help with female melleri care

[houseofchameleons]

I am trying to research the type of care that a female melleri would need in difference than males, I have had only male & never kept a female of any kind. I am thinking of getting another melleri but am leary only because I know female chameleons are a little trickier so what I need to know is what is the difference in supplementaion & husbandry needs. Is there a temp & humididy difference between male & females melleri. How will I be able to tell when& if it is a female what I need to provide as far as egg laying. I am hoping to eventually get a male but want to be prepared in case it turns out to be a female

 

[Carlton]

I am trying to research the type of care that a female melleri would need in difference than males, I have had only male & never kept a female of any kind. I am thinking of getting another melleri but am leary only because I know female chameleons are a little trickier so what I need to know is what is the difference in supplementaion & husbandry needs. Is there a temp & humididy difference between male & females melleri. How will I be able to tell when& if it is a female what I need to provide as far as egg laying. I am hoping to eventually get a male but want to be prepared in case it turns out to be a female

As for temps and humidity not really a difference. Melleri are pretty secretive about their gender and even the experts can't always tell. The only way I've done it is watch when they poop. A male often shows a hemipene briefly.

If you get a wc melleri that turns out to be female there's a good chance she could be gravid. There is some gravid coloration, but a good practice is to weigh her periodically especially if she seems to be gaining weight. Then you'll know if she's carrying eggs earlier. Check the website The Melleri Discovery to read about gravid coloration...it varies a lot.

If you get a young cbb that turns out to be female and she hasn't been around any males, she may not ever start producing eggs. Hard to say.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO, since they are difficult to sex, it would be a good idea to provide a place for the chameleon to dig in the cage just in case its a female.

There's a web site (Melleri Discovery) that has lots of information about mellers...
http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

 

[Jimturner]

Very difficult to sex is an understatement! LOL. I have several mellers... I'm not 100% on their sexes. Sadly, earlier this year I had a one suddenly surprise me with eggs! I interact with my chams daily but didn't even see it coming. I saw no clues, no change in attitude, behaviour or colour. She ate and basked as she always did, right up till she was digging & passing eggs. She later passed from egg laying complications. I now feel alot of her problems stemmed from the fact she was kinda chubby & overweight to begin with, this led to an unnaturally large clutch. In hind sight I've put all my chams on diets... I have found Mellers to be VERY food oriented and will gladly eat themselves sick. As Carlton said, regular weight checks would seem to be a good practice just to keep tabs on them. That would have been my only indication.

 

[houseofchameleons]

female mellleri

thanks for the info & have decided since I have 6 of different species, I willl enjoy them while I have them but will not get anymore

 

[Carlton]

Very difficult to sex is an understatement! LOL. I have several mellers... I'm not 100% on their sexes. Sadly, earlier this year I had a one suddenly surprise me with eggs! I interact with my chams daily but didn't even see it coming. I saw no clues, no change in attitude, behaviour or colour. She ate and basked as she always did, right up till she was digging & passing eggs. She later passed from egg laying complications. I now feel alot of her problems stemmed from the fact she was kinda chubby & overweight to begin with, this led to an unnaturally large clutch. In hind sight I've put all my chams on diets... I have found Mellers to be VERY food oriented and will gladly eat themselves sick. As Carlton said, regular weight checks would seem to be a good practice just to keep tabs on them. That would have been my only indication.

I had a wc female who went through a period of subtle color change. As she was free ranged with a known male I wondered (hoped) if she might be gravid. I set up a full-sized trash can laying bin with lights, plants, a log to burrow under, dithered, worried, watched her, weighed her for weeks. Then her color shifted again and I tore the room apart searching for a clutch of eggs. Never found anything. I think Melleri Discovery has some pics of gravid females but I don't think it is tried and true as there are subtle normal colorations too.