Favorite Melleri Enclosure or Free Range Ideas!

[Kat77]

It's not my favorite of the possibilities out there, but this is the ugly free-range I'm using. Pic taken after lights out.

That was the first day it was used, so I did not cut the drain hole in the back underside of the plastic yet. The entire front curb isn't done until that gets done, as I didn't know how much plastic would be needed. I let a day or two of mist drainage build up so I can cut the hole at the lowest point to ensure it will always drain all the way. A 5-gallon bucket for catching the waste was added when the hole was cut. Also, I rearranged the wires and timers.

The 2.5-g buckets in foreground are full of slip, used as weights on the lamp stand base. One 48" UVB and two heat spots, one 150w and one 75w, so they have choices. That's a 6' PVC folding table that was demoted to use with chams because its top was ruined by fiberglassing. It's inert. I hung green shadecloth for color along the wall, then hung the 6mil clear plastic. They hang from the same points, using wire threaded through the ceiling tile frame. Convenient! There are slanted risers under the plants that direct most of the mist water back to the drainage. Two kinds of humidifiers, but it's not hooked to an automatic watering mist system in this pic. I am in there all day, so it's easy to handwater them. The big green bucket in the pic was the food bucket, to get weight on them at the start. Now I handfeed them.

Total interior size: 8' tall (4' cham accessible) x 6' wide x 3' deep

Everything I build is modular and temporary. You never know when a better idea will strike, or if an animal's needs will change. I've actually used smaller free-ranges (a single tree), but not long-term. Babies should be caged. They are so delicate and easy to overlook in a big room.

One plus to a free-range is that you can get photos and video of their behavior, without mesh blocking your view. Opening a cage door is enough to spoil quiet moments.

Thanks Kristina! You definitely have some fantastic advice to give and I love Melleridiscovery.com. That last photo is so sweet!

 

[studiocham]

Thanks Kristina! You definitely have some fantastic advice to give and I love Melleridiscovery.com. That last photo is so sweet!

Glad you find the site helpful! I was pretty much in the dark when I got Ferris, and didn't want anyone else to go through that anxiety. After I got him, people told me that he would drop dead at any minute. That's no way to experience the species!

The pic wasn't meant to be sweet, just illustrating the point. Sweet is our own species' perspective. They decided to bask in one spot together. There are a couple other perches that get the same UVB penetration, but that was the chosen spot for several days (both female). The head on top is the more dominant of the two, determined by other displays.

No one has to free-range, some melleri and some keepers would not be a good match for that method, and a baby (which is probably what you have in mind) should not be free-ranged until it is of substantial size. Raised in a cage, it may be more comfortable in enclosures for life.

If you need pix of a 260-g Reptarium being used for melleri, I posted old pix here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/meller-chameleon-12590/

I have used those indoors and out for melleri. The old Reptariums had much softer mesh, so they were great for preventing rostral damage. The newer ones seem rougher, maybe more PVC content, and rostral damage can occur inside them. Minor rostral wear is normal, and happens when females dig nests and when males spar and display. Both genders use the rostrum to punch as disincentive or intimidation display/offense. I have one male who displays in a male stand-off by arching his short neck/body and raking his rostrum against both sides of the branch the other male is perched on. It looks a lot like a finch sharpening its beak on a perch, but slow motion. I think it's in one of the vids I made this week. That right there wears down the rostral horn, but it's nice to try to preserve it as long as possible.

Now, if you see a melleri with a wound on its face instead of a rostrum, that is not normal wear.

On a lighter note, I hope you find the enclosure method that works for you and your potential "roommate".

 

[Kat77]

Thank you so much for all of your help and information, Kristina! I see that you used your reptarium more for length than height? Is that what you recommend doing?

 

[studiocham]

You're welcome!

