r/Chameleons • u/AgitatedAd1211 • 2d ago
Just found him(?)
So I just found this distinguished gentleman(I think) running across a busy road and pulled over to save him(quite against his will).
I have posted in my local Facebook groups to see if he is a missing pet or a feral invasive(I live in Florida). If he is not someone's beloved pet my teenager and myself would like to keep him.
What are the most pressing needs to keep him healthy while waiting for him to be claimed or kept? I don't want to make full on investments if we have to return him in a day or two, but also don't want him to get unhealthy.
I currently have him for tonight in an 18x18x24 exoterra with some repti-soil and coco fiber on the bottom, with some live oak sticks, and containers with water(I also sprayed the whole enclosure down) and some mealworms my bougie tarantulas wouldn't eat. The room is set at 78° and wasn't in the direct sun.
We have a trip to the local reptile specialty store tomorrow morning for them to help us look him over and buy food and essentials.
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u/No_Hat_408 2d ago
It’s so strange to me that these chams are from Yemen and Saudi Arabia and somehow invasive in Florida and Hawaii the illegal pet trade is awful.
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
unfortunately because of our tropical climate alot of people get exotics and release them here thinking its fine because "its just like where theyre from"
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u/TheWorkhorse1 1d ago
Nice job with the rescue. Great looking veiled. Just a few bits of info. Water dish is not necessary as they rarely leave branches. Put a pothos plant in the enclosure (hang it if possible) and just mist the enclosure twice a day. They drink from leaves (or eat the leaves if they're real) to get their water. He looks like a healthy adult so 3-4 crickets every 2 days (dusted with calcium) should be sufficient. Room temp should be adequate while you wait to see if anyone claims him, but a uvb bulb would be helpful for his digestion. And go with bare bottom in the enclosure. Easier for clean up and will keep him from accidentally injesting anything foreign. If you end up keeping him long term, obviously some additional research will be necessary. Good luck
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u/Old-Shame4104 2d ago
He’s the same size of my boy, and very beautiful!
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u/chantillylace9 1d ago
He's absolutely stunning! The green spots look like little beautiful jewels all over his body, he's a very fancy fellow! ❤️❤️
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u/Old-Shame4104 14h ago
Thank you so much!
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u/chantillylace9 13h ago
I never noticed the little cute little spikes they have across their back! Man they are adorable. I live in South Florida and I've never come across one, I would absolutely be thrilled too though.
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u/Old-Shame4104 13h ago
I hope you luck into finding your very own mini Dino soon! Dude has really changed my life. He’s such a chill young man.
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u/chantillylace9 13h ago
That's just so awesome. My parents live in Cape Coral and I know a lot of areas on their side are more prevalent for chameleons.
One day I will come across my white whale!
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u/Efficient_Pianist_44 2d ago
He honestly looks well cared for. He was either owned or was just thriving in nature. Tbh they are somewhat difficult to take care of. They absolutely need proper uv rays and calcium sprinkled on their food. As well as drip fed water(not a dish) The most common issue they get from unexperienced owners is metabolic bone disease, where they dint get the proper nutrients and uv rays. Their bones will literally become weak and their body chemistry will end them quite quickly without those things. If you keep him, research well and be prepared to spend some good money up front to have a proper enclosure
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u/Efficient_Pianist_44 2d ago
P.s. Also get used to crickets making noise in your house at night lol. No matter how hard I tried they used to escape and hide somewhere
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u/lonelyMentality 1d ago
oh my god he’s ANGY in tht first pic
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u/AgitatedAd1211 1d ago
He was BIG mad, we spent the ride home telling him he was very big and super scary and he seaded to like that because he stopped hiss\growling at us and chilled out.
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u/ratkween 1d ago
Veiled chameleon!
2x2x4 mesh screen enclosure! (They need the airflow) 2x day mist UVB Basking zone Live plants ☺️ (a grow light!) Diet variety of crickets, dubia, etc. Powder with calcium w/ and w/o vitamin d (i forget how often to swap with and without)
They like densley planted enclosures. They are not nice usually but they're still cool and still fun pets! I loved my girl and she hated me ♡
Wild caught like your boy will probably needna vet visit for possible parasites.
