Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Why do panthers cost so much? Are they really worth some of the high prices people are asking? Also what about mixed locales, should the price be lower for a mixed or unknown?

I am just wondering, so I am asking.
Mark

The main reason is there extremely AMAZING colors! Not a single animal on the face of the Earth has colors that even begin to compete with theres. Many other, cheaper chameleons also have beautiful colors, but not the hardiness of a Panther...

As for locales, Mixed locales are usually cheaper becasue people look for pure morphs. There is nothing at all wrong with mixed locales, personally i have seen some mixed ones that were UNBELIEVEABLE!!! one nice thing about mixes is that everyone is an individual.

Great question, really!
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Eric

I fight for the unconventional
My right, and its unconditional
I can only, be as real as i can
The disadvantage is
I never knew the plan
This isnt the way just to be a martyr
I cant, walk alone any longer
I fight, for the ones that cant fight
And if I lose, at least I tried....
(Slipknotulse of the Maggots)

I have a mixed panther. Personally, I think they are a great investment, it's really fun to see how their colors turn out!

Michele
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Cobalt, Ambanja/Nosy Be cross...

...people will pay that price. Veileds are cheap because they are easy to breed, and therefore are bred in great numbers, by nearly anyone. Many veileds are just as desireable, if not more so, than any pardalis - not having to be fired up to show prime coloration, for example, larger size, neater ornimentation, hardier, and longer lived...

But they are bred so easily, the are wholesaled in large numbers. Pardalis are not so easily bred. Plus, the different color locales is GREAT for marketing purposes - new ones are expensive, old ones, not so much.

There was a time, not too long ago, when veileds were THE most expensive chameleon out there - many times as expensive as parsonii even.

Sure, pardalis are nice, but they usually have to be fired up to look their BEST...

By the way, that "cross" nosey be/ambanja is about the best looking panther I've seen. I want one just like him. Seriously.

Thanks so much for the compliment! I'm astonished you think so, especially coming from a breeder like you! Guess I got the 'luck of the draw' when I purchased him. For a while though, his color was really soft and more of a pastel, thought he was gonna' be a dud...He literally gained color overnight.

Michele
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Old pics of Cobalt- 9-10 months old

There's a lot of reasons to maintain "pure" locale bloodlines. A lot of
good, scientific, ethical and conservation-sih reasons.

But THE reason they are maintained, the #1 reason pure bloodlines are
so common, and mixed are not, is capitalism. Supply and demand.
There's a lot of demand for pure bloodlines, because people "know
what they're going to get". It's like purebred dogs. If hybrid panthers
were produced that were nicer than an ambilobe or nosey be (like
yours), and was reproducible by breeding, then you'd see demand for
those animals increase. As of now, your is the only hybrid I've seen
that equaled, or even surpassed many "pure" locales. I bet he was
cheaper, too...hehe.

Dont' misunderstand me - I love capitalism, and the free market and
such. but when people say that breeders that mix bloodlines do so for
"greed", it's nonsense. It's FAR more profitable to breed pure
bloodlines.

When it becomes profitable to cross breed pardalis, it's going to
happen. As long as we're not mixing subspecies, AND the naturally
occuring locales are maintained in captive populations , I see nothing
ethically wrong with crossing them. Especially when doing so is likely
to result in new color morphs, without having to resort to excessive
inbreeding. I think it's far worse to inbreed a particular locale in order
to isolate a praticular color pattern.

ok i understand better now. I have a panther but i did not pay a high price for it. Thanks for everyones help.

Mark