|
The Melleri Discovery For a list of reptile vets: http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm. Hatchlings Adolescents
Adults Healthy adult color is typically alternating stripes over a background color that covers the head and limbs. Background color may be leaf green or blue-green, with yellow stripes. Adults that are being fed or handled may also show white and black fine spotting all over. See below for stress colors. When basking, the side facing the sun will turn dark green to almost solid black. The shaded side will stay the individual's normal resting color. A well-cared-for Meller's chameleon may live 12 years in captivity. Many freshly imported animals die early deaths (often within a month of being purchased) due to injuries and emotional stress from the entire capture/importation process. A stressed melleri needs the speedy assistance of its new owner and a vet to save its life. For in-depth information on acclimating your new melleri: How to Acclimate Your New Melleri. Healthy animals have a clean, mite-free skin that shows no black scratches or necrosis (dead tissue). Chameleons can bruise easily. Bruises show as dark gray or black areas, but will not have the hard crusty texture of necrotic areas. Well-fed and watered adults have muscular limbs without sharp bone structure definition. Hips, shoulder blades, and spine should not be starkly visible. Eyes should be bright, clear, and quick to focus on objects around them. The skin-covered turrets that house each eye should be full and dome-shaped with no crust, dead skin, or black-colored injuries. Subadults eat live insect prey of suitable size (equal to length of mouth, viewed from the side), such as small crickets, young roaches, and moth larvae. Subadults will consume approximately 6 to 20 individual bugs per day, fluctuating with growth spurts. WARNING: never offer food items that are too large for the lizard to eat and never offer insects collected from areas where there have been insecticide and fertilizer treatments. Adults require large live prey including crickets, moths, butterflies, silkworms, butterworms, waxworms, giant and standard mealworms, locusts (grasshoppers), mantids, hissing cockroaches, earthworms, walking sticks, and other non-toxic prey. It is recommended to remove the barbed hind legs of grasshoppers before offering them to chameleons as these can cause tears in the chameleon's throat. Adult melleri may also eat hatchling birds, small lizards, and non-toxic, parasite-free tree frogs. If a balanced gutload (a nutritious feed for prey insects) is being used, over supplementation of mineral dust and vitamin liquids can cause deadly edema (swelling on throat or chest). It is better to properly feed all prey, then supplement only as the lizard's growth or reproductive condition require. For prey gutload recipes, see our recommended gutload for the melleri chameleon. Acclimated adults maintain healthy weights when fed 1-2 large prey items once or twice daily or every other day (for a daily total of 2 to 4 large bugs). New imports should be offered as much as they will eat. Gravid females and growing youngsters should be fed liberally. Before buying your chameleon gather, house, and gutload several prey species. For growing subadults and gravid females, calcium carbonate dust (or Neocalglucon liquid prescribed by a vet) once or twice a week is adequate. Melleri of all ages may occasionally eat vegetation, so it is very important to provide only live, non-toxic plants in the cage. For a list of non-toxic houseplants: http://www.iguanaden.com/diet/nontoxic.htm Or check The Chameleon Community Safe Plant List. WARNING: Young melleri can and will try to eat artificial plants, leading to intestinal blockages and death. Melleri are extremely territorial- they consider everything in view to be theirs to defend. No other pets should enter or share this area. The sight of other animals (even the same species) and frequent human traffic can cause extreme stress for a newly purchased melleri resulting in immune system breakdown, illness and death. Look at the environment you provide through the eyes of a chameleon and remove/cover any mirrors or highly reflective surfaces. Place the cage high in the room so the melleri can look down from a perch at least 12" above your head. Juveniles can be housed in fine screen cages, but the active adolescents require larger mesh screen to prevent claw and foot damage. Adults need at least 1 x 1.5" vinyl-coated mesh screen. The overall cage size should be as large as you can make it, such as 4' x 6' x 6' for a single animal and a robust collection of live plants. Some melleri do not tolerate caging but may thrive in a free-range indoor set-up (see below). Outdoor enclosures are preferred for physical and mental health. The 260 gallon Reptarium all-screen cage, when placed on a raised platform, has worked for some as a temporary outdoor cage. Large and medium horizontal perches should run diagonally and along the cage walls to give the animal places to rest off the screen. Allow 10" of headroom above the highest perch for an adult to fully bask. Live potted trees such as Ficus benjamina or Ficus alli tolerate the climbing and perching of this giant species. Indoors, provide the low-heat fluorescent Reptisun 5.0 bulb and a hot basking spotlight. Reptisun lights should to be placed within 6 to 8" of basking perches for maximum effectiveness and they need to be changed every six months. To imitate the natural daylight cycle, buy lamp timers and set them on 12-hour cycles. Melleri do best with a combination of outdoor natural sunlight basking and indoor care when weather is extreme. Never allow the chameleon to bask outdoors without being securely (resistant to animal penetration and wind) housed or under constant supervision. They will wander off into traffic or be prey to other animals including predatory birds. House melleri individually, even if purchased in pairs. For accounts of how keepers have successfully introduced and cohabitated pairs, see Cohabitation. For more information on alternative habitats for giant chameleons: http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/mar2003/free_range/free_range.html. Comfort Day range: ambient 65°F to 80°F Night range: 70°F down to 50°F Heat spotlight only: 80-90°F Heat stress is observed when the ambient temperature reaches 83-90°F Keep all heat sources at least 10" from the skin surface of the perching chameleon. Melleri are adept at burning themselves in captivity. Heat lights resting on metal cage screens may be too close to perches. Don't guess: always measure the distance from heat source to lizard to be certain.
Indoors, it's safe to mist and use rain chambers daily when the humidity is 20-40%, as it is in an air-conditioned/heated home. Keep an evaporative humidifier blowing on the melleri enclosure, but angle it to allow the animal to perch out of the breeze.
Bacteria and fungi are common and serious problems that cause severe infections and death. Regularly check the cage for mold and fungus growth, and remove feces (droppings) or dead prey insects whenever you find them. Inspect the plants and pots to be sure the chameleon is not eating the potting soil. Soil eating is a sign of insufficient nutrition, so make adjustments in gutload or supplementation. Clean cage furnishings seasonally or more often if needed, only using residue-free chemicals that are safe for pets or infants. Palmolive antibacterial dish soap, Quatricide and Nolvasan pre-op surface cleaners are safe, or you can use enclosure sanitation products from reptile specialty stores. Chameleons tend to rub their vent (cloaca or anus) on perches after defecating, so scrub perches well with a hard brush. You may not see it, but perches can be quite dirty. Bleach should not be used on plastic, as it will be absorbed by the material and can poison animals over the long term. Follow directions on product labels, rinse all surfaces thoroughly with clean water, and allow all to dry before returning your melleri to its territory. GSE (grapefruit seed extract) Nutribiotic, a wide spectrum antimicrobial, meaning it kills fungi, bacteria, some viruses, and most parasites. The Bird Care Company's Enviroclens disinfectant Pet Focus disinfectant (no need to rinse just let air dry) For cleaning cages, perches, cricket or other prey rearing cages. Saniclens, for cleaning watering devices. Calciboost liquid calcium, for use once a month for young melleri, or as directed by your vet. Add bee pollen and spirolina (dried blue green algae) to your prey gutload, or dust on prey for added health benefits for your melleri. Both are available at health food stores. Reptisafe AmQuel Water detoxifiers, both of these brand names are safe for use on chameleons. |