Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello fellow chamers -

It has been a while since I've been on to post but now with some female panthers on there way to my homestead for the 2 males I have I thought I should get the full scoop on the process of breeding these fine creatures. I believe I have the concept of it so I'll share and let the current breeders tear it apart to help me out or to give me some ideas. Thanks in advanced to all with comments!

Okay so here goes,, From what I understand first thing that needs to happens is to have a gravid female with a minimum weight of 55 grams. I can only assume the word gravid means expecting or just the fact that the female knows something is going on inside of her so copulate with a male. But even if no males are present the process of the eggs inside continues to happen just that they will not be fertile eggs. Now for a question before taking it any further,, When you see you have a gravid female what process is used to introduce her to the male and does it make since to have them together several times throughout say a week just to be certain fertility has taken place? So then the eggs begin to grow in the female and time passes (How much time?) to the day she needs to dig her hole and lay the eggs, what type of media should be used for her to dig in and what types should I completely avoid!? Now for moving the eggs (carefully) to be incubated, give me some ideas as to what types of media can be used for the incubation process and I have heard it can take anywhere from 6 months to 18 months for the eggs to hatch, what determines this and how if anyone knows can you have every clutch hatch in the 6 month time period? When should I expect to see the females go through the gravid stages again?

So does all this sound right?

Thanks -
Tommycats

1.0 Tamatave (Dude)
1.0 Nosy Be (Legolas)

on the way...
0.1 Sambava (?)
0.1 Ambanja (?)
0.1 Nosy Be (?)

Are you planning on doing cross-breeds?

ok, I am not an expert, but here are my words of wisdom, take them as you will, lol
Gravid is a term for pregnant. If a female is gravid it means she has been bred and is preg. I'm not sure if the same term is used towards females who are having unfertile eggs. You don't really have to be concerned with that, it is uncommon for panthers to have virgin clutches. It mostly happens with veileds.
Introduce the male to the females cage. He will head bob, and she will probably freak out. Eventually they will get together. She may not be too happy about it. Watch that she doesn't hurt him a lot (she may try and nip him, but if she tears into him take them apart) or if she seems EXTREEMLY uncomfortable (turning black, running away, etc) remove them. If you have a hard time getting them together, try and keep them separated (diff cages, etc) but within visual range. When she seems more receptive you can put them together again. Depending on the chams they may go at it right away, or do the head bobbing foreplay thing for a while. He will mount her and theyll sit for a while (hourish).
After make sure she stays hydrated, and watch her food intake. Mine stopped eating when she was gravid and that led to problems. you don't want her to eat too little or too much. You can get advice on amts from other breeders here. Make sure to calcium dust LIGHTLY every day, and vit and min once a week each, much the same as a baby.
Introduce a bucket with topsoil/sand mix (don't have to dampen it, should have enough moisture in the bag of soil - test by digging a hole with your hand and see if it stays) after a week or so. She will get used to where it is, and feel safe laying in it when she's ready. After 21 days - 31 days she will stop eating, and a week later she'll lay. times on this vary. At that point you can ask for further advice depending on how she acts specifically.
After you can incubate in the same sand/soil mix you used, or vermiculite. I can't say mmuch about either, you;ll have to get suggestions from someone else. you odn't need an incubator, room temp is perfect for panther eggs. I would suggest using a shoe box, putting a few holes in the sides and lid for ventilation, and put in a drawer to buffer the temps (prevent large changes, protect from draft, etc). Check every week or so to make sure it isn't too dry or damp. MAKE SURE not to let mould grow in the substrate, it will kill the eggs. If the eggs themselves cave and mould it means that they are infertile. Take them out right away, some may be fertile and some not, and you don't want the mould from the bad ones get to the good ones.
As you get close to hatching time (anywhere from 6 - 10 months depending on temps) check on them every day for sweating. They will get water beads on them. htis means they will hatch soon. Make sure by this point you are ready for as many chams as you have eggs. Check on the eggs morning and night to see if they are hatching, remove babies asap to their home, and feed them right away.
There are some great breeding articles on the cham ezine site. You will have to google it, i'm not sure the addy. you can look through back issues...
Good luck!!
Ps, make sure to have a Vet fund before you breed for if something goes wrong. My female was not a good breeder, and had to have a c-section because her eggs stayed in her tubes and she became eggbound. It cost me about $300 CDN by the time i was done.. you never know. And, if you don't use it (i hope you don't have to!) you will have a head start for baby set ups

Great post chimbakka -

This is exactly the type of response I was looking for, thanks!

Tom

No, I do not intend to crossbreed (i.e. Veiled and Panther). All my chameleons will be panthers so I may cross regions with accurate records though.