Question about baby panthers, age, and sex

jonthefb

New Member
Hello, my name is Jon and i am the manager of Animal Attraction pet store in greeley, Colorado. We are a full service shop that specializes in Reptiles and aquatics, and the goods to care for these animals. Through one of our reptile wholesalers we have the ability to purchase Captive Bred and Born baby Panther Chameleons from a variety of locales. We have reared 2 of the breeders Ambanja panthers from babies to adults and this person definately produces some spectacular offspring. The actual breeder sells babies to a wholesaler who we then purchase offspring from.

My questions are: What is the approximate length of new hatchlings? The babies that we are getting vary anywhere from 1 1/2 " to 2" SVL and i am curious as to their age. I have read a lot of conflicting info on the web stating that they are 3 months old plus, so i was wondering what some of the panther breeders on this specialist forum had to say. I purchased a baby ambilobe from this wholesaler/breeder at the end of January and he was about 2" SVL and he is now 4" SVL and 8" total and is growing like a weed. My avatar is a close up pic of his head

My second question is also regarding babies. When purchasing baby panthers from our wholesaler we try to specify males and females, but at 1 1/2 to 2" SVL, are there any visual clues to determining sex? Again I have read so many conflicting arguements on the web that i am at a loss. For example, my co-worker who also just joined the cham forums, purchased an ambilobe at the same time i did. His baby was very red, and again this was only at about 2" SVL. It was showing red stripes through the eyes, red along the top crest of the body running to the tail, and the tail had very predominate red striping as well, however his is nowhere near the size of mine, and we have had them for the same amount of time under virtually identical conditions, and his is showing no color other than the red that it has had since a baby, where mine already has sky blue bars, orange on the eye and nose, and is jsut amazingly colored. Could his possibly be a female, even though it was more colorful as a baby? or do some just reach coloration quicker than others. As far as Hemipenal bulges are concerned, his is showing a bump in the area, but thats about all we can determine. Another question to all the breeders out there. Is sexing baby panthers chalked up to lots of experience raising/breeding them? Any hints or tips you could give to people considering breeding them?

well i think that is is for now, basically questions regarding babies, and their size/age and sex. Thanks so much for your time!

cheers~!
jon
 
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You said..."What is the approximate length of new hatchlings?"...it varies slightly...about 2". They are slower to grow in the first couple of months than veileds though. (BTW...I'm not a big breeder of panthers.)

You said..."are there any visual clues to determining sex? " an "Is sexing baby panthers chalked up to lots of experience raising/breeding them?". It definitely takes a bit of practice. I still tend to look at the base of the tails to see if they are males or females. Its hard to be 100% accurate though.

Hopefully some who breed panthers more than I do will have better answers.
 
At that SVL you're looking at 3-4 inches total, so yeah they should be well started, at least. Should be in the 2-3 month range.

As to sexing, I agree also that it's difficult to always get it right. From my experience breeding Ambanjas and Nosy Bes, some baby females will occasionally change to that peachish color that they get as adults. By 4" total length they should be getting easier to sex, though. Hope that helps
 
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