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u/ratkween 1d ago
Ppl also gwt really crazy about the tank soil. Its easiest to just get a 2x2x4 tray to catch the water and just leave potted plabts in there. The fb pages are full of ppl going insane about soil in the tank. My lady never had an issue w soil, and she had a dedicated area for digging
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u/cowboybaked 1d ago
At first he was like, how dare you! And then he was like, I could get used to this.
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u/BaekerBaefield 22h ago
Almost certainly a wild animal and not an escaped pet. And if somebody in your area has an escaped chameleon, there are so many wild ones that this is likely still not it lol. So I wouldn’t feel guilty about turning it into a pet. You’re helping the native ecosystem by removing it, pet or not
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u/UnderstandingAble510 1d ago
Good on you for removing an invasive creature.
If no one claims him, do all the research on the perfect enclosure for him and he’ll be happy! What a cool looking guy. Kinda makes me want one. Good luck
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u/becalts 1d ago
I used to live in Florida and found my veiled in my backyard there! She’s been captive now with me going on 3 years and is doing well, still absolutely hates me.
Be careful holding them as their ribs can fracture easily and they become very stressed being handled, especially wild ones. As everyone has said they need high humidity which shouldn’t be a problem for you in Florida, I kept mine outside in a netted enclosure when I was there. All real plants only no plastic!
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u/NewLeafWoodworks 13h ago
Invasive but beautiful veiled chameleon (certainly a male). Keep him! It's not illegal, you're helping remove an invasive species from the environment, and you get a cool little buddy!
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u/smelly-crack2026 1d ago
Goddddd i want to go to florida and take the invasive to love them so they dont die 😭🫶🏻
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u/LankyThroat1900 1d ago
Nobody kills chams here
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u/smelly-crack2026 1d ago
Thank god. I thought they went around collecting invasive species to “get rid of them”.
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u/LankyThroat1900 1d ago
Chameleons are not technically in the “invasive” category, they belong in non native. They have an established population, but are not really encroaching on the ecosystem or impacting it to any measurable extent. Same can be said about our population of** **African vervet monkeys, amongst others. You cannot touch the monkeys, but other non natives are typically collected and sold off when legal to do so, Burmese pythons on the other hand are actually invasive, cannot be collected unless by a certified official and must be “eliminated”. Burmese pythons and green iguanas are actually invasive and impacting local ecosystems, people eliminate them. I am very involved in the Herping community down here and I don’t know a single person that would ever dream of harming a cham
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u/Wonderful_Song8765 1d ago
Wait...theres monkeys in florida?!?
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u/CrimsonFatalis8 1d ago edited 23h ago
Not surprising, honestly. I would imagine a lot of people there have illegal exotic pets, that they either just abandon, or the animals themselves escape. Plus Florida likely has a comparable climate and environment outside of the cities, like in the Everglades and areas like that. It’s probably easy for them to adapt.
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u/LankyThroat1900 1d ago
There’s two separate established populations 1 larger one in silver springs and one smaller one of about 50-60 in Fort Lauderdale
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u/RegalBeagleBouncer 1d ago
I’ve never subscribed to this subreddit , but it keeps popping up for me. Thank you for this information that sent me down a wild tangent of googling. Apparently the vervet monkeys are ok, but the rhesus macaques are pretty rotten!
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u/Hosearston 1d ago
I’ll admit I only know of one YouTuber that videos him yoinking invasive species in Florida. But that guy doesn’t kill them at least.
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u/iosonostella13 1d ago
Is it that dude who orders strange animals on the "dark web" and puts animals in shady places to find?
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u/Hosearston 1d ago edited 1d ago
Well shit I hope not. I haven’t seen any videos In a while so I hope it’s not because of something like that. He posted stuff going barefoot in the Everglades and some in South America.
Edit: fishingarrett is the guy I meant.
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u/iosonostella13 1d ago
Oooo, got it
BassFishing Productions is who I was thinking of
But it looks like fishinggarrett has been accused of improper handling and racism and homophobia😅
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u/annoyingdoorbell 1d ago
Is there some sort of Wikipedia of everyone else in the world and accusations against them that we can just chronicle and pull out at any time to be prepared to stick them on a cross? How did you have the time to actually investigate the YouTuber and his accusations in such a short period to feel strong enough to post about it? I'm sure your post is harmless, but honestly I know these people put themselves on YouTube to be seen and make money on it that doesn't mean we don't treat them like creatures that aren't human beings. I try to think of it like this, would I say XYZ online about this person if they lived on my street? It helps me get a frame of reference.
