/availability.html

3) He admits to catching gravid females, hatching out the eggs, and selling them wholesale

And finally

4) He admits that a large number of juvenile panthers (25% of clutches he missed digging up) are released in the wild in Florida every year

He proudly states he is the largest breeder of panther chameleons in the US and has hatched out tens of thousands of chameleons since he has been in business.

Releasing a non native species, whether it be intentional or not, wreaks havoc on local ecosystems. Even though I have had no transaction with Jim or his company, I do not recommend anyone to do business with him based on his complete disregard for the environment and the hobby.

 

[jishillencik]

Here are the screenshots of Jim stating he has had escapees over the years. He has observed this population for at least three years and have started spreading out as far as .5 miles away from his facility.

 

[rds040800]

It is actions like these that have led to the continued restrictions on species and puts a black eye on the reptile hobby as a whole. And the guy is perfectly ok with the fact that he has allowed his cb animals to escape for several years to begin populating the ecosystem of Florida with non native species.

 

[ShawneeAlice]

Why is always Florida?!

It's no wonder our state is infamous for bad pet owners. My gosh. Does he not see what happened with the pythons in the everglades? The reptile hobby is already demonized by people, and this persons actions don't help the matter. Look out chameleon owners, they may be the next target for the lacey act!!

 

[zlew]

I can personally confirm what jishillencik to be true...the screenshots are real and the guy himself is a jerk too.

 

[jishillencik]

It is also worth noting that the chameleons Jim has found are adults which means not only are the escapees surviving, they are flourishing in the Florida ecosystem.

 

[Herpguy11]

It is sickening to see him proudly stating that Panther chameleons thrive in non-native Florida. It appears he is happy that Panther chameleons aware "here to stay" in Florida. It is immaturity for not realizing what horrible things he is doing by allowing this to happen.

 

[jishillencik]

Here to stay so that he can collect the females, harvest eggs, and wholesale the offspring.

 

[Billy1138]

Wow, I can't believe what I just read. How completely irresponsible. Does he know this thread exists? I would love to hear what he has to say about his actions.

 

[jishillencik]

Yes he was alerted shortly after I made the thread.

 

[robmd1]

Sadly I can't say im surprised ... I also posted a copy of this thread on chameleons companies facebook page. it's people like jim who will end up ruining it for the rest of us.

 

[snakesareawesome]

I don't mind that he's collecting gravid females and farming them for wholesale, but allowing escapes is irresponsible regardless of whether they were already in the area prior or not. He should really stop that immediately.

 

[jishillencik]

I don't mind that he's collecting gravid females and farming them for wholesale, but allowing escapes is irresponsible regardless of whether they were already in the area prior or not. He should really stop that immediately.

What about if he is the one responsible for putting those females there in the first place??

 

[Herpguy11]

However, I think it is worse than that. Anybody who thinks it is remotely okay to nonchalantly let animals loose in the wild should have no business running that kind of operation at all. Especially when it's chameleons, as veileds have already been shown to drastically reduce native lizard numbers in an area that they are feral.
One call to Florida Fish & Wildlife could land him in huge trouble. The question is, does the reptile hobby need another widely publicized black mark?

 

[jishillencik]

As Jim puts it, the horse is out of the barn. The population is already established. The black mark on the industry is already there it is just a matter of how far we will let it spread in my opinion.

 

[Herpguy11]

As Jim puts it, the horse is out of the barn. The population is already established. The black mark on the industry is already there it is just a matter of how far we will let it spread in my opinion.

Very true. It's a catch-22, because you know if he says "Sorry, I won't do it again" it is unlikely he will follow through, and even more unlikely he can be checked on. On the other hand, if authorities are notified it will turn into a very big deal.

 

[jishillencik]

Wow, I can't believe what I just read. How completely irresponsible. Does he know this thread exists? I would love to hear what he has to say about his actions.

Jim did post a response on the same Facebook group as the original thread. Since he cannot or will not post here in his defense, I will post his original response to this BOI.

In his first point, Jim states that he did not expect any panther chameleon to survive to winter temperatures in Florida. To this point, his assumption may have been founded on sound reasoning.

In point number 2, Jim is completely amazed to see full grown males (to have escaped his facility), roaming his property and attempting to breed with females on the premises. At this point, Jim should have examined his cage design and retrofitted his enclosures to prevent escapees.

 

[jishillencik]

In Jim's third point he states that he changed the cage design to prevent any babies from escaping.

Refer to post #2 for his original cage design.

The first screenshot is his response and the other two (from the original thread) say the figure he provided (25% escapees) was incorrect and babies will always escape.

While Jim's whole comment is not provided, he mentions that there will always be escapees and that he is content with that...

 

[jishillencik]

Jim's 4th and 5th point touch upon the same subject concerning the legality of releasing a non native species.

Releasing a foreign species has an impact on local ecosystems. End of story.

http://nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species.aspx

 

[Herpguy11]

Wow. He is one of those people who will not admit they are wrong. His Facebook post illustrates something very different than what the earlier evidence showed he said. Either way, his altered statement still shows VERY bad business practice as far as being content with escapees of a species shown to be able to establish.
Anybody who remotely cares about conservation should blacklist him. This is deplorable.