My CB Melleri - 1 year later

[chrisw]

i bought this CB Melleri from fluxlizard last May. I would guess that he was about 3" snout to vent when I got him last year. see first pic. today i decided to take him out of his cage and get an updated picture. he is an awesome cham, very friendly and very curious. more so than my panthers. I hand feed him and cup feed him but i have never held him in the past year - so today was an adventure for both of us. I was by myself so it wasn't easy. First, all the birds in my yard starting making a racket once I brought him out. Not sure if the racket was because of him or was unrelated but it made him squeeze down close to my arm so getting a good pic was tough. next - his grip strength is pretty amazing and his claws are much larger and sharper than a panther's so my arm now feels like I just held a small cat! Scratches and all. in the first pic he/she is still pretty relaxed but by the second pic he is starting to show some spots which he gets when he is a little stressed. notice that he still has his rostral horn which is a good sign that you have a CB melleri. I am currently keeping he/she in a 4 x 4 x 2 enclosure which I made by joining two 4x2x2 cages that i had and cutting out the screen on one side of each cage. Based on behavior, I think the size seems fine for now but may have to expand eventually. maybe not though. i do not have a good way to keep him outside so he stays indoors year round. I have a pair of Reptisun 5.0 bulbs overhead in a 4 foot fixture and also 3 compact fluorescent light bulbs to keep the plants growing strong. I also keep a 40 watt bulb that he basks under in the morning each day. I mist him with a mist king system that runs about every 90 minutes for a short time with two longer times - one in the morning and one around noon. I have two mistking "heads" for his enclosure, one at each end. This is my first melleri - i would highly recommend one to panther owners especially if you can find a CB. These guys are every bit as sociable as panthers and have less heat/light requirements. I really do not do anything super special for him and he seems to be thriving. my basement is naturally cool which probably works well for montane species but is chilly for my panthers. he prefers mostly crickets and won't really touch superworms or silkworms which my panthers will gobble up. i keep trying though. for all the claims that melleri have to have variety, i find it interesting that he prefers the same dang thing everyday. oh well - would love to hear from other melleri owners as to how they are keeping their chams. Thanks

 

[carol5208]

Looks like you have done an awesome job in raising him so far! He is a beauty!! My cham is just the opposite and won't eat crickets!!

 

[fluxlizard]

Beautiful lizard- well done!

I'm happy he went to such a great home!


I've been thinking of more water next winter also- maybe 3 x 20 min daily. But this week mine are going back outside, so more misting anyway for the summer.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Gorgeous mellers. You & Flux should both be proud. Him for producing and you for raising such a nice healthy example. I like the idea of combining two 4x2 cages to make one big cage. Good idea, and alot easier than building a whole cage.

 

[jessica]

Aww what a cutie!

I have a fluxlizard baby too! I just took her out yesterday and she weighs in at 178 grams! They grow so fast!

 

[laurie]

This is a wonderful post for me. I don't have a meller's but bought one of Flux's for my sister. I keep hearing how great he is but it is nice to see one. Yours looks perfect.

 

[chrisw]

melleri

fluxlizard -
honestly - I'm not sure where to go with water so any advice would be great. i'd trust your experience on this for sure. I do about 2 minutes every 90 minutes but i stop no later than 3:00pm. I also do 15 minutes at 8:00am and 10 minutes at 12:30 or so. When I first got him he seemed to live for the water but not so much anymore. i'm sure that he likes the humidity that the misting brings but I really only see him drinking in the morning and almost never see him drinking after that. Of course, he stays in my basement where the temps stay around 70 degrees (ambient) and a bit warmer under the 40 watt bulb. If he was outside here in Virginia in the summer, he'd probably have very different water requirements. i provide a lot of water because I hear that they want/need it and because my house is pretty dry based on the AC. But honestly - based on observation - i could almost say that I'm giving him too much.

 

[Carlton]

A healthy, well acclimated melleri in the right humidity doesn't need to drink all that much. They do need very careful hydration when they first arrive (especially wcs who've had less than great care), but once they get over all that stress and they don't have any organ damage, they don't need the constant water. People say they need lots of water partly because they drink slowly for a very long time. Keepers who are used to misting for just a few minutes at a time and can reach borderline general humidity levels are caught off guard. If your melleri has a full casque, no eye or shedding problems, no skin tenting, eating well, its fine.

 

[fluxlizard]

Up until now I do 20 minutes 2x per day- 1x around 10am (11? I haven't looked at my timer in a while LOL) another at 6.

