Panther chameleon crosses?

I was just curious as to what the chameleon community's general idea was on Panther chameleon crosses?

Is it something that is frowned upon, not acceptable, or acceptable? The main reason I ask is because I want to start breeding panthers, but can't decide on which panther to do. I really love Ambilobes, but at the same time I really like the Ambanjas too. So I thought well why not both and just cross them? I think they would make some awesome looking chameleons

Then I started seeing some heated discussions about crosses and wasn't sure if it was bad that they were crossed or that they were sold as pure but were actually crosses. I just don't want to breed crosses, and then find out that I will be stuck with all of the babies because I was a dummy and didn't know that Panther crosses were a no-no in the chameleon world.

I would assume that pure locales are most sought after, but there has to be a market for crosses right? The color combinations and patterns could be truly amazing with the right locales and parents. But maybe that is just me thinking a little too far out of the box.

IMHO it depends on why you want to cross locales. If you are trying to produce interesting pet quality animals, are up front about the crosses you make, and don't misrepresent them to buyers that is less of an issue. Just be aware that many buyers will want pure locales especially if they can't see what the crosses will look like as adults before they buy. Producing mutts for which there is no market leaves them homeless. There is so much individual variation in chams whether they are deliberate crosses or not. And, the genetics aren't as well defined as in other herps yet.

Other objections to crossing panthers have to do with the available gene pool in the US. It isn't huge compared to herps like leopard geckos, ball pythons, boas, etc. Those breeders trying to protect the smaller number of known "pure" locale bloodlines would be concerned that we will lose them if others are careless.

I don't think the cham world is all that different from other cbb breeding worlds. The same concerns about ethics, conserving genetic integrity, and responsible marketing would still hold. There are cham breeders who advertise crosses now. Are you sure there's a market for more? That's the chance you take.