Meller going to floor?

[snipeusa14]

i have a meller that i THINK is a female i dont know because i havnt seen any hemipenis but she/he has been going to the bottum of the cage ever since i got him/her should i put in a laying bin?

EDIT:How old is this melleri? id say more than 11 months
How hot are the temps in the cage? 80-87
How big is the cage? its the large size from the repti breeze cages
How long have you had him/her?
for about 3 weeks

 

[summoner12]

How old is this melleri?
How hot are the temps in the cage?
How big is the cage?
How long have you had him/her?

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO its important to have an appropriate container in the cage of any egglaying chameleon once its sexually mature.

 

[summoner12]

The cage is too hot. 85 should be the high you see at teh top and the bottom should be cooler temps, no more than 80. if the room temp is higher than 80, you need to bring it down useinng AC or a swamp cooler or something.

in the photo he/she looks super stressed. climbing on the cage and walking on the ground are stress. You need to be sure he is up high, low traffic, no animals in the room and no handling is going on. he is also most likely annoyed with how small the cage is. I keep a couple of melleri in 2x2x4 cages..... they don't like it ALL that much, but don't show signs of stress. One is at the size of being taken out and the other... he needs a solitairy cage because he/she is a tale biter.

Why do you think he is 11 months? is he a CB/CH animal, or a wild caught?

3 weeks is another indication that his behavior is from stress.

I would consider getting a larger cage. Maybe buy another similar sized cage and remove one side from each so that you can join the two cages together as one. Or, if you can, free range him. but research like mad before you free range. making sure the melleri gets all he needs is the key to making him not wander and making him happy.

 

[ataraxia]

learn from summoner. he knows his melleri.

hydration hydration hydration hydration...mine took on average about 2-5 minutes of being misted before they will start to drink. i recommend a misting system with drainage. another option is to give the chameleon a shower chamber.

your chameleon is also more than likely wild caught. this is the most important thing of all. you need a fecal done ASAP. dont put this off.

keys to success with a w/c melleri

1. fecal done ASAP and treat parasites
2. LOTS and lots of water
3. large prey items (dubia roaches, silkworms, hornworms)
4. large cage..free range is the easiest thing to do.
5. proper temps and lighting

 

[snipeusa14]

that pic was from the first day i got him/her now he/she is doing fine non stressed colors always yellow and green hand/cup feeding drinking like a monster the only thing that worries me is going down to the floor does this possibly mean she(if it is a she) wants to lay eggs?

 

[snipeusa14]

The cage is too hot. 85 should be the high you see at teh top and the bottom should be cooler temps, no more than 80. if the room temp is higher than 80, you need to bring it down useinng AC or a swamp cooler or something.

in the photo he/she looks super stressed. climbing on the cage and walking on the ground are stress. You need to be sure he is up high, low traffic, no animals in the room and no handling is going on. he is also most likely annoyed with how small the cage is. I keep a couple of melleri in 2x2x4 cages..... they don't like it ALL that much, but don't show signs of stress. One is at the size of being taken out and the other... he needs a solitairy cage because he/she is a tale biter.

Why do you think he is 11 months? is he a CB/CH animal, or a wild caught?

3 weeks is another indication that his behavior is from stress.

I would consider getting a larger cage. Maybe buy another similar sized cage and remove one side from each so that you can join the two cages together as one. Or, if you can, free range him. but research like mad before you free range. making sure the melleri gets all he needs is the key to making him not wander and making him happy.

how old do you think he/she is? i was just making a guestimation i got him from LLLreptile at daytona i dont know if he/she is WC or cb/ch

 

[chams1]

First thing I would do (mandatory if you're going to keep this type of cham) is get it a bigger cage. Way bigger, if not free range. As many as I have, I do not free range unless I am home (geez, I would have them running all over the place if I free ranged while I was not at home) and while I'm at work, they are in LARGE cages, as in the biggest parrot cage, etc. Something with bigger bars like that works better than screen. They are so large and heavy that it is hard on their feet/claws with the screen. I have posted on putting together a proper LARGE cage for melleri.

 

[snipeusa14]

Make link to this post please? I'm thinking of making a freerange or adding to the temporary on I alrdy have so I'm making room today lol thanks for the advice guys

How big do they get or the biggest you've seen?

Also to this day he has been eating drinking water Alot he LOVES silk worms crix and roaches(dubia of course)

 

[chams1]

Here is one of the threads:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/melleri-enclosure-42467/

Be careful when acclimating him/her. Give them their space and leave them alone. While they are a social species, acclimation can be hard on them.

The largest one I have had was a solid 600 grams. IMO and from my own experience, my females have tended to be bigger than the males, although my biggest male was pushing 575-600 grams. A good average size for a full-grown adult is around 550 grams.

 

[snipeusa14]

Quik update on this thread and thanks to all who helped me the melleri is doing realy good it's SO FRIENDLY! he/she is drinking eating and playing around in it's freerange that I just started yesterday I'll post a pick of it when I get home,as for the mist system....havnt got it yet but saving for it! also planning on adding to the free range later on in the year

Thank you for all your help!
Chris