Female Panther Breeding Age

[bradley]

Some of you may have seen my recent thread of my female panther who i feel is receptive. Not knowing her exact age I did not know whether to breed her or not as she was estimated at nine/ nearly 10 months. I may have managed to get her breeders details so I can find out her actual age.

Over the last few days I have been searching these forums and talking to big breeders here in the UK and the US about their thoughts on when the right time for a female to be bred is. I was surprised at how few people actually have said the solid year rule. Most people said to mate them on their first receptive cycle, some said as young as 8 months old. Many big breeders (I know they are in it to make money) would breed and not let them lay an infertile clutch first. One told me that they feel them laying infertiles from seeing a male can be harmful on them.

A lot of people said they would rather go off the weight and size of the female rather than the actual age.

What are other peoples opinions on this? Have you bred females under a year? Hopefully I will be able to contact the breeder but at the moment with my female I am leaning towards not mating her for at least another month if she is still receptive.

I know there will never be one straight answer but I find it interesting to see other peoples opinions and their personal experiences on the matter

 

[bradley]

Anyone wish to share their views?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I want females to be both 65g in weight as well as at least a year of age before breeding. Even if they are appropriate weight before one yearof age I feel they are still in the stage of high growth for their own bodies so the strain of making more bodies is an extra demand that we shouldn't push for. Calcium is redirected to the eggs instead of the skeleton of the female when the choice has to be made so I want to wait until they're older before forcing their bodies to make that choice. Of course females can start to produce infertile eggs before a year of age on their own, but I still do not think that they should be intentionally bred despite that. That's my 2 cents anyway, and I'm not in it for the money with breeding.

Laying infertile eggs vs fertile eggs being harmful is complete hogwash btw.

 

[jannb]

I want females to be both 65g in weight as well as at least a year of age before breeding. Even if they are appropriate weight before one yearof age I feel they are still in the stage of high growth for their own bodies so the strain of making more bodies is an extra demand that we shouldn't push for. Calcium is redirected to the eggs instead of the skeleton of the female when the choice has to be made so I want to wait until they're older before forcing their bodies to make that choice. Of course females can start to produce infertile eggs before a year of age on their own, but I still do not think that they should be intentionally bred despite that. That's my 2 cents anyway, and I'm not in it for the money with breeding.

Laying infertile eggs vs fertile eggs being harmful is complete hogwash btw.

I totally agree.

Here's the thread from yesterday. Many of us here believe the female is already gravid. https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-female-breeding-110749/

 

[bradley]

I agree those pictures do look as if she is displaying Gravid computation but this is only once the camera come out.

She is a light salmon pink when she is not infront of the camera like what the do when receptive. She did not show Gravid coloration like others when she saw the male.

here is her just before sleeping which shows the same colour she is throughout the day. I am not going to breed her yet unless I can confirm with the breeder her exact age and whether it is old enough for her to breed. It is great to see other peoples opinions on this matter.

 

[bradley]

Anyone else want to share their views or experiences?

 

[mcleodschams]

receptive is my guess as far as her coloration goes.