Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,

Thinking about the rarity of specific morphs got me "wandering". The Ankaramy Pink Panthers are certainly one of the most rare, if not the most rare panther morphs out there. You would think that the rarer the morph, the more people would want it. Its just common sense. But the pink panthers are certainly not as popular as the ambilobes. Or is it?

I'd like to make a survey here. Say if there is a cluth of Ankaramies and a cluth of Ambilobes out on Kingsnake adds for sale, both at 350 bucks a piece, which would each of you guys go for?

Let's determine which of the rarer morphs are more popular!

I would take Ambilobes. Ankaramy Pink Panthers color wise don't do it for me. The more color the better.

ep id chose the ambilobes they are just more colorful than a bright pink chameleon.....i might take the pink if i liked pink

but in reality i would say that a $350 chameleon is too much for me (im only 16)

I'd go with Ambilobe...the Ankaramies are pretty, but I love the many bright colors of the Ambilobe's.

Kristen
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0.2 pygmy leaf

There is also a very good reason for the Ankaramy's rareness in the "cham world".... they are not easy to keep, compared to other panthers. The main problems, from what we have been told, is acclimating them after capture. Most long-time cham researchers/breeders/keepers will advise that one must be considered "expert" to do good with this species.

If one wants to learn more, there are a couple of breeders that are working with this morph - one is Mystical Chameleons. Maybe someday we will see more CB Ankaramy panthers.

As to personal choice... we would take both.
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Even Ivan Alfonso hasn't hade a good experience with Ankaramies. Most of his hatched babies never made it. Its a pity that they are hard to keep. Some of the spectacular ones are purplish, and man..those sure are pretty!

We agree..... they are unique.

We have discussed Ankaramys with Ivan, and he told us how touchy they are. There just doesn't seem to be enough experience yet with this morph. Hopefully, someone will discover the secret to their successful husbandry in the future.
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Hi group:

Ankaramies are very nervous panthers and enjoy their privacy too much. We managed to keep a nice group of 10 WC Ankaramies (out of 11) doing great and well established but most of them were really small when purchased. The cages were 3 times more planted than "regular" panthers and we watered them twice as much. They did excellent and we lost one male who was very large and very colorful. All the other 5.5 did great and we did manage to get many eggs from the breedings. The breeders were sold as I was not their owner and my buddy (who was the owner) needed the money. Should I have known then what I know now, I would have talked him into keeping them all.

The problem came to raise the babies. We lost a few eggs during the incubation period and managed to hatch about 18 babies. They all looked great and had better appetite than most other babies. They looked to be reddish instead of pink and seemed to have a lot of pattern to them even when the adults seem rather uniform.

In the course of 2 months we started loosing a baby or two at a time until only one remained. We figured that this baby would follow the same path as the others, even more so because she was born with a slight kink on the base of her tail and a rather round head, instead of the more pointed one that all the others showed. Well, as fate has it, the one we thought should die is the one still alive and about 4 months old now. She is not as big as she should but then agan, Ankaramies are not a big-sized locale. One female pink alive out of 35 eggs laid and 18 babies hatch. Talk about crappy success with them.

I have to say that Ankaramies are very handsome but it is a chameleon, much like Parson's, better left in the wild. I am sure they can be bred successfully but it might be better to try and breed them in Madagascar instead of killing tons of them before we can boast only 1 baby at a time for success. Again, this is my opinion only.

Needless to say, I prefer the Ambilobes as they are big, colorful, mean (in most cases), and do great for me.

Best wishes,
Ivan

>>Hi group:
>>
>> Ankaramies are very nervous panthers and enjoy their privacy too much. We managed to keep a nice group of 10 WC Ankaramies (out of 11) doing great and well established but most of them were really small when purchased. The cages were 3 times more planted than "regular" panthers and we watered them twice as much. They did excellent and we lost one male who was very large and very colorful. All the other 5.5 did great and we did manage to get many eggs from the breedings. The breeders were sold as I was not their owner and my buddy (who was the owner) needed the money. Should I have known then what I know now, I would have talked him into keeping them all.
>>
>> The problem came to raise the babies. We lost a few eggs during the incubation period and managed to hatch about 18 babies. They all looked great and had better appetite than most other babies. They looked to be reddish instead of pink and seemed to have a lot of pattern to them even when the adults seem rather uniform.
>>
>> In the course of 2 months we started loosing a baby or two at a time until only one remained. We figured that this baby would follow the same path as the others, even more so because she was born with a slight kink on the base of her tail and a rather round head, instead of the more pointed one that all the others showed. Well, as fate has it, the one we thought should die is the one still alive and about 4 months old now. She is not as big as she should but then agan, Ankaramies are not a big-sized locale. One female pink alive out of 35 eggs laid and 18 babies hatch. Talk about crappy success with them.
>>
>> I have to say that Ankaramies are very handsome but it is a chameleon, much like Parson's, better left in the wild. I am sure they can be bred successfully but it might be better to try and breed them in Madagascar instead of killing tons of them before we can boast only 1 baby at a time for success. Again, this is my opinion only.
>>
>> Needless to say, I prefer the Ambilobes as they are big, colorful, mean (in most cases), and do great for me.
>>
>>Best wishes,
>>Ivan
>>

The Ankaramy F. pardalis locality is an interesting one. Having seen many F. pardalis localities in the wild (including both the Ankaramy and Ambilobe) I noticed that the Ankaramy habitat is quite different than that of other F. pardalis localities. Unlike other localities, the terrain is very hilly but with steep slopes. Additionally, the area is warmer and dryer for the most part but the Ankaramy F. pardalis seem to only inhabit reparian zones where humidity is significantly higher and vegitation is much more lush than the rest of the area. I've always found their morphological varriation from the rest of the F. pardalis group to be interesting. The way the ridges of their crests are so well defined (and usually blue colored) and how their skull is obviously more laterally compressed, etc. I wonder if any taxonamists have examined their hemipenal structure for variation from other F. pardalis...? I've included a photo of a wild juvenile male and an adult male. Not sure if it is evident in the photo or not but the flanks of the juvie is very blue with hints of pink starting to show through. I love both localities but would have to go with the Ankaramy Pinks simply because I find them very interesting and mysterious.
Chris


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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Chameleon Care and Information Center (CCIC) - http://www.geocities.com/ccicenter/
Chameleons Online E-zine - http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Thanks Ivan and Chris for your "educated" feedback. Chris, do you keep any ankaramies yourself?

>>Thanks Ivan and Chris for your "educated" feedback. Chris, do you keep any ankaramies yourself?

No I don't have any ankaramy panthers. Those were photographed in habitat.
Chris
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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Chameleon Care and Information Center (CCIC) - http://www.geocities.com/ccicenter/
Chameleons Online E-zine - http://www.chameleonnews.com/