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I just got a juvenile Mellers Chameleon, i was told about 5 months old and CB in florida (4in body length) on sunday afternoon/evening. I've had it for 2 days now in a small tank accompained with a pothis plant so that I could monitor its transition to my home. Everything is looking good so far... Hes hydrated, drinking whenever I mist, 4 times a day at least, he doesnt seem stressed by my appereance; staying a nice light green color or a darker green, sometimes showing dark green spots but nothing that is showing aggression or over stress, and just appears to be pretty content. Throughout the day it will wonder the tank (only about 10 gallons) i know this is small but remember I just want to monitor it for a couple days, and it looks like it will attempt to get out for a little but nothing over dramatic and for no extended period of time. Now for my problem... I've offered it crickets yesterday and today but to no success in feeding. It notices the crickets, and will glance at them but shows no interest in them what so ever. Does this seem normal for a baby mellers that is in a new place? Tomorrow I'm going to put some small meal worms in, and see if it will get better results. But if this doesnt work this will be day 3 with me that it hasnt eaten. After this should I be worried or shoudl I just give it some time. I also plan on moving the mellers to its next stage terrarium (a 65gal. reptarium) with 2 pothis plants and grape vines. This is not my first time with chameleons & reptiles in general, but this is my first time with a Mellers Chameleon. Any suggestions or help at all will be greatly appreciated. And yes I have read Melleridiscovery.com.
Once again Thanks a lot!
-Ben
email; irocleis@yahoo.com

When you say a tank,do you mean an aquarium tank?If you do, I find that with the mountain chams they especially need that fresh air circulating for proper health.Also,it has been reported that their own reflection from the glass stresses a cham.I know this was temporary as you are concerned for him but why not put him in the screened enclosure and monitor him in there cause when you transfer him he may not eat again for a few days. He is most likely monitoring you and is on high alert. Remember he has been in the same home for 5 months now has been working on setting up his territory and most likely has a routine.(i find melleri to be creatures of habit...mine is asleep by 6 pm every night on his self designated sleeping stick) .You got him drinking which is key to his survival. They can drink alot so when you got him in that screened enclosure pay special attention to making sure he's still getting plenty of hydration and when he feels settled in he will eat. My guess is you got him from fl chams so you have a hardy baby with some fat reserves to start with. Not a fan of mealworms,you can gut load a superworm alot better but i suspect when he is hungry and settled in he will eat whatever you throw in there. Good luck!

Sometimes young chams can get overwhelmed by too much motion. When they don't eat and we start to worry, we tend to put too many insects in the cage hoping to get them started. The little cham will just end up watching all the motion but not pick out any individual to shoot at. I agree...go ahead and put it in its screen cage with lots of cover. The small space may be distracting and confusing. To keep food from getting lost in the larger setup, I've found that melleri eat well out of a larger plastic box or small critter keeper bin. Put the feeders in with some fresh gutload and wedge the box in the branches below where the cham tends to sit. It can climb down to shoot from the rim of the box when it is ready.

Ya, the only time I've seen him shoot at something was when there was a water droplet at the top of the screen, why he chose that I have no clue. But anywase it will be making the move to the larger enclosure soon, so hopefully things turn out the way I've been expecting them to.

Shooting at water drops isn't unusual. The glittering water surface attracts their attention. Might be simple curiosity rather than drinking sometimes.

That's what I figured but I just thought it was strange haha. But I think I'm going to go with the idea of putting a few crickets into a holding container and putting some of the gutload i have into the container also and letting them go for a while in the cage. He can just eat as he pleases then, and I'll of course keep track of the cricket count.