New to Chameleons! And the site.

C

CeaserGirl938

New Member
My name is Danielle and I recently picked up a 6 month old Meller's chameleon from a reptile con and I love him to death already. I just need to meet people who can give me advice on caring for him and such. I also have 1 beta fish, 1 dog, 1 Mojave ball python, 1 African fat tail gecko, and 2 leopard geckos.

Nice to meet you all! ^^
 
Welcome to the world of chameleons. Mellers that you find at Repticon are almost always wild caught animals that need to be acclimated. Mellers chameleons are particularly stressy creatures. You will need a large screen cage-I am assumming the animal you have is a juvie to a young adult. Large cage meaning at minimum 2x2x4 feet, and much larger when the animal is full grown. They require cooler temps then many of the chameleons out there. An amient temp in the low 70's and a basking spot of low 80's. You will need a linear flourescent tube UVB 5.o lamp-Zoomed Reptisun is highly suggested. Make sure you have a digital thermometer so you KNOW what your temps are. Mellers being large chams need sturdy vines and plants to roost on, and live plants are always the way to go with chams. I will try and find a pic of one of my Mellers cages. Do you have a picture of your new guy/gal? Good luck and ask lots of questions.
 
One more initial piece of advice-handle them very, very little while they acclimate, and mist heavily several times of day to rehydrate them.
 
Thanks for all of that! I have him right now in the size cage you said for a juvi. I asked when I was there and he WAS wild caught but they have had him for a while and is actually very acclimated already to the captive environment. He will still take time to readjust to his new home with my boyfriend and I, but so far he seems to be doing well. We've put in some dusted crickets, heavily misted the cage, and plan to get him a live plant tomorrow. Hes already sleeping on one of the vines we got from petsmart and he seems to enjoy just hanging around. I had him on my shirt on the way home and he was really chill just sitting there, not pale or stressed looking at all which was cool.

One thing I am interested in if you can tell me is what different colors appear for. I know they might flare up when stressed or excited or even content but are there any other signs I should watch for. I know how to check for bruising and that him being pale grey colored isn't a good sign. I also checked his eyes before I got him, and they look really healthy.

I'll be taking pics tomorrow if you wana see them!
 
Sounds like you are off to a good start.

This is a happy Mellers:
DSCN7537.jpg


This is not a happy Mellers:
DSCN8112-1.jpg

DSCN8224.jpg
 
Wow, thats a big difference in appearance. My Meller's since it is so young though, doesn't have too much green on him just yet. We saw one that was a month older who was definitly coming into his colors. So how do you tell for a young one? When we had him out, he was a mix between light green and had some white and black spots show up. I'm assuming he was stressed as he was being handled out of the area he was used to but I figured it was better to have him out of a carrier than in one since Meller's don't typically like small spaces from what I''ve heard. Right now though, hes asleep in his cage and his colors are just barely shaded green but he looks content. No black on him like the pics you showed.

What I need to get is a Meller's color chart lol. Flared means such and such, pale means something else. >.< That way I could keep track of his color changes in different situations.
 
Hi! I don't know anything about Meller's but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum!! Good luck with your new addition!!! :)
 
I'm guna just try and see if I can get a good pic of him. He looks like the one in the pics but less green I think? They said hes 6 months old now, should come more into the green at 7 months, and was wild caught a few weeks into his life. All the other ones that were in the cage at the show were siblings of a few different catches.
 
Mellers2.jpg


Mellers1.jpg


Forgive the poo with the cage being in the way kinda. I didn't wana open the door in case the crickets would jump out.

EDIT: I didn't grab a card from that vendor sadly. I wish I had. >.<
 
I would guess around 9 months old to a year. He still looks youngish to me. He is stressed import colors. Keep jhim well watered. You really should not have a bunch of crickets in there with him at night-they could chew on him.
 
Oh, its not a bunch. Just like two or so to see if he was hungry. But my landlord freaks out about bugs in her house so I really couldn't afford to take the chance.
 
CeaserGirl938 said:
Oh, its not a bunch. Just like two or so to see if he was hungry. But my landlord freaks out about bugs in her house so I really couldn't afford to take the chance.
Click to expand...

Couldn't afford to take the chance with what, having bugs in the house? That may pose a problem...
 
I was worried about his stress but we got him a non toxic plant from Lowes that a cham raising friend suggested to me and he loves it. He slept in it all night and he ate all the crickets I put in so weve put in more this morning. Were making sure to mist the cage multiple times a day, but overall I think hes adapting well.
 
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