aggiegrad2012
New Member
First off, I am new to the forum as this is my first post! I'm still not sure what everyone's mindset is on wild collection; but I have my reasons that I will address at the end.
To start off the adventure I began my research months in advance in order to hunt down these forest jewels. I got a hold of an extremely nice and cooperative fellow by the name of Joshua Attwood, he helped me through all of the permitting process. I also dealt with Rosemary Tachera, she finished my final permitting process. They both work for the Hawaii dept. of Land and Natural Resources. if you want their contact info I can send it to you via PM.
All of the information that I found on the internet was outdated and most of it wrong. The first rule says that the chameleon has to accompany you in the cabin, but upon talking with josh he told me otherwise. All they have to do is accompany you on the flight out of Hawaii, whether it be carry-on, checked baggage ($100 fee through Alaska), or cargo. Since Alaska airlines only allows the transport of cats and dogs in the cabin to and from Hawaii, the next cheapest option was check baggage. I would recommend that if you truly intend to dedicate a big part of your trip to chameleon collection and transport, try to get a flight with no connections. Or at least a connection with the same airline. I ran into trouble were I changed from Alaska to United. United doesn't allow the transport of animals as checked bags and doesn't allow reptiles in the cabin. The only option for United is cargo (min rate of $189). I traveled with my family and wasn't in charge of the flights so I didn't get to choose the airlines. Also check your state to make sure it is ok to bring the lizards in, fortunately California and Texas both do.
The second rule was that you had to visit the main office on the main island to get the permit. 100% false, I was able to get my permit completely through email without any visit to the main island. Be sure to print several (4+) copies just in case, everyone will want to see it or make a copy. I carried one with me, had a few extras in my pocket, one went in the crate, and another taped to the top of be carrier. Being a maverick at this I wanted to make sure all of my bases were covered.
When I arrived in Hawaii I spoke with the ticketing representatives that I was flying back to the states with. This helped immensely as it dissolved any confusion and helped me with the rules on approved Alaska airlines packaging.
I flew through Alaska Airlines from Kahului International (OGG). Although they hadn't ever seen/dealt with shipping chameleons they were accommodating. Both managers that were on duty made it an easy process. They will need to be checked by the dept. of agriculture (state policy, all checked bags go through a dept. of ag. check) as well as TSA doing a final check on the packaging so be sure to pack your chameleons so they can easily be accessed multiple times. Pictures of their shipping container is below. The container with the two toilet paper rolls was for the gold dust day geckos that I also was able to take back via the same permitting process.
I wanted to not only herp in Hawaii but also collect in order to start my own group. I am not looking to make any money on these guys, just to enjoy the fun and amazing habits of the species. I went through all of the permitting and shipping processes and came back with four jacksons (3 females and 1 male) and 4 gold dust day geckos, per what my permit allowed me to take.
To start off the adventure I began my research months in advance in order to hunt down these forest jewels. I got a hold of an extremely nice and cooperative fellow by the name of Joshua Attwood, he helped me through all of the permitting process. I also dealt with Rosemary Tachera, she finished my final permitting process. They both work for the Hawaii dept. of Land and Natural Resources. if you want their contact info I can send it to you via PM.
All of the information that I found on the internet was outdated and most of it wrong. The first rule says that the chameleon has to accompany you in the cabin, but upon talking with josh he told me otherwise. All they have to do is accompany you on the flight out of Hawaii, whether it be carry-on, checked baggage ($100 fee through Alaska), or cargo. Since Alaska airlines only allows the transport of cats and dogs in the cabin to and from Hawaii, the next cheapest option was check baggage. I would recommend that if you truly intend to dedicate a big part of your trip to chameleon collection and transport, try to get a flight with no connections. Or at least a connection with the same airline. I ran into trouble were I changed from Alaska to United. United doesn't allow the transport of animals as checked bags and doesn't allow reptiles in the cabin. The only option for United is cargo (min rate of $189). I traveled with my family and wasn't in charge of the flights so I didn't get to choose the airlines. Also check your state to make sure it is ok to bring the lizards in, fortunately California and Texas both do.
The second rule was that you had to visit the main office on the main island to get the permit. 100% false, I was able to get my permit completely through email without any visit to the main island. Be sure to print several (4+) copies just in case, everyone will want to see it or make a copy. I carried one with me, had a few extras in my pocket, one went in the crate, and another taped to the top of be carrier. Being a maverick at this I wanted to make sure all of my bases were covered.
When I arrived in Hawaii I spoke with the ticketing representatives that I was flying back to the states with. This helped immensely as it dissolved any confusion and helped me with the rules on approved Alaska airlines packaging.
I flew through Alaska Airlines from Kahului International (OGG). Although they hadn't ever seen/dealt with shipping chameleons they were accommodating. Both managers that were on duty made it an easy process. They will need to be checked by the dept. of agriculture (state policy, all checked bags go through a dept. of ag. check) as well as TSA doing a final check on the packaging so be sure to pack your chameleons so they can easily be accessed multiple times. Pictures of their shipping container is below. The container with the two toilet paper rolls was for the gold dust day geckos that I also was able to take back via the same permitting process.
I wanted to not only herp in Hawaii but also collect in order to start my own group. I am not looking to make any money on these guys, just to enjoy the fun and amazing habits of the species. I went through all of the permitting and shipping processes and came back with four jacksons (3 females and 1 male) and 4 gold dust day geckos, per what my permit allowed me to take.
, It was Route 37, I believe. I found a little park called Kula Park, at an intersection with another road that turns up the mountain. On the uphill side of the road, I walked into an area of low lying bushes. Within 1 minute I spotted a male sitting about 5 feet up on a branch. While holding him, I looked across the open area and found a female on a lower bush about 20 feet away. 
