Meller Chameleon

[ataraxia]

Hi, I recently went to a reptile show and did something i know i shouldnt have done without doing some research before buying. I bought two meller chameleon's. I could not resist these beautiful guys. i ask the guy selling these how hard they are to keep. he replied not hard. well from what i have read "melleridiscovery.com" these cham's are a very sensitive. so i now have had them for four days and have handled them once to move them to the new cage "they are very tame and very willing to climb off a branch to your arm". I have observed one eat 3 large meal worms and this guy is somewhat active. the second one i have not seen eat and he also does not move much. the cage and cham's are misted with R/O water and pedialyte 3 times a day. they have a day light 60 watt neodymium light perched at a angle on the cage so the fixture is not directly sitting on the cage and a black light warmth light for the night. they are in a large parrot cage 36"x36"x24 with many vines and fake foliage. i do plan on buying some real plants but hopefully they will be happy with this for now. i have read to rain chamber which i plan on doing tonight. anyone have any helpful suggestions on these guys? please any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AJA]

Check out this website for lots of good information.

http://www.melleridiscovery.com

 

[Fearaffect]

Lots of water and food.......get a vet check. When I hydrate new WC, the area around them turns into a bog.....u literally sink into the ground its so saturated with water. They also love the sun. The melleri that I had basked for long periods b4 going into the shade.

 

[AJA]

Be sure they are DRINKING the water.

 

[toddmkeller]

That cage is too small to house one melleri in (let alone two), even as sub adults. Two adult melleri should be in something no smaller that 6x6x2 and that is very small. These are big lizards who require a big space, large limbs for perches, and LOTS of water. I have my two subadult Melleri in a 10x3x8 free range.

See ya,

Todd

 

[Fearaffect]

That cage is too small to house one melleri in (let alone two), even as sub adults. Two adult melleri should be in something no smaller that 6x6x2 and that is very small. These are big lizards who require a big space, large limbs for perches, and LOTS of water. I have my two subadult Melleri in a 10x3x8 free range.

See ya,

Todd

Dang Todd, u charging them space rent??!!

 

[Joy Leaf]

No need for a night light at all. Your cage is pretty small for one melleri, let alone 2. You need to get the fake foliage out as soon as possible. Mellers enjoy taking a bite out of plants every now and then, and they will try to on the fake ones which can lead to digestive blockages. Like Fear said, find an experienced cham vet near you and get a check up and fecal test. Plus its good to get a weight on each animal so you can keep track of their progress.

 

[toddmkeller]

Dang Todd, u charging them space rent??!!

We share a bedroom. You aren't a true cham keeper until you free range chams in your own bedroom. Keep that in mind LOL.

See ya,

Todd

PS. My bedroom is also my montane room. It was 55 deg in here last night with 90 percent humidity. Maybe im crazy

 

[beeze]

We share a bedroom. You aren't a true cham keeper until you free range chams in your own bedroom. Keep that in mind LOL.

See ya,

Todd

PS. My bedroom is also my montane room. It was 55 deg in here last night with 90 percent humidity. Maybe im crazy

Todd; You are a true cham keeper!

 

[Fearaffect]

Todd's the uberchamkeeper!!

I free range my Carpets in my main bathroom....does that count??

And my bedroom doesnt have a bed to make room for all the caging.......I sleep on a chair....now thats love for your Chams!!

 

[Joy Leaf]

Ours are housed in our master bedroom. A free range is in planning stages now and will take up most of a wall in the bedroom. We cant wait

 

[ataraxia]

haha...if by gods will these live i might designate a room to them. im sure my eclectus parrots wont mind me using theirs i do on the other hand have a 8'x4'x4' cage (i can stand in it). what plants do you guys recommend? could i also see pictures of your setups and chams? what do you feed your chams and how do you feed it to them (dish, tweezers, free roaming)? do you have places to put food high? when oo they like to eat?sorry for ignorant questions. ive never been able to observe these guys before.

 

[nick barta]

The larger cage would be good for them, sooner than later. If you live in sunny parts of the world, the best thing to do is put it outside, cover part of it with a blanket ot towel, so they always have a non-sun area to go to. Build feeders from plastic milk cartons (search "milk carton feeder" on the Forum), I would put 2-3 under their favorite perches.

I assume the big cage is a bird cage, and bugs will escape unless container fed? Either way, make food easy for them.

You can put a plant/branch in your shower to really hydrate them in tepid water, for as long as they stay in the mist.

Pathos can be hung from the top, and will fill in your cage faster than any other plant. Scheffelera will give you dense coverage, ficus will give you branches, although your guys need larger branches to grip. To avoid buying expensive 8 foot plants, you can place the plants on shelves attatched to the side, or stools placed in the cage. You need LOTS of horizontal branches for Mellers.

Be sure to plan how you are going to handle the water run-off!

You might want to contact Paradalisgirl, she has just set up a free-range for a small herd of Mellers!

Good cham keeping to you.

Nick

 

[lisa h]

we share a bedroom. You aren't a true cham keeper until you free range chams in your own bedroom. Keep that in mind lol.

See ya,

todd

ps. My bedroom is also my montane room. It was 55 deg in here last night with 90 percent humidity. Maybe im crazy

maybe?!?!?!

 

[summoner12]

I would seperate the two and get them checked out for parasites. Who did you buy from? What show?

 

[PardalisGirl]

Uvb?

I'm not seeing any source of UVB in the pictures.....Do you have one? They need some UVB for health. I agree that they need a larger cage. They look quite thin and will need lots of attention to water intake and food quality. Superworms are good for a treat but not a staple. Dubia roaches, hornworms and crickets are good staples. They love the Dubias......

 

[Pure]

i might designate a room to them. im sure my eclectus parrots wont mind me using theirs

Birds are a natural predator to chams. Check to see how your Melleri respond to your parrots before making any permanent plans for a cage or free range in a room with birds in it.

 

[chams1]

Birds are a natural predator to chams. Check to see how your Melleri respond to your parrots before making any permanent plans for a cage or free range in a room with birds in it.

Agreed. The less stress for them, the better.

 

[summoner12]

My big boy Henry FREAKS when he sees a bird.... A crow flew overhead when I had him outside and he flattened out soooo fast. The exhale of air scared me it was so abrupt.

 

[ataraxia]

just got home from work! thank you for all the replies of help. i really want to give these guys the best care i can. i have a reptiglo 2.0 uvb at the moment. i am eatting some dinner and going to go buy a reptiglo 5.0 uvb and setting up the larger cage. lastnight i put them on a artificial tree in the bathroom and aimed the shower head on the wall with luke warm water misting on them. the one i was first worried about that has not taken any food licked water for atleast 20 minutes *this brought a smile to my face. hoping he is now ready for some food. the other has taken some food but did not drink in the bath. after 30 mintues i took the first one out.i then left the second one in for about 25 minutes longer, checking in on him every 2-5 minutes and did not observe him drinking at all. it looked like he fell asleep :/ when should i try again with him? they have more then just mealworms in the cage. i released waxworms on the leaves and vines. i have a bowl of crickets at the bottom along with another bowl of large mealworms *going to order some roaches. i have been looking all over for some silkworms!! anyone know where i can get some? im going to also check around for some plants while im out. ill update with some pics of the new enviroment. its crazy how much space these guys need for as little as i have watched them move "literally neither have moved more than 1' ". maybe the larger cage will spike them up.