26 Chameleons stolen from Kissimmee FL

[Mike Fisher]

I wonder if that is across the board with all law enforcement or if it differs by county.

Chase

It differs by the officers doing the investigating. A few go out of their way if they believe in your cause, or if there is media coverage involved but that is rare. I've discovered my own stolen property at pawn shops and could not recover it because they would not even send an officer out.

 

[Craigwyatt]

I would like to offer you one of my young males free of charge to help you get started back up if you don't find your chams. I just bought several males and I prob won't use them all. I'm extremely sorry this happened to you. I live in northern va. I know it's far away but you never know where there gonna turn up. My eyes are wide open for you. Please don't be shy to take me up on my offer. Here's my email. [email protected]

 

[junglefries]

Make sure to let your local mom & pop pet stores know, the stores who buy them from local breeders. Also, warn them to be on the lookout for someone buying boxes of crickets, when they may normally buy smaller amounts. You can always recruit (bribe) some of the more suspect youngins' to be on the lookout. Go with the DVR footage not being seen also. This apparently works on the stupid criminals. Good luck. I got a shovel to help hide the evidence, when you catch 'em. I don't like pilferers.

 

[Dgood]

This makes me want to cry. Why are there people out there that would do such a thing........ I'm truly sorry for your loss I can only imagine what your feeling.

 

[gilbert]

I am so sorry this happened to you. I am praying you find them

 

[absolutbill]

Dez, my heart is broken for you right now! I will keep an eye on our Craigslist down here - it's probably further than they have gone, but it never hurts. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts, and please let me know what I can do to help you.

 

[shaneofall]

I would contact the local news and make sure you point out the local police refused to take prints. You have to put pressure on them to do their jobs efficiently sometimes and media is the best way. Contact all news stations in your greater area, I bet someone wants this story. Good luck.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

They're stolen... MIA

This kind of stuff happens all too often.

I think that you need to ask yourself who knew about your location after doing a little internet digging. Finding your colony is as easy as getting the EXIF data off of one of your posted pictures.... (isn't GPS wonderful)

People are going to blame the kids but honestly... I don't think so.
The hallmark of someone that's in the industry and KNOWS the species is that they took things selectively and they nabbed the gravid females.

They also closed the doors on the cages... while leaving others untouched.

Other keepers have been cleaned out after letting a person claiming to be eager hobbyist tour the colony... the owners leave for work or are asleep at night and they get cleaned out. They're not just some random criminal... these kinds of thefts are typically performed people that know things only an experienced breeder will know. As in the case of this guy that could quickly tell the difference between a good and bad egghttp://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/20070615-1401-bn15birds.html

Those birds most likely went directly to someones own personal colony in another state and won't ever been seen publicly .. only the offspring will be sold on the market.

I imagine that's going to be the same case with these chams.

I'm sorry. This sucks and these people deserve broken legs IMNSHO.
I hope that this is just a pair of kids and that they get snitched on by someone that knows.

But I kinda doubt it... you don't hear about recovery very often.

 

[AlaskanReptile]

Oh gosh Dez! This is horrible, I saw Tree Candy Chameleons post about it on facebook and my jaw dropped! I like to think those of us who have done business with you and have one of the babies you hatched are hit hard by this fact too.



I hope you find them soon though. I can't imagine the stress you are going through currently and no one deserves to have creatures near and dear to their hearts ripped away.



Honestly I wish I could offer more than just my prayers and support in this roughest of times, but being in Alaska its a tad difficult. Keep us all updated though!



If you ever need to talk, you have this entire community backing you up and are here for you.

 

[BackwaterReptiles]

I can't even imagine--this is just incredible. It takes all kinds. I'm literally sitting here shaking my head.

 

[Kiwiflage]

This is absolutely AWEFUL, I am so deeply sorry to hear somebody would have the audacity to do such a thing. I hope justice serves them well and fate helps them find their way back to you. Deepest regards

 

[fluxlizard]

This is why I never allow strangers to my home.

I do educational presentations and am asked probably a dozen times a year by schools or parents with relatives coming to visit, etc. if they can come have a tour and I hate to turn them down, but I always do.

I figure the problem isn't necessarily the people asking to visit, it is all the people they are going to talk to and share my location with.

I've seen this happen too many times over the years to other people.

I remember one year I heard sticky tongue farms Linda Davison speak at the national reptile breeders expo in FL. They took a few days to vacation and returned home to find an entire greenhouse cleaned out and stolen.

The worst I've personally had was a pre-schooler who was a terror in our neighborhood- he drove his battery powered car all over the neighbors garden and flattened it and then later came over and opened all my corucia cages. I had about a dozen adults that I had gotten before they had been cut off, plus a few years worth of babies. I was never able to find them or replace them after the kid set them free- they had become restricted and were too expensive to replace.

My first pair of melleri that I ever bred were stolen also, back when I lived in the city. I put the word out with all the local pet shops to watch for me, but I never heard back.

