think about melleri

[pwerfulyifu]

im thinking about getting a mellers. and im hoping any mellers owners or anyone with knowledge could share their experience. i wish to know more about their temperament, their husbandry, minimum recommended cage size. good places to buy them (since FLchams is always sold out...) also, it is said that its really hard to determine the gender of mellers and i was hoping to get a male. so yeah, any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[wendyeeeo]

Melleri guru

im thinking about getting a mellers. and im hoping any mellers owners or anyone with knowledge could share their experience. i wish to know more about their temperament, their husbandry, minimum recommended cage size. good places to buy them (since FLchams is always sold out...) also, it is said that its really hard to determine the gender of mellers and i was hoping to get a male. so yeah, any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

You should talk to "The Photo Princess" on the forum. She and her husband have several Melleri!

 

[jannb]

You should talk to "The Photo Princess" on the forum. She and her husband have several Melleri!

Wendy gave you an excellent suggestion. You can also check out the Melleri Discovery. http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

 

[pwerfulyifu]

i have read a couple of general care sheets for them. what i was hoping for was more of a compare and contrast in husbandry with more common species like panthers and veileds. and more importantly personal experience with them, like their temperament and handling.

 

[Carlton]

i have read a couple of general care sheets for them. what i was hoping for was more of a compare and contrast in husbandry with more common species like panthers and veileds. and more importantly personal experience with them, like their temperament and handling.

Melleri are really quite different in their space requirements and they will need lots of water daily, lots of larger food items compared to a veiled or panther. They are strong and heavy, so will need larger sturdy trees or shrubs in their space. Even the typical Schefflera will get damaged if that's all you have for climbing. I used Ficus alli trees and any of these plants large enough won't be cheap. Sometimes you can score a big overgrown houseplant at a moving sale. Also, you can add to their habitat by using larger fake Ficus trees with real tree branches to connect them. If you really want a melleri be prepared to give them a large living space in your home, not just one additional cage next to other animals you happen to have. They deserve this at least. Personally, I won't keep another melleri unless it is free ranged. Mine were so much happier (well, contented and healthy) that way. Some refuse to adapt to cages, others seem OK with it. Other than that, they need the same basic things like basking light, UV light, humidity cycles, live trees and shrubs, and correct dusting and gutloading feeders. In terms of handling and temperment, they are just as individual as any other cham species. Nice ones are almost a social pet, stressy ones can be terribly shy, and nasty reactive ones can be vicious. Some of the extremes are simply due to their larger size and strength. For example, a good bite from a melleri can blacken your thumbnail and do some real skin damage. I"ve got a couple of scars from a wc rescue to show for that.

If you want to devote a lot of daily attention to a cham for years, this is a great species to work with and very rewarding. But, if you are not settled in your own home for the long term or can't make modifications to a rental to suit a free range cham (hanging UV lighting from ceilings, bringing in large tub-potted trees, humidifying a room, installing an RO water filter, running auto misters in a room), it will end up being a lot of work and frustration.

You've gotten good references and the melleri discovery link. Spend the time to read and you'll learn what you need to make your decision.

Oh, and about sexing...they are almost impossible to sex visually. With luck you may see a male show his hemipenes during defecation, but that's about it. Temperment wise, I doubt one sex is different than the other, and the females don't have the same problems producing infertile clutches. If you don't get a juvenile from a quality breeder most others available will be wc. A wc juvenile won't have the heavy parasite load a large adult might, but be ready to test them for parasites if you do go that way.

 

[pwerfulyifu]

thanks carlton that was very informative. i was wondering if i can build a large outdoor enclosure. would that work as well?

 

[burnedrose]

I third The Photo Princess. I visited them a few months ago and was amazed at how wonderfully healthy, friendly and how incredibly LARGE their melleri were! They can give you so much advice. Also, they are on facebook as The Chameleon Farm. They have Jackson's, Panthers and Vieled, so they can also give you a great compare/cpntrast. They also have cages and free range, so it's really worth asking them anything you can think.

My personal experience: Her melleri were so friendly. Not one of them puffed at me, they took food right from my fingers (a complete stranger) and one even waltzed right onto my hand, took a cricket and waltzed right off. They got along great with each other and each had a very distinct attitude - and I had only been there for about two hours!

 

[pwerfulyifu]

yeah i have been PMing her. but more owners' experience is always appreciated

 

[Carlton]

thanks carlton that was very informative. i was wondering if i can build a large outdoor enclosure. would that work as well?

I'm sure one would love that, but consider that some times of year it might be too cold for the cham and you would need to have some indoor space available anyway.

 

[Carlton]

I third The Photo Princess.

My personal experience: Her melleri were so friendly. Not one of them puffed at me, they took food right from my fingers (a complete stranger) and one even waltzed right onto my hand, took a cricket and waltzed right off. They got along great with each other and each had a very distinct attitude - and I had only been there for about two hours!

A nice melleri can be really nice! Mine were all wc rescues. One was very friendly, one was sort of uninterested, and the third was spooky, mean, and miserable. Now that there are a few cbbs available we may see more of the nice ones because they haven't been trapped, panicked, handled roughly, stressed by crowding and poor care, hauled across the globe, etc.

