"Is She Gravid?"

Randers88

Established Member
Happy Friday Everyone,
As of lately my beautiful seven month old, Female Panther Cham... Kashmir has been showing such beautiful colors that my girlfriend and I can't help but share our love for her with others. We've been frequently asked if she is gravid though. She's only seven months old but her weight (67 grams) has been increasing, but this would naturally be happening as she grows anyways. She does seem a bit on the "chunky" side but I'm still unsure. We provided her with a 12 in x10in x 18in lay bin with a small/medium size Pothos, the sand/soil holds a tunnel suitably. I'm still unsure as I was under the impression that she's still too young. She is our first and oldest female (We now have two females and one male) of our chameleon family and I have grown increasingly paranoid about this matter. I occasionally find her in some of the bottom sections of her cage, appearing to inspect for a would be lay area, still on the vines not the actual bottom of the cage. She generally ignores the lay bin though. She's able to slightly see my ten month old male panther, would it be possible that this helped to speed up her ability to produce eggs this young? I know that many say that we are in the wrong for allowing them to see each other at all but I've always thought that some minor ability to see one another could be beneficial for when/if we decide to finally breed this pair later on. She's still eating every day as her appetite is still very strong, some days she eats more than others I've felt her stomach to see if I could feel any would-be eggs but I could feel anything that I believed to be eggs. As I said originally, many keep asking if she's gravid solely based on her appearance and its turned me into a nervous father. Any insights on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I've included a picture of her that I just took and the the questionnaire below.
Thank you all for your help!!!!

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Female, Seven Months old, 64 grams, She's been with us for four months now
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • I handle her twice a week at most, she's a loner most of the time and refuses the attention.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Daily = Small>Medium Crickets: 10 , Green banana Roaches: 3-5, Silkworm: 1 (Still trying to get her used to them),
  • Once a week: Horned worm: 1
  • Gutloading: Crickets = repashy bug burger, Collard Greens, Carrots; Green Banana Roaches: Repashy Bug Burger, Apple Slices; Silk Worms = Silk Worm Chow; Horned Worms= Repashy Horned worm chow
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Repashy NoD x3 weekly, Repashy LoD x2 Monthly, Herptivite x2 Monthy, Just picked up some Repashy Calcium plus to add into the weekly regiment as well.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Mist King: Morning = 3 mins, afternoon = 3 mins, evening = 4 mins, Hour after lights out = 1 min
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • Typical / nothing stands out as being off, brown with white urate. She has a fecal done last month as we in the clear and I purchased a microscope and the book "Understanding Reptile Parasites". I've done a weekly check since and have seen zero parasites as well. ******If anybody has a better book for recognizing parasites more specifically prone to chameleons, I would love to purchase it.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
  • She has been seen inspecting the bottom of the cage from time to time, has never been seen inside her lay bin. I installed a small BlueTooth camera facing her planters/lay bin out of paranoia that she might lay in her lay bin without us noticing/know where she laid.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • 48x24x24" Screened enclosure.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • UV: 24" Reptisun 5.0 UVT5 HO, 24" ; Basking: 75 Watt Basking Bulb Twelve Hour Cycle for Both
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • 86* at highest Basking spot, 75* at lowest vine. Temperature gun to take readings. Overnight Temperature = 74-71*.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Daytime Humidity average = 77*, maintained by Misting sessions during the day and brief ones at night, along with six hour over night cycle with a humidifier. Readings taking with electronic humidity reader (forgive my poor grammar)
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Golden Pothos, Schefflera Arbicola, Pitcher Plant
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • The chameleons have their own room in one of the guest bedrooms thats been turned into they're own space away from high traffic. The AC vent in the room has been turned around to face the wall in order to keep the room ventilated but air won't blast into their cages, no ceiling fans. The top of the cage is roughly seven feet off the ground.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Tampa Bay area, FL

Current Problem - Is she gravid?
 

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I just noticed some errors on my initial post. She weighs 67 grams and *I couldn't feel any eggs when checking your stomach.
 
Happy Friday Everyone,
As of lately my beautiful seven month old, Female Panther Cham... Kashmir has been showing such beautiful colors that my girlfriend and I can't help but share our love for her with others. We've been frequently asked if she is gravid though. She's only seven months old but her weight (67 grams) has been increasing, but this would naturally be happening as she grows anyways. She does seem a bit on the "chunky" side but I'm still unsure. We provided her with a 12 in x10in x 18in lay bin with a small/medium size Pothos, the sand/soil holds a tunnel suitably. I'm still unsure as I was under the impression that she's still too young. She is our first and oldest female (We now have two females and one male) of our chameleon family and I have grown increasingly paranoid about this matter. I occasionally find her in some of the bottom sections of her cage, appearing to inspect for a would be lay area, still on the vines not the actual bottom of the cage. She generally ignores the lay bin though. She's able to slightly see my ten month old male panther, would it be possible that this helped to speed up her ability to produce eggs this young? I know that many say that we are in the wrong for allowing them to see each other at all but I've always thought that some minor ability to see one another could be beneficial for when/if we decide to finally breed this pair later on. She's still eating every day as her appetite is still very strong, some days she eats more than others I've felt her stomach to see if I could feel any would-be eggs but I could feel anything that I believed to be eggs. As I said originally, many keep asking if she's gravid solely based on her appearance and its turned me into a nervous father. Any insights on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I've included a picture of her that I just took and the the questionnaire below.
Thank you all for your help!!!!

