Corn color change.

[marisa]

I asked this on another site but got 0 responses....

My female that recently laid her clutch has lost a lot of color.

She is a snow. Originally, she had those mauve/orange/pinkish markings strongly all along her body, and most specifically, two really dark orange/mauve spots on the top of her head. Here is a photo:

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/1femalesnow02-18-03.jpg">

You can see in the above photo the two spots that are most noticable....and you can also see her saddles are the same (but lighter) color of mauve/orange/pink.

Ever since around the time of her pre-lay shed (maybe a little earlier) all this color is gone. And I mean gone. You can't even see those two spots anymore....as dark as they were...and her saddles have faded out to a pale pink color, close to white.

Why has this happened? Is this some sort of problem? Will her color come back? I will try to get a comparasoin photo.

Marisa

[snakelover111]

its normal. dont even worry about it

[marisa]

Oh its normal is it? I have to wonder how often you have personally seen them change color after being gravid?

I have not ever seen anyone elses change, and that's why I thought it might have to do with something else, like a problem, and have nothing to do with the being gravid.

But I'd love to hear your explanation of why its normal, and how many times you have seen it happen.

Marisa

[Herpkingdom]

How long since she shed? She might just be ready for another shed

How old is she? Most colubris tend to fade as the get older, but I don't know about this quickly.

I had a Reverse OKettee last year that went a little dull after laying her eggs, but the color came back after a shed a week or so later.

Keep updating this post until after she sheds to let us know if the color retunrs after her next shed.

Good Luck.

[marisa]

She has had a shed since her pre-lay shed. It was about three days ago. Still dull. She is 3-4 I believe. So maybe just fading :)

marisa

[vanderkm]

Very interesting Marisa. I just finished Kathy Love's article in the new Reptiles magazine on corn colors and was interested to read about the effect of iridophore cells on color. I knew they were there but tended to forget that they could have an impact in combination with the black, red and yellow pigments. She mentions them being mostly involved in white, blue and green tinges, but I wonder if their alignment or shape may have been altered by the hormonal changes involved with laying. That might have shifted the way light plays off the skin, and be more pronounced in areas like the head where there is less muscle underneath the skin. It would also go along with her overall duller appearance. I would love to see a photo and if this is the case, I would expect her to return to normal once the hormones settle down. It also might be related to overall body fat and when she recovers a bit she will have more resiliant skin with better iridophore activity. Definately would love to know what happens with her. She is a gorgeous snake. Best of luck with the incubation,

mary v.

[SnowSnake]

This question has nothing to do with her color change but here it is :) : What did you breed her to?

I love snow corns!! mmmmmmmm

[marisa]

Hi thanks for the replies...vanderkm I will try and get a new photo soon....she has been really testy and secretive since she laid...

SnowSnake- I bred her to a male snow. Should be 100% snow babies in the eggs.

:)

Marisa

[SnowSnake]

Nice! Can't wait to see all these little snow babies!!

Good luck with the eggs!

J-P

[marisa]

O.k. I have two photos that I feel clearly represent her true colors then and now...by no means was this a huge color change but its a totally apparent "lightening" and she has not regained any color....the photo above shows her previous true colors well. It was taken in late Feburary....here is another with differnent lighting taken in March about two weeks before mating with my male:

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/femalesnow03-04-03.jpg"> You can see the dark orange blotches on her head, two of them...they are characteristic to us because she looks quite similar to my male aside from those two dark spots.

Now here are two photos taken on the 16th of this month, two weeks after laying.
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/femalesnow05-16-03.jpg">
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/2femalesnow05-16-03.jpg">

I noticed the color change about two weeks into her "pregnancy" you can see her saddles have much less of a orange/mauve color to them. They are now more typical of the pink & white snows....very pale pink on stark white..and her head blotches have faded to a light peachy orange where before they were really dark orange.

I dunno. Maybe she is just a freak! Oh yeah and she has shed since laying as well as her prelay shed before that. The color change didn't come about after a shed. It was just there.

Marisa

[vanderkm]

Thanks for posting the color change photos Marisa - definate difference with loss of the orange tones to her saddles in the after pictures. I don't have any further ideas on the reason behind the color change, but will be very interested in seeing if it persists. Do you know her pre-breeding and current body weight? She does look a bit thinner in the after pictures and perhaps the loss of body fat is responsible for a shift in color. I also still wonder about hormone effects. My snows are too young to be bred, so can't offer any specific comparisons, but it would be great if you can keep us posted on her. Good luck with the eggs - getting closer now!

mary v.

[marisa]

I unfortunatly have no weight....but yes a bit thinner after the eggs. She has gained more weight now and I will take a new picture since its been a couple weeks!

Marisa