Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok. I have a female panther that is about 9 months old. She was sick when I got her at 3 months, and is a few months behind in growing. In the last 2 months she has grown quite a bit. She is about 5" ntv now, maybe even a little more. I was worried about her growth and when she started to eat regularily (at about 6 months of age) I fed her about 15 - 20 crix a day. For the last month or so I have backed off a bit. She gets about 10 - 15 a day, OR I will cup feed until she slows down and isn't too interested in them (I like to do it this way when there is time to be sure she isn't eating just "because" - or over eating).
What I need to know is how large she should be for her age, or if anyone possible has a growth chart I could see. Also, how many crix should she be getting each day? Right now I am dusting with minearal-I once a week. It's the summer here and her cage is by a window that is open all day and has sun most of the afternoon, so she does get some natural sunlight.
ALSO, I need info about what to look for if she is going to have a virgin clutch. I have never had a female before, so all the info I can get on this would be appreciated greatly!
Thankyou! Also, if there are any other things you want to fill me in on that I should know about female panthers, inform away!
~Lindsay

I don't have an actual growth chart (although I have been working on one), but 5" SVL for 9 months old doesn't seem too small to me. I've been keeping track of a few of my females by weight and for reference, I have a female panther that is 4 12 months old and weighs about 42 grams. Female panthers don't get too big anyways (not near as large as the males, unless they're not bred AT ALL, and even then it takes them a year and a half to get large). I would think that 15-20 a day is a little excessive, especially if she eats them fast, like within a few hours. It's better for them if their meals are spaced out during the day (even though it's not usually reasonable for someone to sit around all day waiting to feed at a certain time). But if you're not planning on breeding her, I would cut her diet down to only feeding her like maybe 4 days a week. That will keep her from becoming too "fat" and will make her live longer. I would give her about 8-10 crickets a day (if possible, 4-5 at a time twice a day) on certain days.... I do Sundays with no supplements, Tuesdays with Calcuim, Thursdays with Multivitamin, Saturdays with Calcuim and D3, and every day inbetween with no food. This is also the schedule I use for my adult males, and they have come out great and are doing fine with it (pics in the photo album). I've never had a virgin clutch with a panther, but I think it's more of an occurence in Veileds, and even then it usually only happens when the animal is overfed. I would begin weighing her every 2 weeks and drawing a chart with a line graph on it to monitor her weight. If she looks like she's getting fat even when on this feeding schedule and you think she might be filled with eggs, you could always try her in an egg laying container (too much to explain this time unless you want me to E-Mail an explanation later). It's easier to tell when she's sitting upright like with her head going "up" a branch and her tail down below her, when they're heavily pregnant (within a week or so) you can see the shapes of eggs in the back of her stomach, like right in front of her rear legs on the sides of her belly. I hope this all helps you. Let me know if you have questions!
-Tyler Stewart

Thanks! That's exactly the stuff I needed to know!