FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM This veiled chameleon at the state quarantine station in Kakaako is one of two caught last week on Maui.

Illegal reptiles
spawn Maui hunt

2 veiled chameleons were caught
near a gulch in Makawao

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> State workers plan to continue their search this week for veiled chameleons on Maui, after an adult male and female were found near a gulch in Makawao town.

State biologist Fern Duvall said a search was conducted Thursday, a day after the two were turned in by a Makawao resident who found them.

The male was about 14 inches long, and the female was 10 to 11 inches long. The carcass of another male veiled chameleon, about 16.5 inches long, was turned in March 13 after it was found on agricultural land about three-quarters of a mile mauka of residential Kaanapali.

Duvall said he is worried the alien reptile, a native of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, could establish itself on the Valley Isle and prey upon endangered native species, including birds and insects.

Duvall said the veiled chameleon has the ability to climb trees and to live in high and low elevations and in wet and dry areas. The reptile, known by the scientific name Chamaeleo calyptratus, can also feed on leaves, flowers and buds.

State officials said the veiled chameleon usually lays between 30 and 95 eggs in a cavity in the ground and can lay clutches of eggs three times a year. Officials said the eggs hatch in about six months. An adult veiled chameleon may grow up to 24 inches.

Instead of horns, both sexes have a casque, a bony shark fin-like shield, on their heads. Their colors vary with the environment, and they usually have stripes across their back.

State officials are reminding the public that people possessing illegal animals, such as reptiles and snakes, may face fines of up to $200,000 and up to three years in jail.

Officials encourage individuals to turn them in under the state Department of Agriculture's amnesty program, which provides immunity from prosecution.

Anyone with information about illegal animals in Hawaii may call 579-2115 on Maui, 973-9538 on Oahu, 639-7544 on Kauai, 565-7430 on Lanai, 553-5236 on Molokai and 961-3299 on the Big Island.