That would be my advice- likely thieves don't have resources to feed and house a bunch of chameleons. Put the word out with the local pet shops to watch and call you if someone comes in selling chameleons, and watch kingsnake.com and your local craigslist and ebay classifieds. And horrible to say, but drive around looking into your extended neighborhood's backyards during the day and windows at night- looking for lizard lights. We found my brother's bicycle that way when we were kids.

 

[Dez]

There is new development. This actually happened a few days ago but I was keeping quite in-case it was detrimental to the investigation.. since no one has been arrest and no new leads in a few days I don't feel it matters at this point...

We have recovered 10 out of the 26 chameleons. The tip came that someone was trying sell some panthers for cheap. Claiming there where 20 of them that needed to be sold. After photo confirmation and a frustration time with the Osceola police... we where able to recover 10. Most of them where the juvl panthers (not my breeders) and they where in bad shape... broken bones, cuts, bruises and very dehydrated.

The person selling them is claiming he just found them on the trail behind our house.

 

[Dez]

When the police called me to the house to pick them up they where in 3 tubs. With 3 chameleons in each tub... no sticks... no leaves. dried poop on the bottom of the tubs so i know that's where they where the whole time.

since they where all together they are all bruised and bitten. some have bad bites . Some of the smaller males (these where the ones i had for sale) have broken arms... one is so bad he can only use 1 out his 4 limbs. and is paralyzed. These people had no idea how to care for them or even how much they are worth.. they where trying to sell 8 panthers for $450 .. but them raised the price as we where trying to set up to 'buy' them ......because they looked them up.

 

[bigant25]

Hello, Im so sorry to hear about this,,, MAYBE I have seen too many movies but these guys touched every cage and even closed them behind after taking the lizards out (which is bizzare) can't the cops dust for fingerprints and run them against the local criminal database of prints? If you haven't already done that perhaps ask them about potentially doing this? sorry just popped in my head and thought it could maybe help.

 

[aMiseo]

My heart goes out to you and your extended cham fam. It is awful to know that people will steal just about anything. Growing up and living in NYC, I witnessed the worst of humanity, and I understand tragedy. I hope that your little ones are able to recover and that the rest of your family is recovered. Prayers your way...

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Aw man, I was excited to see that some were recovered but that sounds more like a nightmare! It is terrible that they're in such bad shape! I hope they make good recoveries for you. Seems like enough to arrest this jerk and try to get more info about the others from him. Was he arrested?

When I was robbed (of possessions rather than animals luckily) we had a really nice detective helping us. I hope you have someone good too. They dusted for prints around my house but didn't find anything, but I suggested some areas they didn't check and actually that was what led to arrests of the accomplices who of course had claimed they weren't involved. Caught the main guy by giving the local pawn shops fliers with pictures of all our stolen stuff on it. So you're doing all the right things imo spreading the word yourself trying to find leads.

 

[lisagr07]

Oh my gosh Dez...
I'm excited that you have gotten some of them back!!! I'm hoping the others will be recovered also!!!
I bet that person knows more!! I don't care that they claim to have found them on the trail.... They know something more as to the whereabouts of the others, names, phone #'s, addresses..... something of others involved...
Keeping my fingers crossed!!!!

 

[Dez]

Aw man, I was excited to see that some were recovered but that sounds more like a nightmare! It is terrible that they're in such bad shape! I hope they make good recoveries for you. Seems like enough to arrest this jerk and try to get more info about the others from him. Was he arrested?

When I was robbed (of possessions rather than animals luckily) we had a really nice detective helping us. I hope you have someone good too. They dusted for prints around my house but didn't find anything, but I suggested some areas they didn't check and actually that was what led to arrests of the accomplices who of course had claimed they weren't involved. Caught the main guy by giving the local pawn shops fliers with pictures of all our stolen stuff on it. So you're doing all the right things imo spreading the word yourself trying to find leads.

No the kid (22 year old) who was selling them was not arrested... He is claiming he just found 10 chameleons in a 20 gallon fishtank along the trail behind our house in the afternoon they where discovered missing. . The detective confirmed where this kid was and can not place him at our home at the time of the theft. The person who owns the home they where found at is claiming he knows nothing and the kid just brought them home.

And even though this kids friends live all around us and a few we even recognize as ones that cut through the back trail .. the detective will not do anything or question them because there is no evidence linking them to anything besides being friends of the person who had them.

The detective seemed nice enough and i did feel like he was really trying to help me. BUt he also told me he could not get any fingerprints off the cage doors. Most of this kids friends already have records for trespassing and other minimal charges so they would be in the system.

I also pointed out that the original text messages said "I know a guy who knows a guy who has 20 of these he is trying to sell" but now they are just insisting that there where 10 and there where only 10 and they where found .

and believe me Jason went searching the trail looking for clues the morning they where missing... looking for tire tracks or foot prints... and did not see a tank sitting there.. So its hard for me to believe he just cmae across them... but if a buddy of his gave them to him then he is not saying.. and thats that

 

[ataraxia]

Glad to see you were able to get a few back! I hope you are able to recover the rest soon.