Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At a show and I found a captive mellers chameleon (so I'm told). He (proven by x-ray) is two and a half and around 20 inches and dog tame. I have him in a 2x2x4 foot all screen enclosure. The breeder said this is should work great, but from what I have heard mellers my need a larger cage. He is drinking like crazy and had deficated. I am not sure that he has eaten. The food dish has been knocked over twice, so it is possible that he has but there is no way of telling(Now there is a bigger dish that he cannot tip). He shows little interest in crickets and superworms. Are these to small for him? I plan on feeding him roaches and the ocasional pinkie, but these items can be pricey. What is most common food source for a mellers in captivity?

My Mellers get fed anything like silkworms, lobsters, hissers, large crickets, pinkie and hopper mice, superworms, really anything. I've seen larger wild bugs fly in (Mellers are kept outside) and the wild bugs really grab their attention, so something wild would be a good thing to try.... It's probably too cold for any of that right now, but there's a few places grasshoppers are still lurking around. Also, I keep mine in 3x3x6' cages, I think the 2x2x4 is too small for a 20" chameleon. Where'd you get him from and what did you pay? I was searching hard for one like that (captive bred or captive hatched) and nobody seemed to have any. I may be wrong, but a 20" CB Melleri for sale at any decent price is kinda suspicious to me.

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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

I payed $125 for him, not exactly the price I would offer for a large captive mellers but I dont know. I was suspicious too. The guy fed me a good story. He gave me some good information that I know to be accurate, and another guy at the show told me that he really does breed them. He had two males. He told me one was wild caught as a juvanile and a long term captive and the other he bred himself (the one I bought). I asked him incubation temps and time and he answered them all right. He said that he has dozens of them and breeds them down in florida. he had a couple extra males and decided to sell them. So I really dont know. The cham seems to be in good health. He has just come out of a shed and is aware and alert. All I can do is hope for the best. Now when I put crickets and superworms in his cage he looks and them but won't eat when I'm around, he is very shy as are most chams. But the crickets are disapearing so I think he is eating. I will try to get him into a bigger cage soon. Is the small cage a health issue? Will he get stressed and could this be fetal? The three main things that kill mellers are parasites, dehidration and lack of space so I have heard. I have him quaranteened from the rest of my collection and I am giving him between 5-10 minutes a day of misting. I do have a real large fucus tree that I can put him in while I'm home because I wouldnt hae anything to keep him in the tree and from wondering around the room. Thanks for all the advice.

You did get quite a bit of not-so-great information from the seller. Proving gender by x-ray is not conclusive and a rather expensive test, so doubt it. Sometimes the most simple observation works...watch during defecation. Over time you may see hemipenes and will know its a male. Ear flap spots, size, coloration are not conclusive. Sometimes ear flap size can tell, but you need to be able to compare your animal with lots of others. The cage you have is much too small, so be ready to either free range it or build something at least 6'x6'x6'. Some melleri won't tolerate cages of any kind. Don't feed it pinkies much at all. They are high in fat and not that nutritious. Not a very natural prey. If you want to feed vertebrates to melleri it is suggested that you offer fledgling birds such as zebra finches. If you get to know a local finch breeder they might be willing to give you nestlings that won't make it because of abnormalities. They are a good source of zinc, and if offered in a fake "nest" nestled in a tree can be very welcome. CBB melleri are extremely rare even as babies, so one offered as cbb that is that large is again, rather doubtful. Lots of dealers have caught on that people want a cbb melleri and often just pass theirs on as such. A "dog tame" melleri may just be malnourished or so stressed it does not show it's natural behavior. Most melleri are not that "nice", but some are very gentle. They often charm you by climbing up on your head or shoulder without gaping. Well, they are just trying to get up as high as possible, not being friendly. A larger melleri can easily knock over most feeding dishes as they are incredibly strong. The force of their tongue can knock large prey right out of your fingers! Try using a clouded plastic storage bin or box for food instead. You can easily hang the box in the trees so it can't be knocked over. Their tongues can easily reach 1.5 to 2 feet away. Their bite can blacken a thumbnail and grip can numb your fingers. As for other great melleri info check out the melleri forum on YahooGroups, and a website called "the Melleri Discovery". I don't have the address handy, but you can link to the articles from the Yahoo forum or use Google. It is very new, and Google should find it OK. There are also some articles about melleri in past issues of the Chameleon News e-zine at www.chameleonnews.com. Be ready for a "crash" in health at about 3 months. Melleri are often called the "90 day chameleon" for very sad reasons. Just when you think they are acclimated, they stop eating, develop problems, and can refuse to thrive. Often it takes months for all the accumulated stresses of a move, sale, shipping, etc. to show up as they are very tough and secretive. Really neat species, but they will be more demanding than most others! Join the forum...the best group working with melleri around these days.

I am making a vet appointment for a fecal exam tomorrow. I am also working a a freerange enclosure with a large ficus. I am ordering some roaches to give him some larger more diverse pray. For lighting I have a 40 watt bulb and and getting a new UV light for him. But back to the vet, I'm not sure that my vet does reptiles, but do you think he can still do a fecal for me? There aren't really any reptile vets around me. There is one at the upcoming show in about 3 weeks. Should I wait for her or is that two long Is there any other inspection he needs to do? Also I have been reading and found that mellers live longer happier less stressful lives if they have mates, it this really true? I was planning on getting a female anyway if I can find one. And is there anything inparticular that I should look out for as signs of stress? He doesn't seem to be trying to get out of the cage and pushing up against the top or anything. He basks alot and loves to be sprayed but he still isn't eating that much (about 4-6 crickets aday which really doesn't seem to me that that could sustain such a large lizard). But thatnks for all your help and that site really helped alot.

I've never had a mellers but I'd guess he's probably just discouraged with the small crickets!

Imagine getting a mcdonalds value meal and having to chase down every fry and eat it by itself!

The roaches are probably a real good idea, also if you have any wild lizards where you live you might want to try them. I'd also get a pinky just to fill him up. one every once in a while wont hurt.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther
1.1 Ambilobe Panther

Any vet can do a fecal float for intestinal parasites. Parasites are present in just about every creature they see. I've never heard that melleri "need" a mate. It is true that some animals can co-exist peacefully in a small group in a large area, but don't count on it. If you end up with an incompatible pair they can just about kill each other in fights. As for stress, it shows up most often as a series of black dots that get larger and eventually blend into large areas of black. Eventually the cham looks almost totally black with bright yellow stripes. A melleri that is close to death from stress will blanch out to a weird pale whitish yellow with orange stripes. There is a really detailed discussion on coloration on The Melleri Discovery site. You may not see totally relaxed healthy coloration on a new cham for months. Melleri also love tomato hornworms, both the worms and the hawk moth adults. Don't gather them right off tomato plants though...toxic. Raise them yourself on tomato fruit only.