How much do Mellers eat?

[Miacane]

went to a rep expo today and fell in love with a Mellers. I did not impulse buy! I want to make sure I can care for him first. I will free range as I have a whole room for my chams. So im not worried about space.

The dealer had two and said that I was the only person to be intrested. Said he lives in the area and would most likley have them for the same price.

Big question for me is How much do they EAT!

I read adults eat 4-6 large insects (adult Dubia) a day.

I am thinking of starting a dubia colony to make up for food cost.

Can any one out there let me know what I can expect in food numbers for this guy.


Thanks for the imput as always!

 

[Chameleonmaster]

It's always good to have a variety of food for them, especially bigger food like roaches, adult crickets, mantis, moths, grass hoppers, ect . I don't know how many they would need but I'm guessing around 4-6 depending on how often you feed.

 

[jannb]

My daughter use to keep Melleri and they certainly can put away some food. As mentioned above a good variety of large feeders will be needed and she would feed her adults 6 to 8 large feeders every other day.

 

[thephotoprincess]

They will eat as much as they can! But yes, 6-8 large feeders is a good start. They also need a lot of water so a good drainage system in the free range area is important. This is especially important as they are likely wild caught and probably at least a bit dehydrated.

Are you planning to get both? I've found they do better with another chameleon (or more) around. A free range would provide plenty of room for a couple of them.

 

[Miacane]

Are you planning to get both? I've found they do better with another chameleon (or more) around. A free range would provide plenty of room for a couple of them.[/QUOTE]

Can the Mellers be sexed? Is it ok to put to males together? I am not sure of their sex.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

There is no way on sexing them unless they have eggs or if he flashes you. Like said before they can be housed in groups. There's no way of knowing if they become aggressive until you have them.

 

[pssh]

There isn't really a reliable way to sex them so far. It's mostly if one leaves sperm around, flashes you, or if a female lays eggs, then you know the gender. Or if they mate, the girl is the one on the bottom!

Be careful about keeping them together. Yes, they can be housed together most of the time, but it really depends on the individual. Some just wont tolerate another with them. So, if you get both, they probably will be okay with being housed together, but also be prepared to house them separately if there is an issue.

 

[leedragon]

8 large grasshoper, really nice chams but need alot of space, food water, they do best in free range enclosure

 

[thephotoprincess]

Are you planning to get both? I've found they do better with another chameleon (or more) around. A free range would provide plenty of room for a couple of them.

Can the Mellers be sexed? Is it ok to put to males together? I am not sure of their sex.[/QUOTE]

As said, they are very difficult to sex. When you have a few you can make educated guesses. We keep a dozen melleri. We have an almost room-sized free range and we know we have two males and two females for sure. The other eight we have suspicions on gender ... based on behavior.

When we get them we usually buy in pairs of groups and when we bring them home they are kept quarantined together in an area but can see the others. We have never had a problem with any of them accepting other melleri. Even ones we have brought home that were quite aggressive, calm down in a short time. And they learn from each other - they watch the others hand feeding and take to it easier, they learn where the feeders are and how to get to them, and they all seem to learn to stare at us with sad hungry eyes so we give them treats ... in general they are more like little green puppies.

 

[jannb]

Karen, would you be able to tell the sex with an X-ray?

 

[thephotoprincess]

I believe so. I know some people have used ultrasound as well. It's not something I've ever pursued as I wouldn't put the chameleon through it for no reason other than to know their sex.

 

[jannb]

I believe so. I know some people have used ultrasound as well. It's not something I've ever pursued as I wouldn't put the chameleon through it for no reason other than to know their sex.

Thanks Karen! I thought I had read on here before that someone had their x-rayed and knew the sex for sure.

 

[Miacane]

Thanks for all the great input!

I have decided to wait. I want to have my dubi colony up and running. Set up the area to include a mist king ("need this for all the chams in the room), good drainage system, 4ft T5 reptisun dual bulb fixture. Set up in more expensive than the two Meller.