My meller Quin

[misslush]

if you are crafty you can definately build a cage and it will be alot more cost efficient to open up the money for other things

LOL I'm a blond chick ..I doubt I have the crafty skills to build a cage...

 

[misslush]

Well, you really can't sex a melleri reliably so the pet store is clueless. They can't claim they know the age either. Looking at the dark marks on the facial ridges and dorsal crest I'd also say it's an import and is very lucky to still have its rostral horn. The dark marks are probably due to rubbing on cage wire or a shipping box. It's a good sign that your cham shows its calm coloration a lot. Some melleri are pretty nasty and others are gentle...almost friendly. A nice melleri is the best cham IMHO!

You can't give a melleri too much water. They do most things carefully and deliberately including drinking. A couple of tips: They often do very well being hand watered (with a dropper or syringe). Get the cham started with either spraying, a dripper, misting, or whatever you use now. Once the cham is actively swallowing or licking its lips, you can start dripping warm water directly over its' snout and often they will lick the stream directly from the syringe. They will drink until they are full and then tip their head straight up or turn away from the water. It's a great way to make sure its getting enough hydration. A well hydrated melleri may not actually drink heavily every day depending on the humidity in the room.

Don't expect to find a large enough cage at a pet store. Consider building one to make the best use of the space you have...larger is definitely best. Or, free range it in a small room in larger potted trees (even the fake Ficus trees work OK. Just connect them together with natural barked branches).

I can't say much better than The Melleri Discovery. There are some free range ideas there as well.

Quin rarely shows his dark colours . When I first brought him home he wasn't a happy camper but I think he adjusted good.

I have the space in my apartment to make a large space for him but I wouldn't know where to start if I had to make it myself.


they told me @ the pet store that the dark marks will go away ...

I mist him with a mister twice a day for 10 mins and he just drinks it all up and I figured when he put his head up in the air he had enough.

He eat every other day and consumes 6-8 superworms .

The humidity is around 70% and temp is around 70-80

The lights I use are reptile lights , 75 watt basking light and a 75 watt heat lamp.

I'm uploading a video on youtube I took last night of him drinking once downloaded I will upload to here

thank you for all your help and info for my newest reptile family member

 

[Carlton]

The lights I use are reptile lights , 75 watt basking light and a 75 watt heat lamp.

I didn't see mention of a UV producing bulb, just heat and basking bulbs. This is something you MUST provide and most reptile bulbs don't. The so-called "full spectrum basking bulbs" do NOT produce UVB which is essential for calcium absorbtion. The best bulbs to use are the linear fluorescent ReptiSun 5.0 (replace every 6 months and make sure the cham can get within 18" of the bare bulb), or the ReptiGlo 5.0 (replace a bit more often as the output is less than the ReptiSun). Combination UV and heat bulbs like the Power Sun or the mercury vapor lamps are usually too hot for chams and they can and do burn themselves. In some of the pictures "he" looks a bit hot (pale colors), so the heat bulbs you have may be a bit too much. You really only need one unless your room is cold. No lights at night as chams see full spectrum. If the room gets down below 65F at night you could add a small ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat.

BTW, I love the pic of the cham on the bald head. I assume he's got his tail anchored around an ear? That's a favorite melleri move!

 

[misslush]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ItHVCXTiU

 

[summoner12]

Good Luck!

Quin rarely shows his dark colours . When I first brought him home he wasn't a happy camper but I think he adjusted good.

I think melleri are smart enough to know when they ahve been rescued. My first melleri, Lenny, was 'rescued' from LLL Reptile on a whim... she looked sad and like she needed a new home... so we gave her one. She is very very gentle with me and very aware of me. I never get stink eyes from her or any resistance from her. Either she knows I took her home and gave her a better life, or shes just an easy going cham.

I have the space in my apartment to make a large space for him but I wouldn't know where to start if I had to make it myself.

You could buy two of the large cages from LLL Reptile and remove a panel from each cage and join them together with some hardware from Home Depot or Lowe's (or whatever is local to you)

they told me @ the pet store that the dark marks will go away ...

Yes, the dark marks will go away slowly. It isn't something that will happen over night. Keep an eye on any skin that isn't shedding well... usually poor sheds have to do with lack of humidity and hidration.

I mist him with a mister twice a day for 10 mins and he just drinks it all up and I figured when he put his head up in the air he had enough.

Two times a day isn't enough for melleri. More is better.... so I seriously suggest you invest in a automated misting system. You could build something like this: https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-hd-auto-mister-under-100-a-18660/. You can also check out the website in my signature.