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Female, Seven Months old, 64 grams, She's been with us for four months now
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • I handle her twice a week at most, she's a loner most of the time and refuses the attention.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Daily = Small>Medium Crickets: 10 , Green banana Roaches: 3-5, Silkworm: 1 (Still trying to get her used to them),
  • Once a week: Horned worm: 1
  • Gutloading: Crickets = repashy bug burger, Collard Greens, Carrots; Green Banana Roaches: Repashy Bug Burger, Apple Slices; Silk Worms = Silk Worm Chow; Horned Worms= Repashy Horned worm chow
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Repashy NoD x3 weekly, Repashy LoD x2 Monthly, Herptivite x2 Monthy, Just picked up some Repashy Calcium plus to add into the weekly regiment as well.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Mist King: Morning = 3 mins, afternoon = 3 mins, evening = 4 mins, Hour after lights out = 1 min
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • Typical / nothing stands out as being off, brown with white urate. She has a fecal done last month as we in the clear and I purchased a microscope and the book "Understanding Reptile Parasites". I've done a weekly check since and have seen zero parasites as well. ******If anybody has a better book for recognizing parasites more specifically prone to chameleons, I would love to purchase it.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
  • She has been seen inspecting the bottom of the cage from time to time, has never been seen inside her lay bin. I installed a small BlueTooth camera facing her planters/lay bin out of paranoia that she might lay in her lay bin without us noticing/know where she laid.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • 48x24x24" Screened enclosure.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • UV: 24" Reptisun 5.0 UVT5 HO, 24" ; Basking: 75 Watt Basking Bulb Twelve Hour Cycle for Both
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • 86* at highest Basking spot, 75* at lowest vine. Temperature gun to take readings. Overnight Temperature = 74-71*.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Daytime Humidity average = 77*, maintained by Misting sessions during the day and brief ones at night, along with six hour over night cycle with a humidifier. Readings taking with electronic humidity reader (forgive my poor grammar)
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Golden Pothos, Schefflera Arbicola, Pitcher Plant
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • The chameleons have their own room in one of the guest bedrooms thats been turned into they're own space away from high traffic. The AC vent in the room has been turned around to face the wall in order to keep the room ventilated but air won't blast into their cages, no ceiling fans. The top of the cage is roughly seven feet off the ground.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Tampa Bay area, FL

Current Problem - Is she gravid?

I never get over how crazy beautiful these females look. Definitely looks like gravid colors, much too dark imo to be receptive colors.
 
I was definitely very gentle as I have no idea what I was really looking for.

Ya. I had a carpet Cham that started dropping eggs around her cage so I took her to the vet. After I made the appointment I found out it’s common for carpet chams to do this. Anyway the vet said she could feel at least 3 eggs still in her. She had 6. And she only weighed 16g with those 6 eggs. Just an example of how tough it can be to feel for eggs.
 
She doesn't consistently display these darker colors though. It's off and on, honestly.

They don’t always display their gravid colours. When relaxed they will go back to normal colours. If she’s turn dark while basking it’s to absorb more heat but I think it looks different then these colours.

Could also be a stress display. Note her hand raised in the karate chop position.
 
They don’t always display their gravid colours. When relaxed they will go back to normal colours. If she’s turn dark while basking it’s to absorb more heat but I think it looks different then these colours.

Could also be a stress display. Note her hand raised in the karate chop position.
This wasn't taken under her basking light. She's actually mid step but I think I'm going to hang the sheet up for a day or two. If this doesn't do the trick then to the garbage can with a lid, she goes! Fortunately I have a camera in her cage to keep an eye on her so if she does need to go to the garbage can, at least I can still keep an eye on her without pestering.
 
This wasn't taken under her basking light. She's actually mid step but I think I'm going to hang the sheet up for a day or two. If this doesn't do the trick then to the garbage can with a lid, she goes! Fortunately I have a camera in her cage to keep an eye on her so if she does need to go to the garbage can, at least I can still keep an eye on her without pestering.

If you try the garbage can don’t use the lid lol. Unless you cut a hole and put a screen or something. Put a light over it and a couple sticks inside. Listening to the podcast about mellers chameleons they talked about how they wouldn’t lay if there were branches in there though. They would just sit on the branch instead of digging. Not sure if it would be the same for panthers.
 
If you try the garbage can don’t use the lid lol. Unless you cut a hole and put a screen or something. Put a light over it and a couple sticks inside. Listening to the podcast about mellers chameleons they talked about how they wouldn’t lay if there were branches in there though. They would just sit on the branch instead of digging. Not sure if it would be the same for panthers.
HAHAHAHA It's scary to think how many people wouldn't think to provide airholes to a LIVING creature. Better safe than sorry with telling me of course.
 
She started showing receptive colors a few weeks ago when my male and her first noticed each other. She was for pink/salmon colored for some time and was definitely displaying herself for him. For a week or so, she’s been darkening up and we’ve noticed her inspecting the bottom of her cage. There’s been a laying bin in her cage for about six weeks now.
I put a sheet around the sides of her cage to give her some privacy, I check the camera off and on to check on her.
 
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