GENERAL INFO:

Different color variations of panther chameleons are created naturally by the location that the animal (or animal's ancestors) are from in Madagascar. The type, for example, Nosy Be, is a city or location in Madagascar that that type of animal comes from. Nosy Be happens to be an island where "blue" chameleons came from. Below are guidelines referring to the color patterning of adult MALE panther chameleons from these areas. Female panther chameleons are generally all similar, even across different locales. They range from a light to dark brown and some have pink or light orange color and often have slight amounts of blue or green on their cheeks and heads. A very few amount of female panther chameleons (usually older virgin females) will show huge amounts of color, usually blues and oranges. Gravid (pregnant) females will explode in color, getting bright orange vertical bars or "portholes" inbetween black stripes. The white horizontal line in females is less defined or absent. Although females look similar as different locales, they still carry the bloodline of what they really are. For example, a female from Nosy Be would still carry the blood to make blue babies, while a Sambava female would have the blood to make Sambava babies, when bred to a Sambava male.

For more information on color change, read the color change section of the FAQ page.

SAMBAVA

"LOKI"

Sambava is a city on the Northeast coast of Madagascar. The panther chameleons from this area are usually a bright green color with dark red, dark blue, or purple vertical bars when calm, and the heads and parts of the lower body and tail are often red or orange. Color change in this locale is very strong for a panther chameleon. Some Sambavas can completely change their green colors to a bright yellow color and their purple bars to red in seconds. They almost look like a different animal. There are many variables in Sambava panthers, and no two animals are exactly the same.

TAMATAVE

"CHRONUS"

Tamatave is located on the Central-East coast of Madagascar. The panthers from this area are generally a dark green color with darker green, red or black vertical bars. The display coloration of Tamataves is very impressive. They are capable of changing their green color to an orange and red mixture, with white, sky blue or black along certain parts of the back and head, often leaving little or no green. Others have more of a yellow color and a green background. These panthers seem to be more and more difficult to find (at least for me). Although their basic, non-display coloration is not as flashy as other locales, Tamataves are one of my favorite locales of panther chameleon. There's just something about them.

AMBANJA

"THOR"

Ambanja is a city located on the North coast of Madagascar, Southwest of Diego Suarez. The panther chameleons from the area around this city show a wide variety of colors, and are beautiful whether they're displaying or not. The adult males usually have light to bright green or blue body colors, with either blue, red or a combination of these in their vertical stripes. The heads of these animals can be yellow, red, or just the basic blue/green color. There's also a turquoise variety which has a medium blue body with dark blue or black stripes with a yellow head or cheeks. These animals all have the traditional white stripe running the length of their body. Color change in these animals can be anywhere from minimal to quite significant. Often, they will brighten up in reds or yellows, most strongly on their lower half and tail. Their eye turrets get dramatic radiating from the pupil in display coloration. Ambanjas or Nosy Be's are probably the most "available" locales of panther chameleon in the United States.

NOSY BE

"ZEUS"

Nosy Be is an island just off the coast of Ambanja, to the Northwest. The chameleons from this island are generally a greenish blue color, having varying amounts of red specks or bars on them. Through selective breeding, most of this red and green has been eliminated over the years and today's captive bred Nosy Be panther chameleon is generally a bright blue color with little or no green and few of them have any significant amount of red specks left in them. There are bloodlines still available with these colors, but the general idea is to breed out those colors and keep a solid blue animal. Some individuals have darker blue vertical stripes on them, and all of these animals have a bright white horizontal stripe down their side. When excited, these animals go through a limited color change, either getting a lighter sky blue color or some get darker blue. The eye turrets will get either red, blue or yellow stripes radiating from the pupil and around the eye on some specimens has a small amount of red specks. A few animals have yellowish lips, while others are solid white. Nosy Be's or Ambanjas are probably the most "available" locales of panther chameleon in the United States.

DIEGO SUAREZ

Diego Suarez panthers are from the Northern tip of Madagascar. Diego Suarez panthers are quite similar to Sambava or Ambanja panthers in basic coloration, with a slightly darker green body color. The color changing capabilities of a Diego are slightly less that of a Sambava male. They are basically a medium green color with dark stripes, really of any color- red, blue, or purple. When displaying, their color intensifies similar to a Sambava, but mostly in the lower part of the body and tail changing to various shades of red, orange and sometimes yellow.

MAROANTSETRA

Maroantsetra panthers are from an area between Tamatave and Sambava on the east coast of Madagascar. Their display coloration is similar to Tamataves, with generally more of a red color and less orange. They are also a dark green basic color with darker or non-distinct body bars. The horizontal white stripe is always present.

AMBILOBE/SIRAMA/PICASSO

"SETH"

This locale of panther chameleon is from an area just Southwest of Diego Suarez in Madagascar. Panthers from this area have just recently began coming into the United States in these last few years. They are quite variable in their coloration, and range from greens and reds and blues. The higher-end types are the "blue bar, red bodied" type, which have blue bars vertically on their sides with a red background when fired up. Others have red, blue, or purple bars on their sides with yellow or orange backgrounds. These panthers are very beautiful but rare and the price of them reflects this. In the next few years I think they will be much more common and the prices should resemble that of other panther locales. For the prices you pay, make sure you get what you're paying for and buy only from reputable breeders. Offspring hatched from a wild caught mother are very risky to buy, unless you can see an older brother, or the offspring are old enough to verify this locale in the males.

 Click this link to see some of our Panther Chameleon Breeder animals!