saw a mellers chameleon......

[Corpsman82]

so this reptile store opened up in town. i was looking around the place and talking to the owner, i was telling him how i just got a panther chameleon and it was too bad he dident have any of em. So the guy says well turn around, then bam right in my face was this big as hell chameleon. He had him/her free rangeing in a couple plants in the store.

so now im thinking about picking him up.

Price: 99.99

Looks: vibrant green with bright yellow stripes.

health. healthy no signs of dehydration. or anything elese wrong.

Age: Adult ( owner dosent know the age he bought him as a adult)

Sex: Owner dosent know

Current set up: Not so good at appearence just had him hanging out in the store no heat lamps, no uvb bulb. (but i dident ask if he does use it at some point, i know i should have) hand misted. 5 times a day.

Food: adult crickets, hand fed or cup fed.

Other: i got to hold him/her, i was very suprised at how stong his/her grip was and how sharp his/her nails where, pretty docile as well. and the owner said he was imported in. and he has him for a week.


what do you guys think? good buy? or stay away? im worried about parasites is there anything i can do about that?

 

[Pure]

If you think you are up to it, go for it. Just read and study the Melleri Discovery site.

A fecal is pretty much mandatory for acclimating WC Melleri.

 

[Corpsman82]

days of our reptile lives forum soap opera....


yea i dont know too much about em. the only things im worried about with keeping the mellers is that id want to keep it free ranging and it seems these guys need a TON of water. and id have to come up with a way to not let it damage my carpet.

that and im new to the chameleon world so im gonna get some more experience with my panther cham before i compulse buy another species that seems more difficult keep. or at the very least im gonna do alot more research on it first.

 

[Versagirl]

if you search around for free ranges alot of members have some amazing free ranges and misting set ups. I would have a free range myself, but have 2 dogs, 2 cats, hedgehogs...basically way too many animals and I dont trust them not to do anything to the cham if he were to start walking around the house.

We've had our meller about a year now, and he/she is just amazing.

 

[Fearaffect]

days of our reptile lives forum soap opera....


yea i dont know too much about em. the only things im worried about with keeping the mellers is that id want to keep it free ranging and it seems these guys need a TON of water. and id have to come up with a way to not let it damage my carpet.

that and im new to the chameleon world so im gonna get some more experience with my panther cham before i compulse buy another species that seems more difficult keep. or at the very least im gonna do alot more research on it first.

Yea, acclimating them does require alot of water......my util. bill goes up 100bucks whenever I get WC Chams. But its well worth it......melleri r such impressive and just plain awesome Chams............I know FL sometimes will have CB melleri....cost is higher, but just the fact your getting well adjusted melleri is worth the expense.

 

[Brad]

...
that and im new to the chameleon world so im gonna get some more experience with my panther cham before i compulse buy another species that seems more difficult keep. or at the very least im gonna do alot more research on it first.

Definitely a good idea.

 

[Corpsman82]

Yea, acclimating them does require alot of water......my util. bill goes up 100bucks whenever I get WC Chams. But its well worth it......melleri r such impressive and just plain awesome Chams............I know FL sometimes will have CB melleri....cost is higher, but just the fact your getting well adjusted melleri is worth the expense.

yea if in the future i decide to go with one ill get a CB and if u think about the expense of takeing WC to vet even if everything checked out all right it could still be more expensive.

Definitely a good idea.

when i saw him in the store i assumed that he would be very much the same as keeping a panther. and i assumed that was a really good deal for a adult. and it seems like they do better in the free range enviro then in a enclosure. and im not ready to take that on just yet

( but i still want him damn it)

 

[Fearaffect]

yea if in the future i decide to go with one ill get a CB and if u think about the expense of takeing WC to vet even if everything checked out all right it could still be more expensive.




when i saw him in the store i assumed that he would be very much the same as keeping a panther. and i assumed that was a really good deal for a adult. and it seems like they do better in the free range enviro then in a enclosure. and im not ready to take that on just yet

( but i still want him damn it)

Give in to your wants man!! Its what makes wanting so much fun!! Especially with Chams!!

 

[Pure]

It really depends on the cham, most Melleri do ok in a cage. Obviously a free range is always a better option and most people can't provide a cage large enough for them. Bare minimum would be a flexarium 6 ft/2ft laid on it's side and lifted up about 6 ft off of the ground.

But even then it really depends on the cham. I have 2 living together in my cage. One the doesn't move most of the day and another who utilizes every square inch of the cage. My cage is built into the corner of my den. It's 8ft tall 8ft across the front, 6ft along the back wall and 4ft on the side wall.

Definitely research their needs before you decide if you feel like you are up to the challenge.

But once they are set up right, and acclimated, they really are not much more work than any other cham. The main thing is to provide them with enough water and a proper diet.