jishillencik
New member
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.
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.
