Meller Chameleon
- Thread starter ataraxia
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ataraxia
Avid Member
well the cage is set up. they should have plenty of room now.
cage: 7'x4'x4'
food: three dishes - mealworms, waxworms and crickets
water: r/o with pedialyte habamister and manual spray 3 times
lighting: reptiglo 2.0uvb, reptiglo 5.0uvb and neodymium 60 watt
how do you feed roaches?
cage: 7'x4'x4'
food: three dishes - mealworms, waxworms and crickets
water: r/o with pedialyte habamister and manual spray 3 times
lighting: reptiglo 2.0uvb, reptiglo 5.0uvb and neodymium 60 watt
how do you feed roaches?
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eisentrauti
Avid Member
You don't really buy two WC Trioceros melleri without knowing anything about chams ? ( Where are the guys who think parsoniis should be cheaper ?
)
Please buy a book asap and read the melleri discovery hp carefully !
Edit: Who has sold you them ? So you have the papers for them ?
How do you want to mist them enough with the non-exist drainage ? To give them enough water you need to spray so much that you have water in the hole room !
)Please buy a book asap and read the melleri discovery hp carefully !
Edit: Who has sold you them ? So you have the papers for them ?
How do you want to mist them enough with the non-exist drainage ? To give them enough water you need to spray so much that you have water in the hole room !
chameleon97
New Member
I would get more foliage, and stop using waxworms. (High Fat)
Bugs:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
What do you mean?
-Steve
Bugs:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
What do you mean?
-Steve
eisentrauti
Avid Member
put the roaches in a cup / plastix boxes. The chameleon could shoot them and they couldn't escape...
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
I only use Pedialyte if I have a dehydrated cham who is NOT drinking on its own. If the cham is drinking, nothing but lots of plain water misted or in the shower is safer. If you decide you must give some Pedialyte, do it by dropper once the cham has started drinking and swallowing in response to being sprayed.
luevelvet
Avid Member
Benny,
Anyone can get almost anything here in America. I thought I told you the conditions of the industry here. The only show I haven't seen beat up and maltreated Meller's was Daytona. Both Tampa and Orlando had vendors selling many adult Meller's for very cheap and most looked like they wouldn't last a month or two.
Ataraxia,
It looks like you're trying and that's a good sign. Don't be discouraged but you did happen to pick a not-so-easy species to work with, and two to boot! I do have a few suggestions...
First, Juli is right. I would not mist the Pedialyte. It can and will start to ferment in the mister and will make everything in the cage rather sticky. Even if it's been diluted. Also, Pedialyte requires refrigeration after opening so it's not a good idea to leave it in a warm cage until it's used (or misted).
Second, the drainage will become an issue with your current setup. I truly dig what you've done with the PVC. It's a rather simple and inexpensive means to contstruct larger enclsoure, however, Meller's do require a tremendous amount of water, especially when newly acquired, that water will become a problem with the current setup. Again, I'm not knocking your new cage, rather, just letting you know that you're not done yet.
Most standard ways to provide proper drainage would be to make a solid bottom for the cage, drills holes in the center of the bottom, raise the cage and have an easily accessible and removable bucket (or something similar) under the holes.
I think you're worlds ahead from where you started but you still have a little more work to do.
Good luck,
Luis
Anyone can get almost anything here in America. I thought I told you the conditions of the industry here. The only show I haven't seen beat up and maltreated Meller's was Daytona. Both Tampa and Orlando had vendors selling many adult Meller's for very cheap and most looked like they wouldn't last a month or two.
Ataraxia,
It looks like you're trying and that's a good sign. Don't be discouraged but you did happen to pick a not-so-easy species to work with, and two to boot! I do have a few suggestions...
First, Juli is right. I would not mist the Pedialyte. It can and will start to ferment in the mister and will make everything in the cage rather sticky. Even if it's been diluted. Also, Pedialyte requires refrigeration after opening so it's not a good idea to leave it in a warm cage until it's used (or misted).
Second, the drainage will become an issue with your current setup. I truly dig what you've done with the PVC. It's a rather simple and inexpensive means to contstruct larger enclsoure, however, Meller's do require a tremendous amount of water, especially when newly acquired, that water will become a problem with the current setup. Again, I'm not knocking your new cage, rather, just letting you know that you're not done yet.
