Category: Anoles in Commerce

Blinky, someone's pet false chameleon. Photo from http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/photo.php?id=17574

Who knew that false chameleons, as they are called (technically, anoles in the clade—formerly genus—Chamaeleolis), are so common in the reptile captive husbandry world? In Cuba, these animals are a rare treat, one of the hardest anoles to find. Many talented anole biologists have returned from Cuba empty-handed, with nary a Chamaeleolis spotting to report. One might think that a big, white lizard like this would be easy to spot, but they are very slow and shy, blending right into their environment.

Cuba strongly protects its native wildlife, but apparently some got out, reputedly to Europe. Turns out that they are easy to breed, and so now they are readily available. Not cheap, though—a quick google found false chameleons of several species for sale, but the standard price was in the $500 range.

In any case, should you have a hankering to go Chamaeleolis, there’s now a good resource for captive husbandry and care. Kelly Bradley of the Forth Worth Zoo has raised many a false chameleon in her day, and she’s now detailed how to do it in her recent tell all exposé in Reptiles magazine

Ever wonder what would happen if you searched “Anolis.”  Well, I did.  Here’s what you get (and if you do it again, you’ll get slightly different results depending on which pages you look at):

The first and second hits are for the Wikipedia pages on anoles.

The 3rd and 8th hits are for Anolis: leading LED lighting solutions, with a chameleon as a logo. One of their products claims these advantages, appropriate for their name: Awesome power, Absolutely silent, Perfect color mixing. Anolis Lighting is a division of Robe Lighting, with offices in Czech Republic, UK, US, and Australia. The website provides no indication where the name comes from.

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On sale at a website near you

Recently while trolling the internet looking for Anolis grahami to purchase for a research project, I came upon a website offering “wild collected” A. occultus, the Puerto Rican twig anole, and Cuban “false chameleons,” the anoles in the Chamaeleolis clade.  Having worked very hard to get collecting and export permits from the Puerto Rican and Cuban officials, I am extremely dubious that such animals could be legally captured and exported for commercial purposes .  Although in some cases commercial export permits can be easier to obtain than research permits, I strongly doubt that this is the case in Puerto Rico and Cuba.

I mentioned this to a friend, who pointed me to another website that had a host of difficult-to-obtain anoles for sale, including the Cuban Crown-Giant anole, A. smallwoodi.  All the lizards on this website were captive bred.  Almost surely, their ancestors were illegally exported from their countries of origin, but apparently the offspring of such animals can be legally bought and sold, which would seem to be a big loophole in wildlife laws.  On the other hand, because Australia does not allow export of reptiles for commercial purposes, all of the bearded dragons in the pet trade would be illegal if this were the case.

In any case, I am bemused, delighted, and concerned by this trade in illicit anoles and their apparently licit offspring.  Bemused because we jump through lots of hoops to get the necessary permits, whereas others apparently take a different tack.  Delighted because apparently there is a big group of anole lovers out there, keeping and breeding these wonderful animals.  And, finally, concerned, both because there’s always the threat that too much collecting could jeopardize rare anole species (although I know of no such cases, it’s certainly possible for some rare species), but also because such illegal trade can cause wildlife officials to clamp down on all exporting of lizards, even for valid scientific research.  I experienced this myself years ago, when wildlife officials on St. Lucia were very cold and unfriendly and gave us great difficulty.  We learned later that a year before, collectors masquerading as scientists, with faked credentials, had gotten permits to export 20 boas, only to sell them.  Somehow, the St. Lucians found out, and we paid the consequence.

I report from Quepos, near Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica.  As you might imagine, the place is silly with vendors and shops selling all manner of trinkets and tchotkes: t-shirts, postcards, carvings, you name it.  And befitting Costa Rica’s ecotourist slant, much of this merchandise has a wildlife theme.  Red-eyed tree frogs, sea turtles, toucans, geckoniform lizards—I’m sick of them all.  I’ve searched high and low, through every shop and stall, here and elsewhere, and there is not a single anole-themed product to be found.  Imagine the money to be made: slender anole postcards, elegant painted carvings of A. biporcatus.  I’m sure I’m not the only ecotourist here thirsting after a little anoline piece of Costa Rica to take home as a beloved keepsake.  Herpetological entrepeneurs, get to it!