Is she large enough to breed

[Keeneye]

Hi I have a female nosy be from beautiful bloodlines. Problem is she is pretty small compared to our other females. She is a year old and about 80 grams. I asked the breeder and he told me that her sire stayed on the smaller side also. I purchased her with the intention to breed her one day but I dont want to do it too soon as to cause any harm to her. Does anyone have any advice on what an appropriate weight / age is for a breeding female? Thank you for any input

 

[jannb]

If she's over a year old and healthy then you could breed her. Some females are just smaller than others but I would probably wait a few more months. Please post some photos of her.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Eighty grams is a fairly substantial weight for a female. So size will not be an issue. Females being "ready to breed" is more a function of size, not age, as in optimal conditions, such as out of doors in Florida in the summer, female panthers can grow to breeding size in as little as 5 months. Raised indoors, that is more of an 8 month effort. The key concern is whether she is properly prepared to breed, as many captive husbandry regimens do not prepare the female as well as is done in the wild. The typical deficiencies are with calcium and certain vitamins, resulting in females unable to successfully endure gestation, and/or the laying of good eggs, and/or the female then properly recovering post-laying. Unfortunately, your female is not programmed to know that it is deficient, as in the wild, deficiency does not occur to any measurable extent.

If your husbandry is weak in preparing females, then added time may benefit you, as females can store the vital resources needed so long as they are receiving enough to meet their own sustenance needs, and then some. But I want to reinforce that it is not so much a function of time, as it is one of husbandry. In the wild, these girls are impregnated as soon as they are willing, typically at about 6 months.

 

[Keeneye]

Thank you both so much for your input. Its appreciated very much! I just recieved my liquid calcium glubionate today... i will give her that for at least a few weeks before breeding her and I do gutload on fresh fruits and veggies but anytime I try to dust with a multivitamin this girl gets edema .... I will focus on her nutrition for a little while longer, maybe a month or two, then I will attempt to breed her. Thank you again. The knowledge shared on these forums is priceless....

 

[Keeneye]

A photo of her

 

[Chameleon Company]

Thank you both so much for your input. Its appreciated very much! I just recieved my liquid calcium glubionate today... i will give her that for at least a few weeks before breeding her and I do gutload on fresh fruits and veggies but anytime I try to dust with a multivitamin this girl gets edema .... I will focus on her nutrition for a little while longer, maybe a month or two, then I will attempt to breed her. Thank you again. The knowledge shared on these forums is priceless....

I have not used glubionate, only the liquid calcionate product, which is several times more expensive, so don't know what to say about it. However, liquid products are far more effective then powders and dusting. I also recommend the liquid vitamin products, such as Flukers liquid reptile vitamins. One drop per week. Far better product than any powdered vitamin.

 

[Keeneye]

Ok.... I will look for the liquid multivitamin.I didnt realize it was made in a liquid .... weve made several attempts with the powder and everytime without fail... her neck and underarms swell....

 

[jannb]

A photo of her

She is a very lovely lady. I hope she will do well when you decide to breed her.

I only give a drop or two of the liquid calcium once a week until I know they are getting ready to lay and then I up it to every few days. After they lay I give it for 3 or 4 days in a row and then back to once a week.

 

[Keeneye]

Thank you I hope so too. She is so sweet, I will do everything I can to ensure she stays healthy. And thank you for the calcium schedule. I will follow it ,I had been wondering how much/how often since this seems like a very strong supplement...

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I have not used glubionate, only the liquid calcionate product, which is several times more expensive, so don't know what to say about it.

Calcionate is a brand name for calcium Glubionate. I follow the same schedule that Jann laid out except I do it twice a week when I know she's gravid.

 

[Keeneye]

Awsome.... thank you!!