Gravid? or just a very colorful female? anyones opinion would be greatly appreciated.

[JoeyTwilight]

My female panther "Pangea" is just about 8 months old now and on her last shed about a week ago she had develeoped these magnificent red and green colors and seems to be developing a bit of a baby bump I was wondering perhaps these are just her gravid colors ?. She doesnt roam or wander around the bottom of the cage and exhibits no signs of preparing to lay. She is definately a female (my 3 month old male has an obvious bulge already). Unfortunately she came from an assorted box so there is no way of telling what locale really is. Maybe she is just a really colorful female ? Regardless she is a joy to care for with a really pleasant attitude(just a little camera shy) but I consider myself lucky to have her. So any guesses on the color issue would be great. Thanks guys (here are some pics of her chasing down some crickets, she is a serious hunter)

 

[ColorCham427]

She doesn't look gravid to me. She is gorgeous though!!! How old is she?

 

[Dean Pulcini]

She's just feeling good and showing it.

 

[Cainschams]

WOW!!!! That is one nice female!

 

[BocaJan]

Really beautiful! Lucky purchase.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

How long have you had her? are you sure of the age? How much does she way? You say eight months old but she came out of a box of assorted locales.

just curious, beautiful panther.

 

[Cainschams]

Oh. I wouldnt say gravid just RECEPTIVE. Looks like she wants a little action. Here is a pic of my female when she is ready for some love. Her eye in this pic was being bothered by something but its all good now.

 

[JoeyTwilight]

I have had her since May 28 2008 so about 5 months now, I can only guess about 7 or 8 months because she was only about 1.5 to 2 inches when I bought her so I assumed she was about 6 weeks(she was the smallest of the bunch but was the only one showing color and I bought her thinking she might be a male). I have never wieghed her but her body length is around 6 to 7 inches and around 12 inches head to tail especially when she does the straight tail twig impersination. I should have guessed she was ready for some action because of the way she stares at my little 3 month old male when he is showing his whites, even though he is 12 feet across the room. I have assorted indoor trees and plants in front of his cage to keep them from seeing eachother but she has an eagle eye at the moment, its like she can smell him. I am leaving for vacation on Dec 9 for 10 days and I am hoping she isnt bursting with eggs by then or hope she can drop them before I leave. Leaving my chams in the hands of someone else already scares me let alone leaving an uncomfortable female with eggs in unexperienced hands. The best I can do is not to worry to much, eventually it would be nice to breed such a georgeous female. Thanks for the input everyone !

 

[JoeyTwilight]

Wow now that is a GEORGEOUS female you have CairnsChams she is unreal, is she an ambilobe?

 

[Cainschams]

Thanks Joey. Was she 1.5-2 inches total lenght or snout to vent. You are probably around the right age if so. My woman hit maturity at around 7 months give or take. If you havent seen these colors before I would say she just hit womanhood Even though they are ready to breed maturity wise its good practice to wait untill they are 1 year so they have time to build up those bones and a good body size. She definatly is a beauty! Just wish you knew her locale but even if you do breed her she will make very nice babies for you Oh. yeah mine is from a red body blue bar ambilobe lineage. She has the laying process down, knock on wood. It doesnt take her only a couple hours. She knows to dig along the side of the laying bin where its easier. Speaking of bin its probably time to put one of those in with her. If you need any help with that just ask.

 

[JoeyTwilight]

Yes she was about 1.5-2 inches snout to vent when I got her. I dont plan on breeding her for awhile if ever due the fact I dont know what locale she is although I would hate to see those genetics go to waste and I would love to have some of her babies as pets (the more the merrier). I just built 2 new 24x32x60 cages for my chams and have some pictures of them on a thread in enlcosures. The larger size is to so that I can keep a laying bin in there full time if need be, I have experience with laying females before and I have always had good success with coconut fiber but I am considering sand. Hopefully my girl is as good of a layer as yours *fingers crossed*.

 

[Cainschams]

Glad to hear you got a nice cage that can hold a good bin. I use a bird cage for mine so I can easily slide the cage over the bin when needed. It stays in there about half the time. After she lays I know she wont need it for a little while so I give her the extra room and she likes to poop in it I would hate to see those genes not passed on myself. My first panther was the girl in the pic I posted. Females are definatly under rated in my opinion. They have there own beauty and own subtle personality qualities than Ive seen in my males.