Melleri acting funny

[chefbill]

The other day I was feeding Mel and letting my 7 year old boy feed him/her a superworm then we were watching Mel eat from the bowl about 12 - 15 inches tongue shot when he just got really bright and puffy and started rocking back and forth and flapping. He just about doubled in size no black spots though. I thought it was the fact my son was sitting on my lap and Mel is just used to me. I left for three days and my wife was taking care of Mel while I was gone and I was worried because no poop for 5 days but I was medicating for parasites and had just finished a weeks worth of daily doses. He pooped while I was gone but the wife does not know what to look for so when I got home I was doing inventory of everybody to see how they were all doing and could not find one of the crested geckos. Went looking in the morning still no crested, started to take care of Mel when I went to spray the crested was in Mels cage drinking from the dripper on the big branch. He had obviously been there for a week when Mel got all puffy. Got him back were he belonged.

 

[jpm995]

Thats funny, suprised he didnt try to eat the gecko. i guess he's not big on having company.

 

[laurie]

Well the good part is that Mel was not upset by your son. Chameleons are just not happy if their world is invaded.

 

[summoner12]

Did your wife said mel ate while you were gone? sometimes they go off feed if they aren't used to the person feeding them. All of my melleri hand feed..... so if it's someone new I imagine they might not want to eat. They are used to my GF and myself because we switch off who feeds them to they remember us lol.

if mel isn't used to seeing your son he might have been reacting to him. but it could have just been the gecko.

 

[chefbill]

He still ate he gets some hand fed and some bowl fed the bowl is almost always empty

 

[chefbill]

The crested is pretty good sized too big to fit in Mels mouth

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I still think that crested lives a blessed life. He should have been a cham dinner item. lol Is Mel an adult? I know adult Mellers can take pinkies. He's prob well fed and didnt want to have to exert that much effort to catch the gecko.

 

[chefbill]

Been told by a couple of the experts hes just a juvi weighs about 355 grams. Did not seem to effect him much having the company. I keep good tabs on him with watering twice daily making sure he eats and poops regular with the parasite treatments seem to change his eating and pooping habits. He is now parasite free and 90 days in my care. Mel requires more care than any of the others thats for sure. Would not have done any different did not know what I was getting into when I bought him. Had a veiled and other chams before but Melleri are different worth every bit of time. Working on free range and adding a few more the wife is not so keen on the whole free range idea. Already have a whole wall of reptiles and working on sneaking in one of those baby mellleri in the other post. Going to have to rearrange to fit a couple of cages more on the wall. I also would like to get a Panther not sure which breed yet.

 

[summoner12]

Meller juvis aren't 355 grams..... unless seriously over weight. How long his he snout to vent? are his legs skinny looking? is the skin loose on his bones? if they are full formed legs... like... the skin is tight, he is over weight.

About the watering twice a day, he should have more opertunities to drink. Melleri drink a lot of water and should get the chance to drink quite often.

What kind of parasites were you treating and what kind of meds were you using?

 

[draetish]

Meller juvis aren't 355 grams..... unless seriously over weight. How long his he snout to vent? are his legs skinny looking? is the skin loose on his bones? if they are full formed legs... like... the skin is tight, he is over weight.

About the watering twice a day, he should have more opertunities to drink. Melleri drink a lot of water and should get the chance to drink quite often.

What kind of parasites were you treating and what kind of meds were you using?

Excellent observation and very critical that Chefbill respond, as he said "Mel requires more care than any of the others thats for sure. Would not have done any different did not know what I was getting into when I bought him". I'm not trying to be offensive Chefbill, but I learned the hard way and lost a Melleri and they are very different and sensitive. Here is a good website to study: http://www.melleridiscovery.com/
I wish I knew about this website before it was too late.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I knew they were a little more work than a panther i am glad you have all commented on this. I was contemplating getting one but I think it may be a while after hearing these observations. I still want one more pair of falys first.
And a pair of Sambavas.

 

[draetish]

I knew they were a little more work than a panther i am glad you have all commented on this. I was contemplating getting one but I think it may be a while after hearing these observations. I still want one more pair of falys first.
And a pair of Sambavas.

Yes they are more work, but well worth it. They have so much personality and they get big. Lola my melleri was nicknamed "The Big Scary Green Monster" but she was the most gentle, sweetist, laid back cham. Once you educate yourself about them they are really not that much work. The main thing is knowing the signs to watch for and catching problems early. Also, they are more sensitive to certain medications than veileds or panthers. IMO

 

[chefbill]

I read every bit of the Melleri discovery website the reptile channel alsso had some good stuff.Also have a dripper going at all times and he is 9 1/4 inches to vent legs are skinny but not loose anymore. The vet said what the parasites were both eggs and larve along with a bacteria issue. Got a dose of Panacur then 5 days of Flagyl and a second dose of Panacur14 days later to get hatched parasites. How much should Mel weigh? Using a kitchen scale to weigh put him in a cricket keeper on the scale zeroed out. How much do your melleri weigh? Mel does not like being handled so I try not to stress him out by messin with him as read by Summoners posts who gives good info to Melleri owners.

 

[draetish]

Lola weighed 336 grams and was 10: SVL (snout to vent) and she was about 2 yrs old. Maybe Mel is older than they said. Panacur is good for parasites and destroys the bad bacteria as well as the good bacteria. Here is a good website and I have used NutriBac df http://www.reptileuv.com/what-are-probiotics.php after my panther was given Panacur. Maybe you could get a kitchen scale and wait for Mel to go to sleep and weigh him. Cover him so he remains calm and sleepy or do it when it's dark. That would keep the stress down.

 

[summoner12]

There is a good thread in the melleri group forum that tracks the captive hatched melleri from two years ago... I don't think anyone has really been updating... we should resurect it....

To weigh my guys I just handle them on their terms.... meaning i don't grab them I just let them ride on my hand just above my head.... they relax a LOT more when they are up higher than your head. Some of mine handle WAY better than others.... Lenny would have to be the easiest. she is pretty easy going when I need to handle her. she spots up a little bit but she doesn't claw at me or fight me. One time she went to sleep on my hand..... well it was a bit dark, but rather than run around in the dark she just nestled up and went to sleep

As far as weights... for 9" I think 330 is about right. I guess it seems heavy but it isn't THAT bad. Henry is total length 22.5" and he weighs 633 last time I had him on the scale. He is over weight.... but I have him on a diet... and been working with his light more and more and he does a lot more 'working out' with the better lights. As you can see he is NOT happy to be on the scale. Henry is one of those 'don't freakin touch me!!' types. for his size he is the biggest baby of the melleri I have. he is super duper shy of the other melleri even though he could prolly crush them.

That photo doesn't show his size at allllll....

 

[summoner12]

I have found two or three treatments in a row... one each day for day and then nothing for a week and then a repeat of the first treatments, can knock down the parasites Panacur treats, pretty well. I did not notice any ill effects in the chams from this. The dose is .01ml for each 100gs the cham weighs. Panacur is hard to OD on... which is why I don't feel uneasy with three treatments in a row. You need to make sure that the dosage is given with a couple of large food items.

Disclaimer: this has worked for me.... it might not work for you. so before anyone jumps on my back, again, it is something that has worked for me and my melleri.