Most standard ways to provide proper drainage would be to make a solid bottom for the cage, drills holes in the center of the bottom, raise the cage and have an easily accessible and removable bucket (or something similar) under the holes.
I think you're worlds ahead from where you started but you still have a little more work to do.
Good luck,
Luis
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Good Start....
I agree that you've got a good start. I like the cage frame too. It looks like they have enough room for now. I also agree about forgetting the Pediolyte and working on drainage.
About food......mealworms and wax worms have very little nutritional benefit. These two Melleri are big and need substantial food. Dubia which you can buy from people right here on the forum are outstanding. Easy to gutload and easy to keep. Plenty of people will help you with them if you start a Dubia thread or read the old ones. Crickets are another good staple. Hornworms are great as they get large, are full of hydrating juice, easy to keep in a pod and easier to find than large silkworms.
At some point you need to get fecal exams. Chances are very good that they have some sort of parasite load that may cause future problems. The sooner you become aware of them, the better.
Get some more leafy plants. Ficus and pothos are good. You can get a monster Pothos for not much money and make your own trellis for the vines to climb on. Pothos has excellent surface are for drinking.
Thanks for sharing your new cage. Look forward to seeing more pictures in the future.
I agree that you've got a good start. I like the cage frame too. It looks like they have enough room for now. I also agree about forgetting the Pediolyte and working on drainage.
About food......mealworms and wax worms have very little nutritional benefit. These two Melleri are big and need substantial food. Dubia which you can buy from people right here on the forum are outstanding. Easy to gutload and easy to keep. Plenty of people will help you with them if you start a Dubia thread or read the old ones. Crickets are another good staple. Hornworms are great as they get large, are full of hydrating juice, easy to keep in a pod and easier to find than large silkworms.
At some point you need to get fecal exams. Chances are very good that they have some sort of parasite load that may cause future problems. The sooner you become aware of them, the better.
Get some more leafy plants. Ficus and pothos are good. You can get a monster Pothos for not much money and make your own trellis for the vines to climb on. Pothos has excellent surface are for drinking.
Thanks for sharing your new cage. Look forward to seeing more pictures in the future.
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Forgot about UVB
Almost forgot to ask about UVB. The have to have a source of it. I don't see anything over the cage. A Reptisun tube in an inexpensive fixture would work great.
Almost forgot to ask about UVB. The have to have a source of it. I don't see anything over the cage. A Reptisun tube in an inexpensive fixture would work great.
ataraxia
Avid Member
drainge for the bottom will be easy enough. i have not observed these guys drinking from my manual misting. i have only seen one drink in the shower. thats the reason for the habbamister to aid with my manual misting. also at the moment i have the habbamist directed to mist above the plant. the water runs off right onto the plant with little water on the plastic on the bottom and the plants gets some too! i have not noticed any stickiness but i will stop the pedialyte. i want whats best for these guys. i am new to meller chams and hopedfully with all your support and information these guys will thrive. this was a impulse buy which is not the way to buy. i do have a question. how did you first come to own a meller? i have never seen these with my own two eyes until late. can i also see some of your setups? this would help me see what they like to be surrounded in. thanks again all for the info.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
I saw my first melleri at a dumb pet shop. I don't normally rescue herps from bad shops, and didn't usually go into this one. But, it was starting to snow, I lived outside Denver and needed crix and the shop was near my office. There was a huge, beautiful calm melleri in a tiny tank, pawing at the glass with 2 college kids getting ready to buy "her". From their conversation she was doomed to a fish tank in their living room and to be used as a cool party conversation piece. They were arguing over who would pay what, how many pinkie mice to get, and they had no clue about lighting or anything else. So, I got sneaky, asked a different clerk to get her out so I could handle her and found her calm, in pretty good condition. Just couldn't stand watching her die miserably in the hands of the two students so I bought her right out from under them. So she ended up with a free range bedroom full of potted Ficus trees (and some Kmart fakes which are great) and did really well for years.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
See if this link works. I'm not too savvy about linking things. This is an older article from the Chameleon E-zine.