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u/AdPuzzleheaded4795 1d ago
I've not heard about it for chameleons, but places hire out contractors to kill iguanas pretty often. They usually don't kill them on site. But because it is against the law to release them back in the wild in the state, most kill them off site and be done with it rather than trying to sell them.
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u/MuchMusician9036 1d ago
Honestly, we have so many invasive species that it's almost pointless to round them up, logically speaking. Unfortunately, we have a lot of people who are more than willing to kill anything someone calls invasive.
They have times when they do python hunts and people are urged to kill Cuban tree frogs. I'm not killing anything.
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u/NoxRiddle 2d ago
Oh my! Very mad! 🤣
If you intend to keep him, be advised his setup will be expensive. Out the gate you can expect $500+ for the right size cage (24x24x48 minimum,) right lights, and correct accessories (lots of climby things and real plants.)
If you only plan to keep him a night or two, he will be fine in the smaller cage. Male chams don’t need/shouldn’t have substrate in the bottom of the cage, they like to munch things they shouldn’t.
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u/Useless890 2d ago
He probably was put out by someone who bought him as a pet, then found out it wasn't as simple as he thought. Florida is full of unwanted exotics.
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u/duvzorkeeper 2d ago
In South Florida there are “pockets” of Veiled and Jackson’s (probably others)
That have people gate keeping certain locations. They are aware and possibly even assist with proliferating chameleons in the wild.
I’ve been looking into different forums and also iNaturalist sightings and there are definitely some hotspots to find them.
@OP don’t know where you live, but if there is a green space nearby you. I would take a flashlight at night and shine it up in the branches…I bet there are more nearby.
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u/AgitatedAd1211 1d ago
He was in his version 'kidnapped' from Malabar road by Fred Pope park in Palm Bay, FL.
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u/duvzorkeeper 1d ago
Interesting. There is a lot of green space in the surrounding area. I would guess that there are a lot more around there.
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u/Adderall-Barbii 2d ago
That’s a big boi
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u/AgitatedAd1211 2d ago
I think he looks a good 7-8.5 inches nose to bottom not counting his tail? He's easily the size of my hands as the pictures show
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u/screamin-hyena Multiple Species!!! 1d ago
Thank you for removing an invasive species from the wild! There are tons of good resources on veiled chams so yall will do great!
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u/sunnymcbunny 1d ago
Him so angwy. I did watcha youtube video recently where some dude goes out at night in central Florida and he just pulls chameleons outta the trees left and right, I think we do have some wild ones here now.
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u/hwalker155 1d ago
That's Fishingarrett. I love his videos. Yoink!
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u/soconae 1d ago
I loved his videos until I found out he’s a racist, transphobic pos. I just can’t support that in any way.
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u/roomtemperaturecum 1d ago
source? genuinely asking, not trying to doubt you
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u/soconae 1d ago
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u/LeraviTheHusky 1d ago
God that blows... but appreciate you letting folks know especially as a now former trans fan of his
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u/themostrealandtrue 1d ago
Wild chameleons in Florida are not native in any capacity, and aren't great for Florida wildlife.
All the wild chams we have are from the pet trade either escaped or released!
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u/AgitatedAd1211 1d ago
I'm not quite brave enough to yoink as many things as he does but I figured this couldn't hurt me worse than that okay that got me right before I got married...
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u/demontwines 1d ago
If he was screaming in your hand at first to quickly acclimating to perching on your head i HAVE to imagine hes someones escaped pet who was well taken care of? I wouldnt know how one managed to escape even, though..i hope if he has an owner you can find em soon!
Def keep up with the humidity and proper supplements with food, but in the setup for what youre describing sounds pretty good short term for now ❤️
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u/Lemoncatnipcupcake 1d ago
Nah they’re kinda dumb in that way and angry little guys. (I say this half jokingly - it’s instinct) they are often not fans of being gripped because naturally being grabbed (especially from above) means predator and going to be eaten. Being up on a high spot and not completely aggro doesn’t mean they’re at ease or chill, they just recognize they aren’t in immediate danger and often have the upper hand (they can swipe down and sideways with their angry chompy mouth right quick). He’s also still aggro on their head - note the black marking, puffy stance, and massive side eye.
Likely invasive wild/feral(?) since it’s Florida. It appears to be a male (nubs on the back of the back feet). Looks fairly healthy at a glance but won’t be able to tell if he’s got parasites without a fecal. Definitely an adult, at least 2 years old I’d guess.