The thing that they most appreciate is height. They appear more secure/comfortable if they can perch above your head or line of vision. In a tall, narrow cage, they will spend most of their time in the upper third, anyways. So, if you turn a tall cage lengthwise, and raise it up high, you give them more high-up exercise room. This also creates more room for dense plants. It seems like bigger jungle to the animal. Melleri will mosey (not rush) around the enclosure throughout the day, trying out different basking spots. If you make sure to have long perches running along each wall and diagonally, it will help keep them off the mesh. They'd rather perch than hang, and they are curious about the view from every inch of the cage. I also have a walk-in enclosure that used to be the free-range in the house. This one has both horizontal and vertical climbing space. You can do anything, as long as there are temp and humidity gradients and solid, long perches.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

If I were to house a Mellers, I'd buy a large bird/parrot cage for it. You can get them used a lot cheaper, they are super large and it provides WAY more climbing space.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

Okay... I guess it's hard to be sarcastic over the internet... I'm sorry...

Why would you be sarcastic? She was asking questions and that isn't helpful whatsoever...

 

[Kat77]

You're welcome!

The thing that they most appreciate is height. They appear more secure/comfortable if they can perch above your head or line of vision. In a tall, narrow cage, they will spend most of their time in the upper third, anyways. So, if you turn a tall cage lengthwise, and raise it up high, you give them more high-up exercise room. This also creates more room for dense plants. It seems like bigger jungle to the animal. Melleri will mosey (not rush) around the enclosure throughout the day, trying out different basking spots. If you make sure to have long perches running along each wall and diagonally, it will help keep them off the mesh. They'd rather perch than hang, and they are curious about the view from every inch of the cage. I also have a walk-in enclosure that used to be the free-range in the house. This one has both horizontal and vertical climbing space. You can do anything, as long as there are temp and humidity gradients and solid, long perches.

So it would be alright to use the 260 gal reptarium vertically, as long as I have lots of perches both horizontal and vertical? I have so many ideas! I just want to be sure that, no matter what, the animal is happy. I would prefer to use it vertically, if it would work out alright to do so...

Edit: I see what you mean by "they appreciate height", but it took me a second! How about if the reptarium was vertical AND elevated off of the floor, so the perching spots were even higher?

 

[Kat77]

Why would you be sarcastic? She was asking questions and that isn't helpful whatsoever...

I just hope no one thought I would follow that advice! I would have to be a HUGE idiot.

 

[studiocham]

Edit: I see what you mean by "they appreciate height", but it took me a second! How about if the reptarium was vertical AND elevated off of the floor, so the perching spots were even higher?

You are probably going to see the melleri stay in the upper third. It's what they do, unless they get too warm.

The big height concern is high temps indoors. Hot air rises, and the higher the indoor cage, the warmer it will be. For example, hatchlings should not get over 75F, so I keep their cages low, below my line of vision. You might turn on all of the lamps and set up temp gauges at the different heights, and get a good idea of the microclimate before installing the cage permanently. One of those cheap $6 Springfield digital temp/hum gauges has a memory feature. Just press a button when you return home from work, and you get a reading of the day's max and min temps. A little testing will show you the best way to go.

 

[Tygerr]

I just hope no one thought I would follow that advice! I would have to be a HUGE idiot.

When I first joined this forum, I learnt most by reading other people's threads - I think I had been a member for about a month, visiting here every day, before I even posted anything of my own.

So although YOU wouldn't be foolish enough to heed that advice Kat, it's important to make sure that other new users, for whom this may be the first thread they ever read, are made aware of what is good advice and what is not.

 

[Kat77]

You are probably going to see the melleri stay in the upper third. It's what they do, unless they get too warm.

The big height concern is high temps indoors. Hot air rises, and the higher the indoor cage, the warmer it will be. For example, hatchlings should not get over 75F, so I keep their cages low, below my line of vision. You might turn on all of the lamps and set up temp gauges at the different heights, and get a good idea of the microclimate before installing the cage permanently. One of those cheap $6 Springfield digital temp/hum gauges has a memory feature. Just press a button when you return home from work, and you get a reading of the day's max and min temps. A little testing will show you the best way to go.

I'm going to have to search around for a Springfield digital thermometer! Thanks again, Kristina. I will do exactly what you have suggested.

 

[Kat77]

When I first joined this forum, I learnt most by reading other people's threads - I think I had been a member for about a month, visiting here every day, before I even posted anything of my own.

So although YOU wouldn't be foolish enough to heed that advice Kat, it's important to make sure that other new users, for whom this may be the first thread they ever read, are made aware of what is good advice and what is not.

GOOD point.