 

[thephotoprincess]

My personal experience: Her melleri were so friendly. Not one of them puffed at me, they took food right from my fingers (a complete stranger) and one even waltzed right onto my hand, took a cricket and waltzed right off. They got along great with each other and each had a very distinct attitude - and I had only been there for about two hours!

A nice melleri can be really nice! Mine were all wc rescues. One was very friendly, one was sort of uninterested, and the third was spooky, mean, and miserable. Now that there are a few cbbs available we may see more of the nice ones because they haven't been trapped, panicked, handled roughly, stressed by crowding and poor care, hauled across the globe, etc.

Ours are all mostly WC too. We have one CB and one young one that may be CB or CH. Our CB is the most aloof of the bunch. He was kept secluded in a cage for almost two years before we got him so he never got comfortable with interaction. He does okay with the other melleri and will hand feed but he won't come to us as the others will.

I think the fact that we free range helps a great deal. Even the "mean" ones we rescued from poor conditions have mellowed out with a little time. I know free-ranging is not always an option but I think it's the best choice for melleri.

 

[ktravelet]

Good luck finding one in the first place. I've built an enclosure, and have a roach colony sustained to support a Melleri but I have yet to find one for sale.

 

[Carlton]

I think the fact that we free range helps a great deal. Even the "mean" ones we rescued from poor conditions have mellowed out with a little time. I know free-ranging is not always an option but I think it's the best choice for melleri.

Totally agree with this. I've heard of some members' melleri who didn't mind more confinement, but free range really seems to make a difference. Even my nice one was more mellow and settled once I got rid of her original big cage. I got to see her move around more naturally and express more of her personality especially when the other two chams joined the group. I'm sure it made her life a lot more interesting from day to day. One aspect (to me anyway) of keeping any creature is giving them as many choices about their days as possible. Sure they are confined in a house, but little things like having more options for where and how long they can stay in any one spot, how much energy they can use in hunting, basking, observing the world around them, sleeping, patrolling a territory, simply being comfortable, all gives their life meaning.

 

[pwerfulyifu]

if you free range isnt the only way to feed is to cup feed or hand feed? i mean wouldnt the bugs run away and go all over the house? plus i believe a large backyard enclosure is the only option i can go with because first im worried about dealing with all that drainage, second it saves me alot of electric bills, and third i dont have that kind of space for indoor free range. i do live in a single house and i got three sisters, mom dad, and a dog. however i do have a large backyard so that was what i was considering. i just dont see how turning half my backyard into an enclosure would be any different from an indoor free range. any thoughts?

 

[laurie]

i have read a couple of general care sheets for them. what i was hoping for was more of a compare and contrast in husbandry with more common species like panthers and veileds. and more importantly personal experience with them, like their temperament and handling.

The link Jann gave you to the Melleri discovery site is the bible of melleri care. I own 2 and that is where I go for answers.

 

[Carlton]

if you free range isnt the only way to feed is to cup feed or hand feed? i mean wouldnt the bugs run away and go all over the house? plus i believe a large backyard enclosure is the only option i can go with because first im worried about dealing with all that drainage, second it saves me alot of electric bills, and third i dont have that kind of space for indoor free range. i do live in a single house and i got three sisters, mom dad, and a dog. however i do have a large backyard so that was what i was considering. i just dont see how turning half my backyard into an enclosure would be any different from an indoor free range. any thoughts?

I hang a larger plastic storage box with some gutload somewhere in the free range tree to contain feeders. Once in a while there would be an escapee, but that happens with cages too. And, I can move the box around to stimulate their hunting skills. Flying insects you'll have to hand feed. I also don't leave the feeders in it all day or overnight.

Well, in addition to cold weather housing, other things to consider about outdoors is predators such as raccoons or skunks that can tear through all but metal mesh to get at the chams. Also, introducing your captive produced, non native insects to your neighborhood. If you do this you really should confine them in some sort of bin and let the chams climb down to the rim of the bin to shoot from there. Crix may not be much of a problem, but roaches definitely will. Your area may not stay warm enough for them to reproduce in the wild, but it is still a concern you should have. Your neighbors and the local wildlife may not appreciate introductions!

 

[pwerfulyifu]

I hang a larger plastic storage box with some gutload somewhere in the free range tree to contain feeders. Once in a while there would be an escapee, but that happens with cages too. And, I can move the box around to stimulate their hunting skills. Flying insects you'll have to hand feed. I also don't leave the feeders in it all day or overnight.

Well, in addition to cold weather housing, other things to consider about outdoors is predators such as raccoons or skunks that can tear through all but metal mesh to get at the chams. Also, introducing your captive produced, non native insects to your neighborhood. If you do this you really should confine them in some sort of bin and let the chams climb down to the rim of the bin to shoot from there. Crix may not be much of a problem, but roaches definitely will. Your area may not stay warm enough for them to reproduce in the wild, but it is still a concern you should have. Your neighbors and the local wildlife may not appreciate introductions!

huh...i havent really thought about that. so if i were to set up an indoor free range then, it doesnt have to be THAT big right? say like a quarter of a master bedroom should suffice?