Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I used to have a veiled and now im kind of interested in the mellers chameleon. Are they harder to care for than other chameleons (panther, veiled, jacksons)? Ive heard that they are hard to keep alive in captivity? Any advice on the care of the mellers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

They are a larger species so you will need a good size enclosure for them. I think the temps are about the same as a vieled (80-85) - not sure about the humidity. I dont think there is much out there when it comes to info on these guys. I never see many CB ones and the WC tend to have a heavy parasite load and dont last long.

-roo

Meller's chameleons aren't necessarily "harder" to keep than any other chameleon, but they have very specific care requirements that must be met if they are to survive. WC specimens are heavily parasitised, also with possible blood born pathogens etc.
Go for a captive born, or c. hatched if possible. Mine are WC, and needed alot of medication and tlc to bring them back to health. They can overheat very easily, so temps need to be in the mid 70's with a basking area that wont heat up the rest of the cage. They usually wont drink from a dripper, so they must be hand sprayed multiple times daily for up to 20minutes, or even better an automated misting system that will spray onto their favorite perch area. They are very intollerant to stress, so they require very LARGe hevily planted setups, or better yet a free range room with lots of plant cover.
I've heard free range setups make them much more tollerant to humans.
They are also very picky eaters, especially wc specimens. I have to rotate silkworms, roaches, superworms, etc.
to keep them interested. If you have the patience, they have awesome personalities, but they do need alot of time and care.
There is a meller cham. group on yahoo, you should check it out
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mellerichams/
gw

I second all the above. They aren't a good species for someone who is not totally dedicated to them. They need a lot of space, need a lot of vet care if wc (and finding a cb one is really hard), are fussy, tempermental, and some are quite nasty. Not all. Some are very mellow but the nasty ones tend to be that way from day one. A bite from a melleri can blacken your thumbnail and break skin easily. The pressure of their grip can numb a finger. Amazing animals. The Yahoo forum is great, and they have excellent care sheets filed on the forum site too. I probably spent more time per animal on my mellers than any other species. They are beautiful and impressive and I enjoyed them, but they seemed happiest in a free range room of their own, so if you don't have the space I would not suggest it.