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.php?page=article&id=60
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.php?page=article&id=60
ataraxia
Avid Member
wow thats a nice set up. i need to get more plants!
carlton did you buy him with the knowledge of mellers?
i got some great news! they dont have parasites!!had a fecal done today and btw holy bomb shells they can poop! kinda funny how they hang to the side of a branch to let it go. i am going to call around indianapolis for some roaches tomorrow. i would love to see them eat. its been 6 days now with no food intake for one and very little for the other. also this is a male and female from what the guy told me. he fed these guys anoles, geckos, pinky mice and large crickets. i am hoping they arent accustomed to live lizards.
carlton did you buy him with the knowledge of mellers?
i got some great news! they dont have parasites!!had a fecal done today and btw holy bomb shells they can poop! kinda funny how they hang to the side of a branch to let it go. i am going to call around indianapolis for some roaches tomorrow. i would love to see them eat. its been 6 days now with no food intake for one and very little for the other. also this is a male and female from what the guy told me. he fed these guys anoles, geckos, pinky mice and large crickets. i am hoping they arent accustomed to live lizards.
eisentrauti
Avid Member
The chances to get WC melleri without many parasites goes to 0. Even if you have now no parasites, feeding anoles and geckos will provide them...
summoner12
Avid Member
The UVB lamp is not sufficient.... at the very least a 5.0 and buy a Zoo Med Reptisun LINEAR tube. If the chams will be some distance from the lamp and with screen I would go with a 10.0
Edit: I would go with a 10.0 looking at the cage you have. it seems they can self regulate pretty well and that there is a lot of room... so more UVB would't hurt them.
off topic of lighting... but have you done fecal tests?
Edit: I would go with a 10.0 looking at the cage you have. it seems they can self regulate pretty well and that there is a lot of room... so more UVB would't hurt them.
off topic of lighting... but have you done fecal tests?
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summoner12
Avid Member
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
I was seriously cringing and imagining this in such detail i felt sick. wow.... 'a cool party conversation piece'.
BTW your free range article was one of the first chameleon related articles I read when doing research on chameleons. My GF brought home the first cham from petco when she worked there... it was up for adoption and had a bad case of MBD... it was on recovery.... We were a bit rough at the start but got things going pretty good... here we are a few years later and we have 8! I will say, your free range was inspiring!
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Joy Leaf
New Member
Keep up the work!!!
Our Mellers Story:
We, like you, bought ours at the reptile show in Jacksonville, FL. I feel bad b/c I do not remember the name of the people who were selling them. They had about 20 Mellers in a single 36x24x36" enclosure. They even had "$100" stickers on some of them. Ours was perched on top of the enclosure and when we walked up, we asked if we could touch them. The guy said "yeah" as soon as Chelsea put her hand out Joy immediately climbed onto her arm. She gave us a "please dont put me back there" look and made no effort to return. We asked the people at the booth how hard they were to keep, "Oh they arent hard at all". So like many we bought her. Joy did not leave Chelsea's arm the entire hour ride home to St Augustine. She had great color the whole way, only showed stress once when one of our daughters reached over to touch her, and immediately calmed back down afterwards. Fortunately we are the kind of people that wanted to know everything we could about her and found Melleridiscovery and this forum. Shes been spoiled ever since She still walks up to Chelsea, crawls up to her shoulder, burries her head in her hair and takes naps in the evening.
Our Mellers Story:
We, like you, bought ours at the reptile show in Jacksonville, FL. I feel bad b/c I do not remember the name of the people who were selling them. They had about 20 Mellers in a single 36x24x36" enclosure. They even had "$100" stickers on some of them. Ours was perched on top of the enclosure and when we walked up, we asked if we could touch them. The guy said "yeah" as soon as Chelsea put her hand out Joy immediately climbed onto her arm. She gave us a "please dont put me back there" look and made no effort to return. We asked the people at the booth how hard they were to keep, "Oh they arent hard at all". So like many we bought her. Joy did not leave Chelsea's arm the entire hour ride home to St Augustine. She had great color the whole way, only showed stress once when one of our daughters reached over to touch her, and immediately calmed back down afterwards. Fortunately we are the kind of people that wanted to know everything we could about her and found Melleridiscovery and this forum. Shes been spoiled ever since
She still walks up to Chelsea, crawls up to her shoulder, burries her head in her hair and takes naps in the evening.
