Had a mellers given to me over the weekend.

[kearth]

Over the weekend I had a mellers given to me. The table next to me at the reptile show was a "rescue" of sorts. The one kid ended up trading some of the animals they had rehabbed for a mellers that a wholesaler was selling. The teacher knew they had no room for a mellers so she was not happy. The kid had planned on putting it in a 250 gal tank which also houses a veiled chameleon Hence the reason it is now with me.

The mellers spent the day on one of the lights on my table. My best guess is he was trying to keep warm. I did spray him down a few times during the show and he ate a silkworm and a wax worm while he was there.

Now he is home. I talked with a vet who said they dont really see reptiles but can do a fecal if I bring in a specimen. There is another vet a few hours away that stated if I can fax the results of the fecal to him he will prescribe me the meds needed.

Right now he is currently residing in the basement. I have a frog room but it does not have door and I have two cats. I would worry about the cats.

The basement stays about 70ish so I placed a couple heat light and a couple hanging UVB bulbs. In the middle of the room I have him in is a on of those industrial metal rack. I placed every large plant I have down there so he has plenty of places to climb other than the rack.

On the bottom shelf of the rack is also a open tub of crickets and an open tub of dubia roaches so he has access to foor incase he wants to eat.

I have rasied velied and I have pygmies but this is my first big guy. I will be reading as much as I can but any advice is helpful.

 

[luevelvet]

Congratulations on your new adventure! Melleri are an extremely rewarding species to work with. Their personalities alone will you suddenly committing a portion of your home to them, not like you haven't already!

If this one was from a show, it's more than likely that s/he's a WC import and needs some rehab before s/he's 100%. Fecal's are always a great first step to take, along with heavy hydration. To make things easier, I would stick to hand misting for now. Less mess and they're big enough to target water into the sides of their mouths.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Luis

 

[pssh]

www.melleridiscovery.com is a good starting point.

 

[kearth]

www.melleridiscovery.com is a good starting point.

Thank you...I have been reading their web site this morning and some yesterday.

 

[AJA]

There is also a lot of info within this forum. Here is a link to the Melleri Group.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/melleri-group/


Best of luck to your new guy. Can you post photos?

 

[kearth]

HOpefully tonight I can get some picks taken of him.

I have a couple of him from sunday but not realy good ones. I have noticed the one good thing about him being in the frog room in the basment is I can keep the mister/ pump on all day so he can drink when ever he wants. I have caught him drinking a few times. The floor is concrete and has a drain in the middle so the water runs right down.

Thanks for the link to the melleri group. i did not even know they had a group. Thank you.

 

[Carlton]

Poor thing. It was probably doomed without you. Congrats! If yours is a mellow one you just got a really great species. Their general personality can be fairly obvious from day one. However, they take a while to acclimate and a fecal is a good first step to take. I usually get the fecal done, but if nothing is hugely apparent give the cham some time to acclimate, hydrate, and fatten up before putting it through a lot of treatments. Melleri are often very dehydrated when they come to sale, and antiparasitic meds are harder on them in that condition. If a new melleri is eating and drinking well, weight is stable or increasing, it's active and basking normally with no other health issues, the parasite load may not be a big problem for it.

They can do really well in a semi free range like your plant rack. Hang some lights from the ceiling (make sure it can't get too close as they do tend to burn themselves), bring lots of rain, and he may like the space a lot. The more stable humidity level and overall quieter activity of the basement may work well.

 

[kearth]

Thanks Carlton. I hope he is not doomed with me

He does seem very mellow so far but he may still be adjusting. I dropped off the fresh sample this morning on the way to work. So hopefully I will hear something today.

I do have lights down there for him so he can bask and he has a constant supply of bugs and water to hopefully encourage him to eat and drink while no one is around.

The day I brought him home. I noticed one eye would not open. I wiped it gently a few times over the last few days with warm water thinking maybe it was just a stuck shed. This morning his eye is open and bright After he gets all settled in he/ she will go for a full vet check but as of right now my main goal is to get him hydrated and some weight on him.

 

[luevelvet]

It sounds like you're doing everything right! The only thing I would watch out for is the air quality in the basement.

Keep us posted!

Luis

 

[kearth]

The basement is not just a damp basement. We use the basement for a lot of things. We have a meat processing room down there ( not the room he is in). I have a frog room down there.

I grow all my plants down there ( for use with frogs, so all the soil is safe) and they are all in the room he is in.

What should I be watching for for the air quaility? It is not a dark, damp and dusty basement I would not do that to him Just a few days he has been here and I am attached already.

 

[Carlton]

The air quality issue may have more to do with molds or bacteria forming because there isn't as much air exchange and it doesn't really dry out like the rest of the house might.