Update: Rhaegal the Meller

As some of you know, I received a Meller about a week ago. Decided to name him Rhaegal! (Known for one the Khaleesi's dragons from Game of Thrones [The Green One ]) He has been eating and drinking well. Roams, and climbs. Made a few more changes to his enclosure today while he sat on my head. No dark spots seems to be acclimating well. The black rubs and spots he had before seem to be gone (Thank god they had me worried!), below a pick of how he looks now!

My only worry now so far, every time I leave his enclosure open to let him climb out and not be so bored, he almost ALWAYS gets on top of the cage, and goes straight to the lamp. Poor things gonna burn himself! If I put the lamp higher where he cant reach it then I'm worried he wont get the basking temps he needs, at the same time I want him to "Patrol" his area and will soon open a hole in the top to free range his cage when I decide to get a female.

Why is he going to the lamp so much, just to get higher? Or is his basking area not warm enough? Those are what I can only think why he keeps going there.
Also if I decided to go with a female. When would be a good time to get her? Sooner, or Later? I want him to have his little spouse but not if its going to stress him. Repticon is comming to Tampa November, might just wait to see what they have anyways which gives him over a month of acclimating. Or would it be best if I got her right away so they get used to each other?

Your Meller's looks to be good color in your picture, and healthy. It appears your heat bulb is in your cage, it needs to be above the screen. Chameleons will burn themselves, they don't feel the pain. Mellers don't need high temperatures for basking, they are a Montane species.

Your Mellers may be a male or female, they are difficult to sex, so providing a mate in the future would be a gamble.

This chameleon was probably wild-caught which means he/she will need to be treated for parasites, and fecal samples will need to be taken.

Meller's need a LOT of exposure to water to drink, which means you will have to have a dripping system, or better, an automatic misting system which will include a water collection system.

Meller's are a bulky chameleon with a gentle nature, a 2x2x4 cage is too small so free ranging is definitely a good option.

Use the search feature and look up "Meller's" you will find 20 pages of information.

CHEERS!

Nick

Your Meller's looks to be good color in your picture, and healthy. It appears your heat bulb is in your cage, it needs to be above the screen. Chameleons will burn themselves, they don't feel the pain. Mellers don't need high temperatures for basking, they are a Montane species.

Your Mellers may be a male or female, they are difficult to sex, so providing a mate in the future would be a gamble. A second Meller's will require the ability for them to not see each other constantly.

This chameleon was probably wild-caught which means he/she will need to be treated for parasites, and fecal samples will need to be taken.

Meller's need a LOT of exposure to water to drink, which means you will have to have a dripping system, or better, an automatic misting system which will include a water collection system.

Meller's are a bulky chameleon with a gentle nature, a 2x2x4 cage is too small so free ranging is definitely a good option.

Use the search feature and look up "Meller's" you will find lots of information.

CHEERS!

Nick

nick barta said:

Your Meller's looks to be good color in your picture, and healthy. It appears your heat bulb is in your cage, it needs to be above the screen. Chameleons will burn themselves, they don't feel the pain. Mellers don't need high temperatures for basking, they are a Montane species.

Your Mellers may be a male or female, they are difficult to sex, so providing a mate in the future would be a gamble.

This chameleon was probably wild-caught which means he/she will need to be treated for parasites, and fecal samples will need to be taken.

Meller's need a LOT of exposure to water to drink, which means you will have to have a dripping system, or better, an automatic misting system which will include a water collection system.

Meller's are a bulky chameleon with a gentle nature, a 2x2x4 cage is too small so free ranging is definitely a good option.

Use the search feature and look up "Meller's" you will find 20 pages of information.

CHEERS!

Nick

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Thanks for the information nick! I'm still waiting on the GBR's you're sending me and the Pink-Wing testers for him! The lamp is definitely outside the enclosure (but when he gets out cause I let roam, he keeps trying to climb the deep dome lamp and burn himself) and I have read up and down, side to side, all over the melleri discovery site. The cage is okay for his size now but will definitely need to expand to a free range setup very soon I just feel he needs it.