He eat every other day and consumes 6-8 superworms .

Superworms are not a good diet. You should mix it up often. Do a search on the forums for feeders. Check out Sandra's blog: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html#comment601

The humidity is around 70% and temp is around 70-80

Don't go higher than 85 ambient, you'll see stress colors. The cooler the temps the better. They like to bask and warm themselves in the morning and during the day but they also like cool nights.

The lights I use are reptile lights , 75 watt basking light and a 75 watt heat lamp.

I would ditch that dual fixture.. turn it to them or use it for something else. You need to buy a linear UVB lamp. Preferably Zoo Med 5.0. I would use a 10.0 if your end up building a larger cage and can place the 10.0 lamp a couple of inches from the top of the cage. I highly recommend you go to the hardware store, buy a dual 24" T8 light fixture. Then buy a 24" T8 Zoo Med 5.0 Reptisun and a 24" Ti Zoo Med NatureSun. Install both lamps into the fixture. The NatureSun is a 6500K lamp, which provides light that keeps plants alive and in general, more light for the cham. Then use a 50w PAR20 flood lamp and install that into a clip light fixture. Angle the fixture so it isn't pointing straight down. Melleri burn very easily. Angeling the light will help reduce the chances of burn.

I'm uploading a video on youtube I took last night of him drinking once downloaded I will upload to here

neat video... It makes me think he needs more water during the day. As I said before twice a day isn't enough mist.

thank you for all your help and info for my newest reptile family member

You should check out the melleri group sub forum on this site....

https://www.chameleonforums.com/melleri-group/

 

[jessica]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations Quin is beautiful!

Seems like Kevin and the others are guiding you in the right direction

This may seem like a lot of information at once but trust me once you get your guy/gal set up and settled in he/she will win your heart even more!

 

[misslush]

Quin enjoying the beautiful day

 

[Bokaru]

Nice pictures! I love Mellers they are one awesome looking breed of chameleons. If I could get any species, I think one of those fellas would be my choice.

I dont think I have the room or budget for one at the moment though... Maybe some day. I can always dream.

 

[Obama the cham]

WOW! wat an amazing species of chams!!!! how old is that giant if u dont mind me asking?

 

[ataraxia]

soak up all summoners advice. the man knows his mellers. get a fecal done as soon as you can...water water water and when your done water some more. i noticed when mine were well hydrated by the flaps behind the head were nice and plump. honestly though they need so much water you truely need a drainage system for the cage. since they do need so much hydration. allowing the cage to dry is also very important (you dont want fungus).

beautiful meller btw

 

[misslush]

WOW! wat an amazing species of chams!!!! how old is that giant if u dont mind me asking?

i was told by the kids at the pet store he was approx 18 months old but ppl on here say maybe 2 years old ....

 

[misslush]

not sure where to post this so if in the wrong place sorry

Quin is my meller and today i got to take a pic of this and not sure what they are ..any info would be great

i attached a cpl pics

 

[laurie]

You need to start a new thread in the health section. I am fairly sure that is a prolapsed but I know nothing about mellers.

If you start a new thread and ask if he has a prolapse knowledgeable people will chime in. This is an old thread so you will have fewer people looking at it. jmo

 

[summoner12]

That would be his 'junk'. You have a boy.... Did 'it' go back in?

 

[Lizardlover]

Looks like his hemipenes to me. I would remove that waterfall if I were you by the way.

 

[misslush]

That would be his 'junk'. You have a boy.... Did 'it' go back in?

yes they went back in

 

[summoner12]

It's a boy!

yes they went back in

Then you just confirmed you have a boy and he is most likely fine as long as they don't get stuck out.

Congratulations!

 

[summoner12]

BTW, what kind of lighting are you using? Do you use a basking lamp? Could you show us some more picture of quin? How is his shed? Do you hand mist, how often?

 

[misslush]

BTW, what kind of lighting are you using? Do you use a basking lamp? Could you show us some more picture of quin? How is his shed? Do you hand mist, how often?

I got the uvb light I think it was you that told me about it a 5.0 I hand mist him around 20 mins 4 x a day. his shed was great!! let me upload a few recent pics for you

 

[Julirs]

I really just skimmed the thread, and happy to see that advice is being followed to give this guy a great life. My advice, Mellers are moody stressy things. Just because he will let you handle him does not mean you should handle him all of the time. Mine are not afraid of me and will let me take them out of their cage, but it is a rare thing. I interact with feeding and of course watering-where my girl and guy? want to me to mist directly into their mouths as they are spoiled things!