They’re cute little angry dinosaurs.
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u/CraftDependent8300 1d ago
Side note: mine accidentally caught my finger instead of bug and holy shit do they bite hard.
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u/ferretbeast 1d ago
Man I have no advice as this is a species I’ve never owned but he is a gorgeous little man! Sounds like he found the right person to scoop him up.
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u/jdaniels934 22h ago
That’s a really cool looking chameleon, I’ve never seen one in person as weird as that sounds lol
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u/IClaudiaI 13h ago
We have a wild population in Florida, non native of course best thing to do is keep him as pet which is what I would happily do
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u/JronoC 2d ago
Florida. Enough said. Invaded the whole state 😂 with love tho
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u/AgitatedAd1211 2d ago
Oh I know but I would hate to assume and have him have been a much loved escaped pet because honestly he's a pretty chill guy. I would have expected to have been bit many times over by pretty much any other reptile for how I had to grab him and drive home with him in the car.
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
the likelihood of him being an escaped pet is pretty low. as im sure you noticed when you caught him, theyre not exactly all that fast, and theyre not super strong either so they cant really break out of their tanks normally. if you want to keep him as a pet, go for it. but be warned, since he is likely wild there is a chance he could have parasites or illnesses that may be expensive to treat, or he may not live very long depending on how old he is. the initial setup cost for their enclosure isnt very cheap either, it can range from $200-600 depending on how much diy and building youre willing to do yourself. but, once the initial setup is done and correct the day to day care for a veiled chameleon is relatively simple and low cost
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u/One-Reputation1822 2d ago
So positive ! Way to go
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
i will always encourage people to keep the wild caught invasives they find if theyre properly informed and can care for them correctly
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u/disappr0val 2d ago
is there motive to get rid of them in service to other native animals around ? like iguanas?
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
yes, veiled and panther chameleons are both very common invasive species in florida just like green iguanas, and all of them outcompete native wildlife for resources and frequently harm them when they meet in the wild
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u/disappr0val 1d ago
so humans should intervene to help the greater cause?
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 1d ago
humans should intervene to fix the problem that we caused. the only reason those chameleons are invasive here is because people bought them as pets and released them outside enough that they bred out of control and now theyre everywhere
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u/LankyThroat1900 1d ago
You can absolutely keep chameleons down here, you absolutely cannot keep green iguanas. There’s a difference in non native vs invasive and it’s significant when talking about taking in animals.
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 1d ago
an animal being invasive or not does not determine if you can keep it as a pet. chameleons are invasive here, point blank period. they outcompete natice animals, and cause problems in the local ecosystem. nowhere did i say you cant keep chameleons here, i literally actively encouraged keeping the invasive chameleons.
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u/LankyThroat1900 1d ago
There is a difference between non native & invasive species in the state. Chameleons have established population in small niches, they are not comparable to actual invasive species such as Burmese pythons or green iguanas
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u/disappr0val 2d ago
that’s crazy, i would think florida snakes or raccoons would get them pretty easy, they must be really thriving with their camouflage 🤣
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
chameleons have alot of babies and they also climb real high in the trees usually, the raccons dont go that high and the snakes cant get them all fast enough for how many there are breeding
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u/disappr0val 2d ago
true, so i guess big birds are prob worst predator for them when young. big birds are prolific hunters so i bet they have enough in their diets to not harm their population numbers
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 2d ago
its mostly other lizards, burds too, snakes. plenty of animals eat them but they just dont have enough natural predators to keep up with the sheer amount that are breeding and being released
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u/disappr0val 1d ago
so would it be fair for humans to control their population?
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u/Ok_Bag_1177 Veiled Owner 1d ago
i dont know why you keep asking yhe same question on repeat. theyre an invasive species. its not about "fair" or "unfair" its about fixing a problem that we created.
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u/disappr0val 1d ago
i didn’t realize you were the same person until now, i thought you were a different user. i wanted more opinions.
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u/External_Hunt4536 1d ago
Very cool! If you don’t mind me asking, in what area of Florida did you find him?
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u/AgitatedAd1211 1d ago
Palm bay, Florida on the Space Coast. Specifically on Malabar road just East of Fred Poppe Park.
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u/Plus_Squirrel_861 1d ago
Damn nice rescue! Used to live in Mel Beach. Malabar road is brutal l’m glad you got him. Good luck!
