Are there wild chameleons in ny?

Answer 1

The answer is yes! I have lived in New York for 57 years. I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Then moved to Rockville Centre on Long Island in the 1980s. Three years ago I moved to Hempstead and never in my life saw chameleons in this part of the country. Back in May 2012, for the first time ever I saw a chameleon in the parking lot of my apartment building. I thought I was seeing things but I have excellent vision. It was about 3-5 inches in length from head to tail. Then I noticed that in this one area there were at least four. About two weeks later at the other end of the parking lot I noticed 2-3 more. They turn green when on the pavement or on the grass and brown when on the wood.

This past Wed. I was headed in to Manhattan on the Long Island rail road and happen to be looking down while the train was stopped at the Stewart Manor Station and I saw another chameleon crawling over the gravel between the tracks.

I have spoken to a friend in Garden City about this and he has seen them this year as well. Another friend of mine saw a couple chameleons in Valley Stream as well. So at first I thought the ones I saw may have escaped from someones home where they were pets. Now I realize that they have migrated to the area.

I wonder if they can survive the cold of the fall and winter. It will be interesting to see if they return next spring / summer. Perhaps the global warming is a factor in this migration.... all the best, Bruce Loeffert from Hempstead, NY.