New Melleri: Sam and Alex

[summoner12]

This weekend at the NARBC show in Anaheim I acquired two melleri. Both are WC . One is a bit beat up compared to the other. Sam is an adult and Alex is a juvenile. We went with ambiguous names as is our tradition since we don't know the sex of them.

I don't have many pics of Alex yet... but keep in mind these guys are pretty new to the country and obviously new to me. I hope to turn them around and get them into great shape.

Sam:

Right out of a 20-30 minute shower, he was drinking like a fish and then stopped and was just sitting on the perch in the shower... so I moved him outside...

Tonight after I got home from work and was checking in.

Sam was gaping at me every now and then... so I tossed a couple of worms in his mouth. He couldn't manage to keep the silkworm in his mouth, he kept dropping it.

I think Melleri feet are neat... real long and lanky, huge claws.... and do they leave a mark! and yes, that vine is too small for his feet...

I added some soaker hose that Elisa (Chamelisa) gave me. So he has something big and thick to roost on. While I was moving vines around I took him out and placed him on the door of the cage. He seemed happy to finally be on something as long as his body so he could stretch out.

the camera angle is weird... but i was getting 9" STV and his tail was 11"

So since Sam pooped on the way home from the show I was able to take the sample to Dave Weldon's house to get a look at what kind of parasites we might have to deal with. This is what we found...

This is a video of some swimmers from the smear.



And here is an egg from a float. Dave is moving the focal plane so you can see the different depths of the egg in focus.



After I got home from Dave's I found this on the floor of Sam's cage... looks like he threw up... which isn't a good sign.. but might not be a bid deal... Lenny did this to me when she was still kinda new and she is doing great.

 

[summoner12]

Continued....

Here is Alex right out of the box and into the cage.

and here he is today being shy.

I don't have a lot of pics of Alex because he is shy and not needing as much attention. I will get some more of both chams as I have them out and about.

I need to get weights on them soon and track the progress.

 

[Vampire.queen]

They both look lovely. Good luck with them!

 

[Miss Lily]

Aww! They look lovely! I love the pic of Sam lying on the cage door! Hope all goes well for you with these guys, they are beautiful!

 

[reptimom]

Congrats and good luck with your new crew!!

 

[jannb]

Congrats Kevin and the very best of luck for your new guys!!!!

 

[laurie]

Kevin I think they will work into your group nicely. Both look like they will be good with a little tlc which you are good at. Soon you might have a group of melleri do you think? The new melleri breeder on the forum, congrats
BTW I count 12 Chams!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[summoner12]

Kevin I think they will work into your group nicely. Both look like they will be good with a little tlc which you are good at. Soon you might have a group of melleri do you think? The new melleri breeder on the forum, congrats
BTW I count 12 Chams!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL yes... it is 12... and counting... more eggs are sweating.

I hope to be lucky enough to breed these guys. Of course I have no idea but I think Sam is a boy. This isn't an indicator of his sex... but maybe the friendship I hope to see... Lenny was reaching for his cage and stuff when I took her outside to see Sam and Alex. She was very mildly spotted, which is normal for when she is being moved around. She was a very pretty green for Sam and didn't give the "OH SH**! Who are you?!" look. Sam was shy and sorta hid a bit... but he seemed to calm down. when I see they both have clean fecals they can hang out together.

 

[Fearaffect]

Get them out into the sun, will do wonders for them!! I basically hydrated the 2 that I got for an hour staight outside and let them bask in the sun....they loved it. Started feeding them 2 days after I got them so they'd be nice and hungry.....in case I had to put the Reptaid in the feeder insect.

 

[luevelvet]

Hey Kevin,

Something's telling me that Sam is a girl and Alex is a boy. Maybe that's who Lenny responded to when you presented her to the new ones.

Either way, they're in good hands. Good luck!

Luis

 

[Pure]

Nice!!

Actually I'm impressed with the fullness of the tail and legs on these guys. Very nice WCs Kev.

 

[luckykarma]

Way to go Kevin. Our own SBCK Melleri Experience man.

 

[summoner12]

More pics

OK... so I got some pics of Alex.

He looks to be in pretty decent shape. He has good grip and some OK fat pads. He does seem kinda light weight to me though.. only 176.7g.

Henry being shy.....

Henry being... well... unhappy?

Pat trying to keep a cool face... unhappy another melleri is bothering him

Lenny, Chris and Alex.

Lenny seems to be more friendly than everyone else... well other than chris, but he is too runty to be mean.

Headed back home for the night after his tour.

 

[luckykarma]

Its amazing the health difference in your well cared for Melleri and the WC. Look forward to seeing their color improve and mass improve.

 

[Joy Leaf]

I agree the color difference is staggering! I'd love to get your feeder/supplement schedule for your Melleri and compare it to my own.

 

[summoner12]

Honestly! Cricket Crack!

I am not just tooting Steve's horn when I saw cricket crack makes crickets and chams healthier. When I open a fresh box of crickets from Mulberry or Rainbow. The crickets can NOT jump out of the cup... most just sit there. Then I dump in some cricket crack. By the next feeding the crickets are able to clear the top of the deli cup. This is one of those tall cups.

As far as feeding schedule. I don't have a set schedule for when I feed or what or even the supplements. I try to mix it up. Generally I follow the 'don't feed on Mon., Wed. or Friday' "rule". On the weekends I feed lightly and on Tue. and Thur. I feed a little more... depending. But that is a general rule and not followed for every cham. For instance Henry gets a superworm once a day, if I happen to go by the superworm bin and he is watching. Everyone loves supers... So some feeding days they all might get two or three. I have lots of different feeders as well. They are all 'staples' since I almost ALWAYS have them all, all the time. I keep butters, supers, silks, and crickets on hand almost all of the time. HWs are kinda an on off thing because mulberry is having issues as of late. As for the dusting and suplements. I almost always have calcium in the cup I shake the crickets into. I then add the vitamin dust every now and then and I do D3 at random. I keep an eye on my UVB with my meter... so I don't freak TOO much about the D3. But still I do use it.

Bottom line. Cricket crack and random-ness