Confirmed melleri mating!!

[chams1]

YYEEEEESSSSS!!! You guys, I have been waiting a long time for this. I'm sure some of you have seen the recent thread with a picture of my new melleri, Magna Cham and, well, apparently Kevin, Catherine and Sandy were correct. He is totally a boy.

I had Magna Cham in the free range this morning and I thought, what the hay, I'll put Newbie in there, too. She, nor my other female had met Magna Cham yet. (for those of you newcomers, Newbie is my confirmed female Melleri who laid 74 eggs in June and 92 in September but both clutches were infertile...) So, in went Newbie and after only a few minutes of them perched in their respective spots, the flapping began and Magna Cham charged his way to Newbie and she just let him do his thing. And right in front of us!! I totally about cried I was so happy that I finally got to see this. We have been working with the Melleri for a while now and can I tell you what a joy it is to not only have a female that is healthy and does well laying eggs (and a lot of them) but also a male that gets along with her right off the bat.

Magna Cham has yet to meet Fria, but we will save that for tomorrow. He and Newbie are still in the free range and last time I looked in on them, he was flapping at her and she was sporting some pretty receptive colors again. Here are some pics of them mating (I know, it's rude and I needed to leave them alone, but I couldn't help it....).

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Below are pictures of Newbie and Magna Cham post-mate.
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[pssh]

Congrats! I guess 81 eggs.

 

[jessica]

Congratulations!!

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Great news! and it's confirmed So looking forward to updates in the months to come.

 

[Rocky]

Congratulations! Maybe by the time you have babies I will finally be ready for a melleri. I have wanted one for so long we just dont have the room to build a free range at the moment, but I really love them.

I should be moving to a new house after the summer so hopefully I will be able to get something with a separate chameleon room

 

[Syn]

Melleri omelets anyone?

 

[ponders]

Wow Julie, Congrats! What an exciting moment for you. Now the wait for the egglaying and the incubating! Enjoy!

 

[laurie]

Say you should have at least given them time to say Hello. I bet they knew you were waiting, so they took care of business so you would give them some time. Congratulations, good work.

 

[warpdrive]

wow, congrats.

Harry

 

[luevelvet]

This is wonderful!

Luis

 

[chefbill]

Beautiful pictures and congratulations.

 

[Lizardboy76]

Congrats julie, Hope this time you have better luck please let us know how them melleri egs goes.

 

[chams1]

Congrats! I guess 81 eggs.

ha ha ha.... I will let you know how close you come. (although my bet is 84....)

Say you should have at least given them time to say Hello. I bet they knew you were waiting, so they took care of business so you would give them some time. Congratulations, good work.

I know, right? I was expecting a little flapping, as is par for the course when I have introduced a new melleri, but I certainly didn't expect him to go after her with so much gusto!

Thanks guys! I am so excited I can't stand it! I will certainly keep you all apprised of the progress.

 

[Lizardlover]

CONGRATS! Hopefully youll have some little melleri running in the future.

ps. (83)

 

[Julirs]

Oh! I so want to be able to say that someday!

 

[PardalisGirl]

Yippee!

You made my morning! And I'm so jealous at the same time. I want to see some flapping Are you able to take videos of their behavior? I'd love to see that. Maybe I could show it to my group so they could get "inspired". Tee Hee! Congrats

 

[jannb]

Great news! Congrats Julie!!!

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Congratulations! I hope everything goes well for the female

I say 86

 

[chams1]

Oh! I so want to be able to say that someday!

You will, Juli. Just stick with it. It has taken us a long time, lots of space and a few different melleri. This is just the first step, though. I am happy and nervous all at the same time.

You made my morning! And I'm so jealous at the same time. I want to see some flapping Are you able to take videos of their behavior? I'd love to see that. Maybe I could show it to my group so they could get "inspired". Tee Hee! Congrats

I love flapping!! I would love to take videos - I will have to see if I can borrow my daughter's vid. camera. I'll keep you apprised.

Congratulations! I hope everything goes well for the female

I say 86

Yes, me too! Lucky for us, she has already proven to do well laying eggs!


So, Newbie was seeming to be quite annoyed with Magna Cham the following day, so I put her back in her cage and kept him out in the free range. Yesterday late morning, I put Fria in the free range with Magna Cham. It was interesting. They just stared at each other for the longest time and he certainly didn't go towards her like he did with Newbie. There was a little flapping going on, but I think she was just telling him to back off. Later in the day, they jockeyed for position on the highest branch and they had a slight scuffle (no biting or gaping, just Fria nudging him a bit) and that was the extent of their time together. Fria has always been the dominant melleri in our group and she was showing it.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Boxing Matches.......

I don't know it you remember the videos Sandy took of Hercules and Magana having a boxing/slapping session. She had a pretty strong personality too. Maybe she will become more receptive towards him after she makes sure he knows who the real boss is....