I don't see every lizard drinking every time either. But I do see some drinking each time (not necessarily both). I'm considering giving the 3rd misting mid-way between the morning and evening. Just to cool things down a bit spring and fall and add a little more humidity mid-winter. But things have been going OK the past few years with just the 2x per day.

I think you are doing fine the way you are doing it- the lizard looks great.

 

[Carlton]

"He's" beautiful! There is nothing better than seeing an established healthy melleri! I've never had the privilege of a cbb melleri, but the 3 wcs I kept were great. One was fairly surly but the other two were almost friendly. So many come in in pretty bad shape and sometimes never recover fully. It can be very obvious if you get to compare their needs. I kept mine in a free range bedroom instead of a cage. Good job!

 

[chrisw]

Thanks for all of the encouraging words and advice. i appreciate both. Things seem to be going well so far. I will say that a lot of notes on melleri make them seem like they'd be very fragile to keep - but it doesn't seem that way now that i'm doing it. bit less heat - bit more water than panthers. Maybe it's just hard to keep the stressed out wc's alive in the first few months. I had a reptile vet tell me that many of the wc's don't make it past the first 6 weeks because they have already suffered kidney stress due to dehydration and skin punctures because they have been kept in cages with many other melleri which have then crawled all over each other. Skin punctures lead to skin infections which have to watched carefully. don't shy away from the melleri though!

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for all of the encouraging words and advice. i appreciate both. Things seem to be going well so far. I will say that a lot of notes on melleri make them seem like they'd be very fragile to keep - but it doesn't seem that way now that i'm doing it. bit less heat - bit more water than panthers. Maybe it's just hard to keep the stressed out wc's alive in the first few months. I had a reptile vet tell me that many of the wc's don't make it past the first 6 weeks because they have already suffered kidney stress due to dehydration and skin punctures because they have been kept in cages with many other melleri which have then crawled all over each other. Skin punctures lead to skin infections which have to watched carefully. don't shy away from the melleri though!

Considering that few people breed melleri and those who do are careful, it makes all the difference in their health and overall personality (I mean how tolerant they are...some cbs can be just as pissy as wcs just like any other cham species). They've had great care and nutrition from day one, so you see the benefit! Once in a while a wc melleri is lucky enough to be as healthy as a cbb (I've had one like this) and they are a joy. If you have the space, the time and attention to give one they are the best! If you are not prepared they are a nightmare and heartbreaking.

 

[Cainschams]

Great job, Chris!! He is a beauty!!

 

[chrisw]

Agree with you Carlton. not all experiences go bad. In the case of fluxlizard, i think he bred two wc's. so not only are wc's able to be healthy but you can breed them as well. one more word for those who might want to get into melleri. i started this baby in a 4 x 2 x 2 cage where i raised the floor to get to 3 x 2 x 2. After a few months i lowered the floor, then after a few more months i attached the second cage. only point here is that overall cost is important to most people but in this case you could ease into it. start small in year 1, then expand. instead of adding a second cage you could wait almost a year and then build a custom cage or a free range set-up if you have the guts!

 

[chams1]

A healthy, well acclimated melleri in the right humidity doesn't need to drink all that much. They do need very careful hydration when they first arrive (especially wcs who've had less than great care), but once they get over all that stress and they don't have any organ damage, they don't need the constant water. People say they need lots of water partly because they drink slowly for a very long time. Keepers who are used to misting for just a few minutes at a time and can reach borderline general humidity levels are caught off guard. If your melleri has a full casque, no eye or shedding problems, no skin tenting, eating well, its fine.

Very much agreed! Mine don't get the daily water that some people think they need and (if any of you have read any of my threads) you can see that they have thrived, bred, produced, etc. etc. in this environment. Most of the problem when they first arrive comes from either (a) the importer jacking them full of stuff they don't need or (b) figuring out which type of environment they came from to determine their needs, including water intake, etc.

Considering that few people breed melleri and those who do are careful, it makes all the difference in their health and overall personality (I mean how tolerant they are...some cbs can be just as pissy as wcs just like any other cham species). They've had great care and nutrition from day one, so you see the benefit! Once in a while a wc melleri is lucky enough to be as healthy as a cbb (I've had one like this) and they are a joy. If you have the space, the time and attention to give one they are the best! If you are not prepared they are a nightmare and heartbreaking.

Also agrees, Carlton. I have given up much space, time and effort for them and had good success. Many people want one just because they are "cool" but I always caution people on their endeavor. But, if done right and the proper care given, they are, hands down, absolutely my favorite cham.