Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
The latest issue of Chameleons! online E-zine has been released. You can view the e-zine at www.chameleonnews.com.
New Issue of Chameleons! Online E-Zine
- Thread starter Chris Anderson
- Start date
Tygerr
Avid Member
Thanks Chris. You and your team do a great job.
I really enjoyed the interview with Jim Flaherty. I was amazed by the scale and organisation of his operation.
In South Africa chameleons are still quite a small part of the pet industry, so most breeders are simple backyard home operations - nothing on that scale.
6000 chameleons a year! No wonder there are so many chameleon forums popping up: there must be tons of owners in the US.
I was actually inspired by that article (bear with me - I've realised this might be a long post).
It struck me that it's quite sad that so many hundreds of chameleons are wild-caught in Africa and on our neighbouring island, Madagascar; and then they're shipped off to Europe and America as pets, yet the majority of Africans will never get the chance to keep these wonderful creatures as pets.
Of course, that's mostly due to socio-economic reasons, but I realised too from the article that it is also because we don't have breeders as well set-up as Jim is. Despite the fact that we are much closer to the source of the wild animals, we haven't gotten any effective breeding programmes going here.
It's far more difficult here to get hold of any captive-bred species other than Veiled chameleons. That seems silly to me - that in Southern Africa (where possibly the entire chameleon species originated from), the only pet chameleon you can get is one that comes from the Middle East?
I realise that Veileds are hardier and somewhat easier to breed, and that is a major reason they're so abundant in the pet industry.
However, I also think that because there have been major advances in husbandry since chameleons were originally introduced as pets, the original captive bred populations of Veileds (that were easier to keep when husbandry was less advanced) and other common species have proliferated the pet industry.
I think that if more advanced breeding operations were set up here in South Africa, coupled with the better equipment and techniques we now have for proper husbandry, that a wider variety of captive bred species could be introduced (there are plenty of species native to SA), and being captive bred, they might tolerate shipping and displacement to the US and Europe better, meaning that captive bred colonies of those species might flourish there too.
So basically what I am saying is that, despite the fact that I am only gaining experience with my first chameleon (a Veiled, of course), I think that in the future I aspire to having an operation like Jim's, whereby maybe I can help establish new species to become as common as the Veileds/Jacksons/Panthers. Even if that doesn't happen, I'd still like to help more African people experience the joy of keeping these creatures as pets (without adding more strain to our natural wild populations of chameleons).
So thanks for the inspiring article.
I really enjoyed the interview with Jim Flaherty. I was amazed by the scale and organisation of his operation.
In South Africa chameleons are still quite a small part of the pet industry, so most breeders are simple backyard home operations - nothing on that scale.
6000 chameleons a year! No wonder there are so many chameleon forums popping up: there must be tons of owners in the US.
I was actually inspired by that article (bear with me - I've realised this might be a long post).
It struck me that it's quite sad that so many hundreds of chameleons are wild-caught in Africa and on our neighbouring island, Madagascar; and then they're shipped off to Europe and America as pets, yet the majority of Africans will never get the chance to keep these wonderful creatures as pets.
Of course, that's mostly due to socio-economic reasons, but I realised too from the article that it is also because we don't have breeders as well set-up as Jim is. Despite the fact that we are much closer to the source of the wild animals, we haven't gotten any effective breeding programmes going here.
It's far more difficult here to get hold of any captive-bred species other than Veiled chameleons. That seems silly to me - that in Southern Africa (where possibly the entire chameleon species originated from), the only pet chameleon you can get is one that comes from the Middle East?
I realise that Veileds are hardier and somewhat easier to breed, and that is a major reason they're so abundant in the pet industry.
However, I also think that because there have been major advances in husbandry since chameleons were originally introduced as pets, the original captive bred populations of Veileds (that were easier to keep when husbandry was less advanced) and other common species have proliferated the pet industry.
I think that if more advanced breeding operations were set up here in South Africa, coupled with the better equipment and techniques we now have for proper husbandry, that a wider variety of captive bred species could be introduced (there are plenty of species native to SA), and being captive bred, they might tolerate shipping and displacement to the US and Europe better, meaning that captive bred colonies of those species might flourish there too.
So basically what I am saying is that, despite the fact that I am only gaining experience with my first chameleon (a Veiled, of course), I think that in the future I aspire to having an operation like Jim's, whereby maybe I can help establish new species to become as common as the Veileds/Jacksons/Panthers. Even if that doesn't happen, I'd still like to help more African people experience the joy of keeping these creatures as pets (without adding more strain to our natural wild populations of chameleons).
So thanks for the inspiring article.
Will Hayward
New Member
For the most part, there are lists you have to get on to be sold them. Because you have such a responsibilty to breed them, the sellers usually only sell to those people that are trustworothy and experience.
I beleive the babies from latest Captive Bred clutch from the US, was sold to the highest bidder though.
