Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What is the best way to accumliate these animals? I'll be picking up 1.2 fresh in on a shipment so I can do everything myself. I'm going to look for the nicest most healthy ones. Looking for advice on what I should do. Also how are they sexed? Popping? Thanks in advance,
John

The best way to acclimate them is to give them a large cage and house them alone. They are definately going to be stressed and need a period to adjust. Give them steady access to water and keep humidity around 75-80 percent.
Feeding cricket's, mealworms, silkworms, etc; isn't enough. My personalopinion is they need large prey such as finches and lizards. Some disagree but i have had personal success with wc Melleri as that is similar to what they feed on in the wild not dozens and dozens of crix.
They are generally in bad shape when they arrive so picking out the best is, well you'll see when you get a look at them.

As far as you being able to pick out 1.2 unless you have x ray vision it won't happen . They are similar in appearance and are nearly impossible to sex even with x rays via a vet and even that isnt a given.
Unfortunately their not like snakes, you can't pop them.
You may want to wait before give meds to treat for parasites as the stress from being imported and then being pumped with drugs will kill them. Their stomachs contain flora and when you give them Flagyl or other meds it will destroy it.
They generally don't live long (imports) due to many factors. They are very rewarding species to have once you figure them out. Occasionally their are captive hatched babies around and are much easier to raise.
Good Luck,
Joel

whenever i acclimate, be it wc or cb freshly shipped, i cover the cage with towels, or sheets, on all sides. that way your cham can adjust to the inside of the cage, before it has to adjust to what's outside. i left my melleri like this for about 1-2 months, slowly taking off one side at a time.
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.2 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
0.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
0.0.1 Chameleo Melleri

If you would like some information on Acclimating C.Melleri you can read my online article on my process published in the November issue of Chameleon News. The link is below. Also the November issue is dedicated to the Mellers Chameleon. You will hear many different things from many different people about how to acclimate, care for, or keep Mellers Chameleons but one thing to remember is ask them how long they have been doing this and how long they have been successful with Mellers. I personally have been caring for, breeding, and keeping Chameleons for over 10 years and have been acclimating, caring for, and breeding (yes actual captive breeding and not just hatching of eggs from a wild caught female) of the Mellers for over 4 years. I have had animals in my care live over a year and I have had some of my animals live even longer than that after being sent to their new homes and are still living well. If you have any further questions after reading my article please feel free to e-mail me privately. Also it is not a wise thing to feed Mellers Finches and lizards as these types of prey items are too high in protein and the Mellers body can not process it. In the wild they feed on large insect and sometimes small lizards and frogs but not on a large scale. There are insects that come from Tanzania that are mush larger than insects here in the US. As a matter of fact there is a cricket species that is found in East Africa and Madagascar that is 10+ times the size of a cricket found here commercially. These crickets are the size of small adult mice. These as well as the other many insect species that are found there comprise the majority of the Mellers diet in the wild. The Mellers Chameleon is a non sexually dimorphic species which means there is no definitive way of sexing them. The one way of accurately sexing them is to either see them copulating, see a female laying eggs or to have an endoscopic procedure performed to see the sexual organs. A soft tissue x-ray can sometimes be used but is not as accurate as the Endoscopic procedure.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/nov2002/melleriacclimation/acclimation.html

http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/nov2002/nov2002index.html
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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
www.rkreptiles.com
www.oldworldchameleons.com
www.ballpythonmorphs.net

Your source for Quality Import and Captive Born
Chameleons from around the World

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I guess the warning was because he imports more than most he has seen the many sad looking imports. Ask him what they look like and how they fare fresh off the boat.
I don't think you need to see 100's die to know and understand them.
If you beleive pumping them full of drugs gives them a better chance of survival go for it.
The care i have given has worked for me. His care worked for him. I had adults and they also lived long (when i didnt know jack about Melleris) and it was done when little information was available.
So as you take others opinions with a grain of salt include all opinions, although seeing that many dead on arrival should give him a better understanding than most.
Everything you read or see is based on many opinions and sometimes people agree other times not.
Their your animals do what ever you think is best. I just didn't want you to think because someone imports or hints that he knows best after 4 years that others dont have the same or more experience. You don't have to import to gain knowledge only a will/ability to learn.
AGAIN MY OPINION..

Well Joel first off your wrong. I don't import more than most. As a matter of fact I am probably the importer that imports the least number of them and other Chameleons. We don't import large shipments like most importers due mainly for the fact that we give all of our animals individual attention. We have actually seen very few Dead on Arrival of the Mellers because my suppliers take the extra time to ensure that the animals (not just the Mellers)can survive the journey from east Africa to the US. Also just because I import the Melleri does not mean that is why I am warning him. I was warning him about the risk's of feeding those items because it is not safe for the animals to feed on them. We have great suppliers in Tanzania and we receive animals that come in great shape. Yes there is always a possibility that an animal will come in less than good shape but those animals do not get sold until they are in good shape. I am not trying to get him to purchase animals from me but rather trying to give him the information that is out there that I have learned with that species so that he can have a better chance at the animals surviving. And the amount of time that a person has had experience with the species (and Chameleons in general) does account for alot. Someone can not simply keep a chameleon for a few months and know all the information about keeping and caring for them properly. Even with the amount of time I have dedicated to keeping Chameleons I still don't know it all. I spend about 4 hours a day reading and doing more research of many things regarding Chameleons just for that reason. There are alot of people on forums (specially this forum) that have recently (1 year or less) gotten into Chameleons and now feel that they are the knowledgeable old timers and should be giving advice to others. I have seen more times than not that these individuals are giving out false information as if it was the correct information. All this does is make it worse for the people who are trying to learn the correct information for the health and well being of the animals.

www.rkreptiles.com ................. www.oldworldchameleons.com ................... www.BallPythonMorphs.net
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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
www.rkreptiles.com
www.oldworldchameleons.com
www.ballpythonmorphs.net

Your source for Quality Import and Captive Born
Chameleons from around the World

Please read our entire terms for purchase on our website
We accept online credit card payments through PAYPAL
Please click below to make a payment.
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=sales@rkreptiles.com

we are all giving opinions here. that's all. there is no absolute one way to do this. it is all a matter of what has worked for you, and what has worked for other people. all the chameleons i have are different. just because you haven't had chameleons for umpteen years doesn't mean that you are clueless. i am so tired of seeing you people on here picking on one another for one dang thing or another. can't you all just respect each others opinions? this is a forum, it's a place to get help and discuss things, not argue and bicker. if you want to fight with each other, do it off list...........
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.2 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
0.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)
0.0.1 Chameleo Melleri