No automated misting system still waiting to get that, but I work from home, so I mist him regularly about 3-4 times a day for atleast 5-10 minutes (usually wont start drinking till 2 minutes in or so), but yes the automated misting system is needed just out of my budget right now.

Really can't wait for the GBR's super excited to let him hunt them down >

bakednowningz said:

Thanks for the information nick! I'm still waiting on the GBR's you're sending me and the Pink-Wing testers for him! The lamp is definitely outside the enclosure (but when he gets out cause I let roam, he keeps trying to climb the deep dome lamp and burn himself) and I have read up and down, side to side, all over the melleri discovery site. The cage is okay for his size now but will definitely need to expand to a free range setup very soon I just feel he needs it.

No automated misting system still waiting to get that, but I work from home, so I mist him regularly about 3-4 times a day for atleast 5-10 minutes (usually wont start drinking till 2 minutes in or so), but yes the automated misting system is needed just out of my budget right now.

Really can't wait for the GBR's super excited to let him hunt them down >

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It could be coincidence that the light is up high and that's where "he" wants to be too. A couple of ideas...either provide him another route over the cage top that avoids the light, or make a hardware cloth cage for the light so he climbs on that instead of the fixture.

Carlton said:

It could be coincidence that the light is up high and that's where "he" wants to be too. A couple of ideas...either provide him another route over the cage top that avoids the light, or make a hardware cloth cage for the light so he climbs on that instead of the fixture.

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Friggin brilliant.... Never thought of doing something like that, he would definitely probly rather climb higher which is just what hes trying to do. Now if I do that, what if he spends all day there, might just because its got better height than his actual cage. I wont have a light up there and worried he'll just wanna hang up there all day instead of his cage which is accommodated with a basking light, UVB, and fogger to keep his habitat humidified. What if he doesn't know better and sits up there and gets sick. How would I monitor how long I should keep him up there before I forcibly go get him down to his enclosure...

Honestly I know my enclosure should be higher, and it's a work in progress~
Looking for a temporary fix that wont stress him or make him sick

Regarding getting a female sooner than later, I recommend getting an automated misting system before getting a new chameleon. This will not only benefit your current cham, but any you get in the future. 5-10 minutes a day is not bad, but from what I've heard from other experienced Melleri owners, 20 minute sessions are ideal. An automated system is a purchase you won't regret. If you have the money for another cham, then I'd think that amount would easily cover a mister instead.

Also waiting for a bit before adding a new female might be good for your current cham. Yours is still acclimating to its new home (which can often take months). A new cham will likely just be a stressor in the near future. Wait a bit and get your guy really settled in and set up well before adding on. Also, I agree with Nick on the vet check.

Your guy looks really nice though! So far so good!

*Edit* I meant 5-10 minutes per session. I see that you do that more than one per day, but was trying to say sessions should go even longer for Melleri.

Most experienced keepers free range setups I have seen are very high in height. Might be a coincidence, but I believe like most species, he is just going upwards. Most seem to travel one way, upwards. Get that automatic mister asap. The one item that should be bought first for mellers. They just drink that much and at their own leisure.

Just here to say that's a great name for your Mellers. My veiled is named Lady Arya.

Yeah I know, so many have told me "You've gotta get that mister!"

I definitely would get it long before I get the female, I couldn't imagine having to mist both of them by hand enough to keep them healthy. I plan to get one on the next check most likely as I've just had no luck finding someone local that will give one up for cheap so I'm going to have to suck it up and buy it brand new.

