Melleri 'junk'?

[summoner12]

I heard Henry pooping today.... or farting..... He hasn't pooped in a while just has nice healthy white urates. But, when he goes potty lately he seems gassy.... So I notice. Today I took some pics. I have seen this before but have not been able to catch it on 'film'.

Is this his junk?

It tends to stick out more on both sides of his vent than what I captured with my camera.

He ALWAYS gives me the "WHAT??!??!?!" look when I rush over to watch him when i hear the 'farting' sound. I do not see sperm plugs. What I do see resembles that of my Jackson when I see him poop...... So I assume Henry is a male Melleri?

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Sure looks like a male to me.

How often does he poop? And what does it look like?

In that photo it looks like he is wiping smegma off on the vine. This is very normal.

 

[VerteX]

...He ALWAYS gives me the "WHAT??!??!?!" look when I rush over to watch him when i hear the 'farting' sound....

Stop gutloading crix with beans!

 

[summoner12]

Sure looks like a male to me.

How often does he poop? And what does it look like?

In that photo it looks like he is wiping smegma off on the vine. This is very normal.

He isn't a big eater. He doesn't really poop much right now. He has been eating crickets lately so I am sure something must come out in the next day or two. In the last few weeks hes been eating mostly just HWs. So he hasn't had much poop, just very white urates.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

For a while my hercules would only poop once a week. And the poop was very strange. After Megana joined him, his poops became normal and more regular. I know of at least one other keeper whose male had some minor health issues until he was joined by a female.

Does he retract his "junk" back inside right away?

 

[summoner12]

For a while my hercules would only poop once a week. And the poop was very strange. After Megana joined him, his poops became normal and more regular. I know of at least one other keeper whose male had some minor health issues until he was joined by a female.

Does he retract his "junk" back inside right away?

Yeah he'll see me watching him and he'll pull it back in and move on.

Lately hes been real lethargic. He'll eat one or two HWs every couple of days....

 

[summoner12]

Someone was telling me this might not have been Henry's junk. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Eric Adrignola]

My little CH went, and while going, these poked out, wriggling back and forth, inverting and re-verting back in, back and forth. Sure looked hemipenal to me. Same thing, same color, only smaller - he's young, give'm time.

I don't see what else they could be. There were two of them, one on each side, and they stuck out.

 

[summoner12]

I just get worried cause Henry is SOO fat in the belly and I can't feel a damn thing because of his fat pads around the belly area..... Lenny was thin enough that I could palpitate her belly and feel her eggs... or what I thought were eggs.... even my vet thought she was a he.... or at least not loaded with eggs...... 1.5 months later and she drops like 50 eggs!

I have been thinking... I am am wrong with Henry and he is a she... I need to get her into a laying bin... so I was going to put Henry into a laying bin just to see what happens for a day like I did to Lenny.

I am pretty sure he is just a dude and is LAZY and old. He doesn't move around much anymore. and he has an issue with his front legs. his elbows don't straighten out like Lenny's... dunno if it is old age or a vit. deficiency...

I know his lighting wasn't good for a while and that is all straight now.... I think I just need to keep an eye on him... he eats and drinks just fine.... but I am trying to cut back on his food intake... hes a big boy... and could prolly stand to lose 50-70g

 

[Eric Adrignola]

fat chameleons have lots of issues, being lazy and mushy and slow and unmotivated are common! Ardi could lose some weight, but he's not really fat, just outside of my comfort zone. 20" and nearly 280 grams is a bit high for my tastes.

Do not cut his food entirely, just provide lower calorie stuff. With reptiles, a starvation mode can set in, and the body stores all available nutrients in the internal storage - their internal organs and fat pads. The last thing we want is to exascerbate the problem by giving a fat chameleon an even fattier liver.

I have put several chameleons on diets in the past, and it's not easy. My old male veiled porked up on waxworms for a month, I couldnt' believe how big he got in such a short time. Mealworm beetles were his main course for a few weeks. And not many, either. Right now, I'm tryign to keep Ardi on 1-3 crickets every 3 days, give or take. If he maintaines weight on that, he'll get less..


Oh. Forgot to add the main point. I caught the same CG crapping today. Had a good long look at him while he did it (I know it's not just mine, but melleri fart. None of the chameleons I've EVER had in over 15 years made noises as loud as melleri). The two black things you had in the picture were there, exactly like the pic. They stuck out quite a bit. They HAD to be his hemipenes. I cannot see how they could be anything else.

 

[Pure]

Y'all do realize just how many people are now going to be watching their Melleri crap right?

Too funny!

It would be cool if this turns out to be a way of telling who is a boy. If others notice this as well, who knows. Not the best, but it's something.

 

[summoner12]

Y'all do realize just how many people are now going to be watching their Melleri crap right?

Too funny!

It would be cool if this turns out to be a way of telling who is a boy. If others notice this as well, who knows. Not the best, but it's something.

Well there are not many ways to tell.... so.. if watching them poop is it... then so be it.

I dunno about everyone else but my chams are shy when they take a poop.... so being able to tell from pooping is still gonna be a challenge.