New Born Panther Care Advice Needed

MikeG386

New Member
I have a pair of Ambilobe Panthers that I'm looking to start breeding when they are old enough. They are only young atm, but I want to have all the info well in advance to be prepared. There seems to be lots of info about this all the way through to hatching the eggs, but very little after that. Could anyone give me some tips post hatching? How many can be kept together? I have been told that upto 7 can live together for the 1st 3-4 months, then must be split individually? What is best to keep them in for the first 3-4 months and how big? Is there anything wrong with putting several enclousures next to each other with 1 big heat mat & 1 big uv outside, with individual heat lamps?
 
My suggestions:
  • Make sure the female is well and fully developed before breeding, and feed her well when she is making eggs (not just after breeding).
  • Have at least a year experience before breeding
  • water babies with a very fine mist, several times daily.
  • feed as much as they can eat within about 5 minutes, 2-4 times per day.
  • offer a wide variety of prey from the beginning. become proficient at breeding fruit flies, bean beetles, mealworms (baby mealworms for baby chams), silkworms (baby silkworms for baby chams), crickets (for pinheads), tropical isopods or small/young standard terrestrial isopods, etc in advance of the anticipated hatch date. they eat alot - more than you might expect. Be prepared.
  • be prepared with about 20 cages for ~ month 3. You can group house in the first month. By the second month you'll notice some are larger than others and will bully the little ones out of food and the best perches. Move the larger ones to cages with only 1-3 animals - watch for bullying and separate into individual cages each by about month 3. If you ahve really large cages, you might keep a couple females together longer, but definitely not males. I use exoterra terrariums for babies (24" cubes, glass with vent at the front doors and screen top). some people use plastic totes.
  • I liked to use a UVB tube(s) that was already a bit burned in (a month or 2 old) on babies. Yes one long tube overtop a couple cages is fine (best to put a visual barrier between cages)
  • If your home /room is reasonably warm, you wont need/want a heat lamp until the second month, and even then probably a very low watt bulb. juvy basking spot should be around 80F/26C, mid cage ambient around 70F, down to around 68F ambient at night (they can handle lower if needs be). You dont want to use a heat mat at all - heat comes from above, like the sun.
  • Have vet money ready, just in case
  • expect to loose money; dont expect a profit.

lots of info /previous discussion on breeding:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/63-links-regarding-breeding.html
 
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caging

The first month i split them up in 10g critter keepers. 10 to a cage. Keeps the hydei from escaping to easily and keeps humidity up. The second month i move them to 16x16x20 reptibreeze. 15 to a cage. The third to fourth month, they go to 18x18x30 reptibreezes. They will poop a lot, so make to monitor and keep clean. It will be a lot of.work, but omg it will be so much fun watching them. They are bullies to each other, climbing over and on each other. You don't want the cage to be too big, so they can easily find food 3-4 times a day .
 
I have gone the best way for me. When my babies are born they go into individual baby cages from Dragon Strand - one of our sponsors. I tried 4 of them, fell in love and they are ready for the eggs to hatch. They are small cages so you can find the babies, at one baby per cage you know they are eating as the poop is from that cham, and best of all you know how each baby is growing.

With my second clutch of quads, I tried both methods. I had 4 in individual cages, and 3 per 16x16x20 inch cages. One of the chams in the group cages was as big as the chams kept in individual cages, the others ranges in sizes. I am now set up for all babies to be in their own cages. I think it is healthier for the chams.

Saldarya (Bobbie) covers it way better that I do.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/pics-neonate-tubs-nursery-cages-128577/
 
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Thank you all so much for your time and help! I am at least a year away from attempting to breed yet, my panthers are still too young atm and i want to build up my knowledge first and make sure i have all the equipment i need beforehand, nice to know I've found somewhere to get to useful advice and support!
 
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