I'll give the guy a few months and enlarge his enclosure to a free range before I introduce a spouse, sounds good~

(P.S. I know it generally should be for more time while misting, but once I shower him he will start drinking and from that point he lets me directly spray on his mouth for for some serious gulps and he'll usually drink for a few minutes with me doing that then stop, I presume hes had his feel for the time being)

bakednowningz said:

Friggin brilliant.... Never thought of doing something like that, he would definitely probly rather climb higher which is just what hes trying to do. Now if I do that, what if he spends all day there, might just because its got better height than his actual cage. I wont have a light up there and worried he'll just wanna hang up there all day instead of his cage which is accommodated with a basking light, UVB, and fogger to keep his habitat humidified. What if he doesn't know better and sits up there and gets sick. How would I monitor how long I should keep him up there before I forcibly go get him down to his enclosure...

Honestly I know my enclosure should be higher, and it's a work in progress~
Looking for a temporary fix that wont stress him or make him sick

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If you don't have a light higher up you'll have to make sure he does spend time in the cage so he gets his daily UV. If you are going to let him free range most of the time you'll need to hang your lights from the ceiling (that's what I did with my melleri free range) so he gets the benefit. The bigger decision all this is leading to is whether you are going to set up the free range now or later.

Carlton said:

If you don't have a light higher up you'll have to make sure he does spend time in the cage so he gets his daily UV. If you are going to let him free range most of the time you'll need to hang your lights from the ceiling (that's what I did with my melleri free range) so he gets the benefit. The bigger decision all this is leading to is whether you are going to set up the free range now or later.

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You are indeed right...

Why do you think your Meller's is a male? I was under the impression that Meller's were almost impossible to sex visually unless they flashed for you. I also have read that most wild caught Mellers were females because they seem to live in groups with many females and a single male on one bush/tree. I don't know if that is true or not. I thought the only way to sex them accurately (unless you actually saw hemipenes or witnessed a breeding) was DNA sexing with blood and I don't know if anyone does that at the moment.

jajeanpierre said:

Why do you think your Meller's is a male? I was under the impression that Meller's were almost impossible to sex visually unless they flashed for you. I also have read that most wild caught Mellers were females because they seem to live in groups with many females and a single male on one bush/tree. I don't know if that is true or not. I thought the only way to sex them accurately (unless you actually saw hemipenes or witnessed a breeding) was DNA sexing with blood and I don't know if anyone does that at the moment.

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Well I purchased from BackWater Reptiles. I honestly havent the slightest but what they told me when I asked them what sex they sent me. If they didn't know I'd assume theyd be honest and tell me what you told me, but they specifically said they sent me a male. How they know or sexed him/her/it I have no real clue :/

bakednowningz said:

Well I purchased from BackWater Reptiles. I honestly havent the slightest but what they told me when I asked them what sex they sent me. If they didn't know I'd assume theyd be honest and tell me what you told me, but they specifically said they sent me a male. How they know or sexed him/her/it I have no real clue :/

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Why don't you ask them?

I forgot to mention that I thought he looked in fabulous condition. I've seen some pretty battered newly imported Mellers and he looks great.

jajeanpierre said:

Why don't you ask them?

I forgot to mention that I thought he looked in fabulous condition. I've seen some pretty battered newly imported Mellers and he looks great.

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I probly will shoot em an email just to get a better confirmation on how they sex em, and yeah he looks great really! I've seen so many bad unboxing videos and was really worried what I was going to get but overall really satisfied and he looks like hes doing really well only time will tell

bakednowningz said:

I probly will shoot em an email just to get a better confirmation on how they sex em, and yeah he looks great really! I've seen so many bad unboxing videos and was really worried what I was going to get but overall really satisfied and he looks like hes doing really well only time will tell

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I wouldn't bother. Unless someone actually saw "him" evert his hemipenes during defecation or tried to probe him there isn't a reliable way to sex melleri. I don't know if you can safely probe a cham. Maybe the Melleri Discovery website has some other clues to consider. I'd trust that info much more than something from a vendor. Most times vendors will try to tell you what you WANT to hear.

<Contemplates a response>