Free range question about Mellers

[luckykarma]

I'm real close to getting a Mellers baby from FL Chams. I want to be sure I know what I'm getting into before I do it so there's no surprises for me or the animal.

All my Chams are free range. I'm including a typical setup here as an example. The Powersun looks like its a couple inches above the tree but its more than like a foot and half.

My question is will this be sufficient for a Mellers as it grows into an adult?

Occasionally our guys roam but not that often. Two are in rooms with doors so we just close them. One is in the living room. Would a single large ficus tree be enough for a adult Mellers like shown? Would he roam and possibly attack one of our other chams if it wasn't behind a closed door? This one may live in the dining room and have access to the living room where another Cham (panther) lives.

Also I read they can be very territorial. If it roamed into the living room or the Panther roamed into its room would it attack the Panther?

I just want to be sure I can provide the best setup for him and not jeopardize our other guys.

 

[reyesjoshuacruz]

long term i dont think so...


two large ficus with many vines and branches across them maybe

 

[Eric Adrignola]

I would be careful with housing a melleri in free roam with another species, unless there was a barrier. Melleri can live with others in some situations (I've seen it), but it is not something I would ever consider unless it just "happened".

Melleri communicate differently than say pardalis. when there's a language barrier, you can't be sure things will just go smoothly. And a frustrated/threatened melleri is apt to destroy anything else (they've been documented as killing parsonii, other melleri, birds, geckos and many many brevs...)

With their jaws and teeth (as well as big-arsed size), you just shouldn't trust them with other animals - even though they seem like they like us.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Some people wanted to see how my Parsonii rolls when hes inside. Its a 260 gal reptirum with a tarp instead of screen and a mister two florescent fixtures and a cold water humidifier at the bottom of his cage. Every time he sees me he wants to eat so I oblige him most of the time. Its way to hot to keep him outside and hes totally happy to stay inside the tarp hes a real sloth.

 

[Kat77]

No, that will not work for a full grown Melleri. Go to www.melleridiscovery.com for some really great ideas.


Dean: WOW. You are living my dream. That is an absolutely gorgeous Parson's. I'm feeling very jealous.

 

[luckykarma]

Guess that kills my buzz. It would be too hard to do more than one tree.

Bummer. Super bummer.

Thanks everyone.

 

[studiocham]

I'm real close to getting a Mellers baby from FL Chams. I want to be sure I know what I'm getting into before I do it so there's no surprises for me or the animal.

That is admirable!

All my Chams are free range. I'm including a typical setup here as an example. The Powersun looks like its a couple inches above the tree but its more than like a foot and half.

Powersun MV? I had negative results with melleri under MV. They avoided it. You might have to experiment with different lighting. Also, I wouldn't free-range a melleri under 1 year of age and at least 100g.

My question is will this be sufficient for a Mellers as it grows into an adult?

Probably not. I would use a screen enclosure for something over 3 months of age and well into the double-digits grams of weight. I use a 50w ReptiBulb for UVA/heat and the ReptiSun 5.0, instead of MV, on babies. Free-range the large adolescents and adults.

Occasionally our guys roam but not that often. Two are in rooms with doors so we just close them. One is in the living room. Would a single large ficus tree be enough for a adult Mellers like shown?

I can't view your attachment...? I had a single melleri in a 13' Ficus indoors, and he'd still roam looking for a mate, if that is any help.

Would he roam and possibly attack one of our other chams if it wasn't behind a closed door? This one may live in the dining room and have access to the living room where another Cham (panther) lives.

I think a couple things could happen. He could be horribly stressed at the sight of a strange chameleon entering his visual range at will. This could set off an immunity loss and health spiral, and the melleri could lose condition "mysteriously". Melleri have been known to attack other species. Where other species may just "turn a blind eye" if they see someone strange and then move on, melleri rarely do, and they are more likely to climb right down to bite and chase the intruder. I had a foundation pair who would respond together, in unison, to an intruder. Melleri mean business.

Also I read they can be very territorial. If it roamed into the living room or the Panther roamed into its room would it attack the Panther?

I'd anticipate visual stress at the least and the strong possibility of physical combat in both scenarios.

I have seen photos of a very rare circumstance- two adult melleri siblings, a male and a female, accepted an aged adult male veiled into their large enclosure (which was left open for free-range effect). For the last weeks of the veiled's life, they all basked and hung out together. This unique arrangement had several built-in safeties: a male veiled not interested in being territorial/mating anymore, a deferring sort of character; two siblings at peace with each other and not in breeding season's frenzied moods, so already prone to tolerance; both melleri wearing the happy green that may translate as subadults in veiled "language", thus keeping them off the veiled's radar; and a keeper who was spending all day watching them. It's so dependent on many little nuances to work, and so unnecessary, that I do not suggest anyone try to duplicate it.

If you keep a single melleri, you're going to have an animal that is less tolerant of other chameleons because it has been in isolation so long, so I doubt the above could happen with your clan... just speculation. It saves a lot of worry just to secure the melleri room.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Thats only one tree in there its a Hawaiian ficus. It cost me 20.00 at home Depot about 3 years ago.

 

[studiocham]

Some people wanted to see how my Parsonii rolls when hes inside. QUOTE]

Dean, the attitude of your male makes me want to work with parsonii. What a cool guy.

 

[luckykarma]

Thanks StudioCham. That post is a real education. I could put him in a single room when he's a year old but it sounds like its not the right set up. Presently one of my Panthers is on the roam everywhere. The other two cham could care less and ignore him.

If there was a slip up and he wandered into a room and what you described happened that would be terrible.

I work out of my home so I watch these guys constantly.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Yeah hes totally cool I never handle him so he trusts me not to mess with him and he never runs away always looking for a meal. I do it this way because he'll get no noise rub and wont suffer toenail damage hes the king and he knows it.

 

[Sepioteuthis]

At the risk of being redundant, I'll add in my 2 cents.

I wouldn't freerange a melleri in a 'regular' room. They will roam. I've been freeranging melleri in a chameleons-only room for more than 2 years now and on average once a week one of them will have a day where it goes exploring. Sometimes they'll return to the freerange on their own, sometimes I find them settled down for the night in a different part of the room. I think they actively go looking for food even if they have been fed. I think they get bored easily.
In addition I would really recommend a free range set up where the cham can be misted liberally. They love sitting in the rain.
And I agree with Kristina that it's best to keep young melleri caged.

They are also pretty hand-on fighters. When challenged by another melleri they will often just skip over the displaying part and go straight into stormram mode. For melleri amongst themselves this is just part of live and disputes never last long and I've never seen them damage eathother (beside a bruised ego maybe ), but I don't know how a pardalis or other cham would react to that.

That said, melleri are amazing chameleons to have in a freerange set up. They are so interactive and entertaining.

For those familiar with the movie Ghostbusters: I routinely call my CB male melleri 'Venkman' because he doesn't act much like a predator, he's more like a gameshow host.

For those of you not familiar with the movie: Go rent it. Tonight.

 

[jannb]

Hi Luckykarma!

This is Luie's free range my husband built for him on our screened backporch. When weather permits (not to hot) I let him play in the free range for a couple of hours. When my daughter came home from college for a month she kept her Melleris in the free range when it wasn't too hot. They loved it! Jann

 

[luckykarma]

Hi Jann! Looks like he's having a ball!