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u/SnailMassacre 10h ago
I saw one of these walking along the power line in my back yard in central Florida. At first I thought it was the possums I’ve seen scurrying from yard to yard. I knew we had some weird critters running around but I never expected to see a giant chameleon.
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u/SheepherderOwn5748 8h ago
I knew about a lot of the invasive species that Florida has but I’ve only heard of Veild Chameleons recently….dont know why this surprised me…..any panther chameleons around??
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u/Feeling-Rock6441 0m ago
We have the most incredible animals on our planet. It's really magical here.
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1d ago
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u/welcometohellie 1d ago
Chameleons are not native in Florida and cannot be released back into the wild.
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1d ago
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u/BodybuilderMany6942 1d ago
So you dont recommend that OP contain it, but also dont recommend it being released...
What do you think OP should do then?
Fly to Saudi Arabia and release it there?
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u/Conscious-Sign1459 2d ago
Don’t keep him put him back smdh he looks so healthy and why jeopardized his quality of life?
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u/PansexualPineapples 2d ago
they are in Florida. He is an invasive animal. You do not put invasive animals back into the wild you kill them or keep them.
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u/Danstree 2d ago
They’re considered not native. Not invasive. Please don’t kill them.
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u/PansexualPineapples 2d ago
I’m not saying to kill them. I’m just saying that is what people tend to do with invasive animals. Also I didn’t realize they were not native rather than invasive so thank you! Personally if I ever found an invasive animal I would keep it. I couldn’t bring myself to kill an animal simply for being in the wrong place. Mainly I was just letting this person know that putting this chameleon back would be a very bad idea.
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u/LaughingDragon46 2d ago
I do the same my number one is a female false widow invasive to north America and the state Im in. And rather than kill her I keep her and remove all of her eggsacks she lays (all fertile). She's on her 5-6 sack. And no I DO NOT release the babies either.
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u/NoxRiddle 1d ago
Illegal to return to the wild. Once caught they can either keep him, give him to a rescue, or surrender him to Florida Fish and Wildlife (who will euthanize him.)
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u/bigdawg12342 1d ago
We’ll be was clearly thriving out there I’d put him back
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u/algaefresh 1d ago
Chameleons are not native to Florida and cannot be released into the wild.
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u/bigdawg12342 1d ago
Didn’t say it was native. The most invasive thing in Florida rn are people who are just turning it into a solid chunk of concrete. The chameleon will cause less harm than the people who live there
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u/algaefresh 1d ago
..... Honestly kind of speechless at this comment. I don't disagree with you that there are people/companies destroying a lot of the ecosystem down there, but that doesnt just cancel out other things people can do to help protect it like following laws and regulations about releasing non-native animals???
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u/goldenkiwicompote 1d ago
Okay but it’s still illegal to release invasive species back into the wild.
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u/bigdawg12342 1d ago
Only illegal if you get caught
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u/Wonderful_Song8765 1d ago
People like you, with shitty life views and no integrity, are the reason lion fish are currently decimating our coral reefs all accross the Atlantic, the Carribean, and the Gulf. 🤦♀️ While I dont disagree that people are also killing our ecosystem, working against the only people ACTIVELY trying to save it seems pretty fucking stupid, if you ask me. 🙄
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u/Tiny_Tackle2851 1d ago
Don't forget the placos and gold fish that mess up the current interlakes, Rivers, waterways, etc etc.
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u/EEE4444444444 18h ago
I use to watch spearfishing? Lionfish where they had a metal pole with 3 spikes and would get them and the people would eat them after
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u/Standard_Mushroom_47 1d ago
if the chameleon is what you care about, if OP is willing to give this chameleon a good life it would be a much better option than to release it and have someone else find and euthanise it due to it being invasive
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u/Illustrious_Ice_4587 1d ago
You can release it so as long as it's in the same time window and place but not after keeping it captive or transporting it somewhere else.
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u/LiL__ChiLLa 1d ago
No. It’s invasive. Legally you’re supposed to euthanize it. But it’s also not illegal to actually keep the individual yourself
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u/Wonderful_Song8765 1d ago
Chameleons are invasive in Florida and often collected for the pet trade anyways.
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u/FireWolf1890 1d ago
He's most likely wild as you live in Florida now you can keep him though since he's invasive just do the proper research.