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Cruel People
Today 07:42 AM
Today 08:29 AM
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What a HO!
Yesterday 09:41 PM
Today 08:18 AM
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09-28-2004, 03:44 PM
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So, why do snakes change color?
My bci is looking quite dark today... usually he has a light base color and smooth lines... but today he is deep and almost blotchy. I've caught conversations here before where you guys have mentioned colors fluctuating. Is there a pattern? Does it mean something that I should be aware of? |
09-28-2004, 05:31 PM
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With my snakes they are darkest from dawn to dusk and lighter from dusk to dawn. Darker colors absorb more heat.
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09-28-2004, 06:18 PM
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Re: So, why do snakes change color?
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Originally Posted by tracylou
My bci is looking quite dark today... usually he has a light base color and smooth lines... but today he is deep and almost blotchy. I've caught conversations here before where you guys have mentioned colors fluctuating. Is there a pattern? Does it mean something that I should be aware of? |
Your boa will be at its darkest point before and while going into the "blue" or shedding. Just prior to actually shedding it will lighten up a bit. Then after shedding it will be at its peak coloration lightness.
In addition to that "color cycle" they also tend to change daily. In the middle of the night they tend to be lighter in color with less black. In the heat of the day their color is normally more intense with more black. The reason being, darker colors absorb more light. So they darken to absorb more light during the day.
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09-28-2004, 09:02 PM
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I have noticed that my BCI tends to lighten up a lot during the day, while the flourescent light is on him. I know that captive boas don't necessarily need light, but mine does, because he's in a dark room and needs some semblance of a night/day cycle. But yes, he does look lighter in the daylight. |
09-28-2004, 09:04 PM
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the lightening and darkening is common, but i don't know why. one reason i love hog island boas is it is a drastic change. |
09-28-2004, 10:10 PM
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this is all super great and interesting! Thanks for taking your time to share with me. The heat absorbing more with dark colors makes a lot of sense... but then it would stand to reason that he would be dark like this every day... some days it just seems super drastic. He is due to shed soon though (his eyes haven't gone blue yet... but it has been about a month) so that would fit there too. Thanks again.
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09-29-2004, 03:20 AM
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You will also notice him darkening while digesting. Digestion raises their metabolism quite a lot... and the darkening may be for absorbing more heat (as SnakePool said) to aid in that digestion.  |
09-29-2004, 11:26 AM
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oh, that is really cool too. I love it how they were created just perfectly! Thanks you guys.
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