Meller eating leaves

[dante8858]

Ok tonight while watching my cham, he (I thought was hunting the house fly that made it into his cage) ate a ficus leaf. At first I thought maybe he missed but the fly was no where near that leaf. I know that they do eat leaves but he has never before....he continued to eat another leaf then he even ate a dead leaf. Is that ok? I was also wondering does that tell me that he may not be getting something that he needs? I have had him four four months and he has never done this. I have heard about them doing this but have never seen it. My poor ficus now only has a few green leaves....and I don't want to replace it with fake stuff (now for a really good reason!). What kind of other plants would anyone suggest for a very active 23" Meller? Oh and can I feed my Mellers some actual greens like Romaine lettuce?

 

[Sang]

you can try some romane leaf lettuce as well, also give hibiscus a try, they love to eat all the flowers and stuff.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Go to Melleri Discovery (you can get there by going to the links page)
go to feeding on the husbandry page to find a list of acceptable vegetables, greens and fruits to offer your Meller's Chameleon.

-Brad

 

[dante8858]

I gave him so romaine and he ate it up....I will get the list off the discovery site. I was just worried about the dead leaf that he went after. Now I know why my ficus is leafless!

Any suggestions for other plants that are hardy?

 

[Sang]

i just got my ficus, this is a 20 year old one, so id call it pretty hardy, its a AZ summer/winter surviver ...

 

[dante8858]

Well what they heck did I do wrong?

I have no idea what I did wrong then here is a somewhat recent photo of Ichi but you can see the condition of the poor Ficus!!! I have even repotted it with organic soil & fert. I really must not have a clue....just glad it's not my Cham

I guess I really need HARDY! lol

 

[Sang]

if he is a big plant eater it won't survive long, that ficus is 20 years old, my grand mother raised it.

 

[dante8858]

I had never seen him eat leaves until tonight....that doesn't mean he hasn't though since I am gone during the day. I have only had the Ficus for about three months or so! It really only has about five leaves left! I can't even find any more Ficus here in Bakersfield since the temp is changing and the size I would need for him. Each day I would pick up dead leaves from the ground when I came home.....any thoughts why?

 

[dodolah]

is the bottom of the pot directly touch puddle of water?
how often you water? do you allow drying in between?

 

[Sang]

ficus are a great plant once you got them down, best advice let the surface get a little dry before your next watering.

and then make sure its not sitting in water..

i transpotted one of my schefflerra and the thing is takin a turn for the worse, all the brances are goin limp, and the leaves shriveling. not sure what i did wrong, the other one i bought is doing great.

 

[dante8858]

is the bottom of the pot directly touch puddle of water?
how often you water? do you allow drying in between?

Under the plant is the water dish that catches any water that runs out. I water it about once a week to once every two weeks. I check it to see if it is dry before I water it. (I just stick my finger in the soil)

 

[dante8858]

ficus are a great plant once you got them down, best advice let the surface get a little dry before your next watering.

and then make sure its not sitting in water..

i transpotted one of my schefflerra and the thing is takin a turn for the worse, all the brances are goin limp, and the leaves shriveling. not sure what i did wrong, the other one i bought is doing great.

I think part of the problem is maybe it does sit in some of it's water and not enough light. so how often should I water? Thanks

 

[Eric Adrignola]

heat lamps will dry out ficus sometimes. You may have to water them more often if they are under a heat lamp.

 

[dodolah]

get a pot raiser or pot legs to raise the plants off the ground and to avoid the plants root from drowning.
That will help your ficus tremendously.

 

[Sang]

ficuses will survive some harsh weather.. extreme heat... LOTS of water.. when it actually gets below 30 here in arizona cover them with a blank it, that will protect them from frost, Inside however you need to keep the water up for the first 3 days of repotting them to assist the roots in retaking a grip in the soil, and the plant will still take about 2 weeks to get over the shock.


They love morning sun, let them pick up the msun light in the mornings and they like the heat put of by lamps *direct heat will cause leaves to wither*


i just started with them and they appear to be fairly easy. ill be rewatering my outside plants in 3 days. my bigger concern is with birds landing and pooping on them. i would assume thats how you might get a bacteria like coccidia or something of that sort. so if you have to throw netting or something over it, maybe make a netted cage for it.

ficuses when in shock will drop all their leaves and come back, but it looks like yours is really dry.