gravid?

this girls about 8-9 months and i think she might be gravid. acting a little wierd. not digging not to fat but started getting real orange and black.
i never mated her. shes to small. any ideas ive never had a female panther.

she looked like this a few weeks ago

Eric,
Female panthers are capable of many color changes, which while not as colorful and pretty (IMO) as that of males, are more dramatic with regard to changes in pattern, and extreme in color variance. I am assuming that the top picture in the first post is the most recent. Providing she is still alert and eating, ther is no color there to worry about. When a female panther is ready to breed, she will show the more uniform dull orange/pastel seen there, and be far more distincively marked, as in the other pictures, when she is not. That doesn't mean she's ready to breed, only that you may want to bring a male close to her and see if she remains that lighter color, and acts unimpressed. Such "non-reaction" by a healthy female in close proximity to a male is a pretty good sign she's ready to breed. Any negative reaction ... gaping, darkening of color, swaying, lateral expansion, rapid retreat, means "not this time"! Good luck.

Jim Flaherty
The Chameleon Company, LLC

wow thanks jim youve been a big help. she stays the same when i show her one of my males. no gasping or anything. she seems so small compared to my males. im not in a rush to breed her so ill give her a little time. thanks again for taking the time to give me some info.
eric

I just got my first female and i have a question. when breeding a female you should go by weight right? like compare her to the male. obviosuly wait until she is 6-7 months old. but if they are big enough then you can breed right. and to see if she is ready to breed you inroduce her to the male and if she hisses or changes color take her out but if not then she is ready. if any of this is wrong please write me back.

Hey Eric,
Go to my website, and check out the "breeding" page within the husbandry section, and by all means check other opinions in other websites, or the Dec 05 issue of Reptiles Magazine. With females, it is more a function of size than age, although I think that "not younger than 6 months" is also a good rule to follow even with a fast grower. Many females need more time to size up regardless. I would introduce the male to her though, as them male will be leed inhibited by the handling than the female, or put another way, even if he gets pretty pissed, males are usually more game for a romp under the covers under any circumstance .... kind of like humans !!

Thanks for the help. my only question is this. is it ok for a female to be introduced to a male, because when i breed veileds once or twice i introduced the female to the male. when she was receptive i left her there for a week, then took her out for a week then put hr back until she was" finished with him" is this an alright method.

In answer to the "is it alright" ...... "yes" it is alright to introduce the female to the male's cage, although my experience is that it will give you a lower probability of success. If your way doesn't give you results, then try mine in a couple of days. It may not work either, and she may just need more time. Otherwise, and as mentioned in my website, I think that a week for panthers to be kept together may be too long, if you were asking my opinion there also. Usually 48 hrs is enough, and in some cases too long, even after a successful breeding. Sometimes things can get hostile quickly once they have mated, and other times there may be compatible second and third breedings. Just watch for aggression. Also, I sometimes type too quickly, but where I typed "as them male will be leed inhibited ..." above, it should read "as the male will be less inhibited ...". All thumbs some days.

thanks jim for all the info. i just got the magazine the other day. it is awsome.
the pics were great to.