Female panther update, input appreciated

[Dankmeleon]

As many of you know, earlier this year I decided to try my hand at raising up 4 captive hatched panthers from flchams. I got them when they were 3 months old and the 2nd 2 about three weeks later. They are presumably ambilobe, and beautiful nonetheless. When they were smaller in size i kept all 4 of them in a 24 by 24 by 48 inch cage for about a month so I could power feed and get them to good size. I then put 2 and 2 in two 24 x 24 x 36 inch cages. I realize at that age they are supposed to be housed individually but it didn't work out too bad other than a bit of very minor territorial issues, they are now all much happy to be housed individually though, for anyones future reference.

at the beginning of this month I got them each there own cage and they are doing very nicely. I am inexperienced at keeping females and "reading" them, so I don't wish to make mistakes at the expense of my chams' health when some of you may have something you can see by pictures. The reason I say this, is my largest of the four is showing very pink coloration . it may just be that she has matured a bit faster, but I know little about infertile clutches so if anyone thinks its time to get digging containers in let me know. i forget how old these girls are i'll have to look it up, but i think they are roughly 6 months old maybe a little less

here are some pics for you, i'll start with the one i think there could be an issue with even though she seems pretty healthy, she is just getting HUGE
and i suspect she may be starting to develop an infertile clutch of eggs as she hasn't been presented to any males , although there is one across the way that she can vaguely get a glimpse of through the landscape.

1. pearl

 

[Dankmeleon]

2. cloud

 

[Dankmeleon]

3. MJ

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

wow.. cloud is pretty colorful for a female..and yeah..the first girl does look a little plump..my female just laid a clutch and she was about that size..im sure you know this but, ive been told to cut back on everyday feedings after the start to mature..its slows down the egg production..

 

[Dankmeleon]

4. smalls

thanks for viewing!!!


related earlier threads :
https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-goregous-female-panthers-12460/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/another-day-life-my-11535/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/chameleons-everywhere-12115/




please be on the look out for my veiled (7) update coming tommorow.

 

[Eyal]

What beautiful girls and boys, looks like she got eggs in her belly ( the first one ) The size of the belly is quite a like my friends' cham got now.

Again, very beautiful!

 

[SoCaliSon]

Hey Dank,

You got some really nice looking females there. It is hard to tell on some, cause they will throw the black if they get pissed, but the black stripes are a lot like the Gravid colors on my girls. And yeah, Cloud is freakin amazing... Good job with them... They appear to be loving life.

~Joe

 

[lbesok]

VERY nice looking girls I'd say if Pearl isn't pissed she's prob got some eggs. IMO I'd try to limit the food intake and keep them cooler, you don't want them wasting their life away shooting duds.... I do believe that visual contact with Reggie could possibly trigger her/them to produce an infertile clutch. They are all great looking, especially Cloud with all of that blue Mary is my favorite cham lol gotta love that picture where shes pissed and looks like she's going to bite your finger off HOT! She also seems to be the largest?!?! Last but not least Smalls is a cutie too, looks like she's just about to change over to orange........ahh
Thanks for posting your crew Gotta love um.
OOO U should post Reggie sometime soon too!

 

[kenya]

Cloud is GORGEOUS.

My little ambilobe looks like MJ.

 

[Dankmeleon]

no she looks like cloud trust me

 

[kenya]

no she looks like cloud trust me

Here- judge for yourself. I see MJ more from the photos you posted and these pics are of Sencha going from her normal relaxed to kind of upset. Keep in mind that she is a baby still- do you mean that she looks like Cloud did when she was a juvenile?

 

[kenya]

Sorry- I guess I got the wrong thread- Sencha does look like Cloud did as a baby but with a bit less blue.

 

[Nicodemayo]

Dank great looking females. I have a bit of advice for you that ive been using with great success. I still have alot to learn about reading females myself and their coloration but sometimes even the most experienced breeders have a hard time drawing the line of whether the female is gravid, or just non receptive. Really in my opinion, the best way to keep track of your girls, especially if you have more than one, is tracking their weight on a weekly or bi weekly bases. I made a simple chart on excel and have it on a clipboard in my cham room. Toss each girl on a scale once a week (twice is even better) and see what their weight is looking like. Rapid increases in weight anywhere from 8-20g (although this could be more or even less) in a mature panther female would likely indicate them carrying eggs although this may not always be true. I have heard of accounts where a female didnt gain any weight, didnt show any gravid colors, no increase of appetite, but all of a sudden dirt was found on the floor of the cage out of a pot and after some digging, sure enough, there was a clutch of eggs and the female had showed not even one sign of her carrying. Those instances may be rare but could happen unseen to even the experienced trained eye. Let me tell you about an ambi female of mine. I went on vacation to canada a few weeks back and john and cydi from the chameleon kingdom watched her and some other chameleons of mine. She consistantly weighed 57g give or take 2g over a course of a month so i felt that was as big as she was going to get. Well i had asked if cydi would weigh her a couple times while i was gone and she had started to gain considerable weight and after i got back from an almost 2 week vacation, she weighed 68g. After that i fed her well, had a cozy laying chamber prepared, and even continued to weigh her and she plateaued at right at 70g for an additional 2 weeks or more. After more than a month of her increase of weight and many palpating attempts, i came to a confident conclusion that she wasnt gravid, but may have hit her last growth spirt. I would show her to a male and she displayed non-receptive colors for about a week and a half until finally she became receptive. Her and my male have been together for 4 days and i have seen them copulate more times than i could count. I wish i had that kind of stamina lol. Today she displayed gravid colors so i took her out and put her in her own cage but not before I tossed her on the scale, and she weighed 74g. I would advise you do this from now on with your females to keep a closer watch on their growth. I use a food scale i got from target for $30 and it is a piece of equipment i think every breeder should have and consistently use. Your females look very healthy and you are doing a great job but i would advise you dont powerfeed when theyre young in the future as it might cause them to mature prematurely. All in all they look great i just thought i would share that with you!

 

[Dankmeleon]

Aww the good old days I miss these pretty girls