Do your Boas change colour?

[MouseKilla]

I'm sure everyone has noticed that their BCI will at times be much lighter or much darker in appearance than normal.

If you've noticed this you know that I'm not talking about
anything that has to do with where they are in a shed cycle. If you've ever kept an iguana what I'm talking about is very much like the way they change colour I think.

This guy seems to range from bright, bubble gum pink all over (usually at night for some reason) to having a contrasting yellowish brown back and sort of dark pink with some purples and blues on his sides. Anyone else have one that shows these weird colours?

This is the best I could do at trying to capture those blues and purples, not very good but it gives an you an idea I think.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511swedecolours3-med.JPG
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511swedecolours1.JPG

Here's one showing some of the sort of beige/yellow back colour. Sorry for the sub-par macro skills... no macro lens either. lol!

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2511swede5saddles.JPG

I'd be interested to know if anyone else sees those purplish colours in their own snake and super interested to know what causes boas to change colour.

Thanks for looking.

[meatbeef]

Ya, my guy is often darker during the day and then bright and lighter in the evening.
It`s quite neat really.

[Jeff_Favelle]

All the time. Day and night colours. I'm pretty sure all Boa and some Epicrates do it.

[Bartman]

Ive seen BRB's get completely white on their belly up to halfway around their bodies during nighttime. During the day their just the usual red.

Its quite amazing!

[MouseKilla]

Anyone know what is physically causing it to happen though? And where the hell does the blue/purple stuff come from? He looks bruised almost sometimes.lol

[VooDooMafia]

Its call (mind my spelling lol) Iredecent.

Depening on how the light hights the scales they will give off an almost rainbow effect.

Same sort of Ideo as that car paint that will change depending on how the light hits it.

Almost all boas are like this and some more then others like teh rainbow boas ( hence the name).

Hope this helps.

[MouseKilla]

No, no I'm not talking about iridescence. lol! A lot of snakes display that... most do to some degree I think but that's not the same thing as a total change in colour.

I can't seem to find any information about this online. I know that a lot of other boa keepers, if not all, have seen sudden and drastic change in the appearance of their animals but I have never seen an explanation for it. Weird.

[Invictus]

It's believed to be a combination of light, temperature, and humidity that triggers the color change. Theories include that snakes will darken their color in order to be able to absorb more heat when necessary. Truth is, no one knows what causes it for sure, but I have some boas that are absolutely STELLAR when they are in a light phase.

[MouseKilla]

No one knows? Really?

I figured it must be something that has been studied and I just hadn't been able to find the info I'm looking for yet... I guess if it's not something that you can reproduce and market it doesn't pay anyone to look at it very closely.

Not sure if I believe the light/heat/humidity theory as my boas (as well as nearly all captives) have steady levels of heat and humidity in their enclosures at all hours and no supplemental lighting. This situation basically eliminates at least the humidity and heat factors as triggers but I suppose light is still there, even without any artificial supplementation.

I know what you mean about the light phase though, I'll have to get some of those to compare with the dark phase shots above. That guy goes an almost uniform bright pink, almost hypo looking, it's awesome.

[nicola_boulton]

woh, ive notice my boas chance colour too. Glad you bought it up, mabey they chance with mood, like chams, just a guess. i wouldn't worry bout it too much. lol

[Jeff_Favelle]

Not sure if I believe the light/heat/humidity theory as my boas (as well as nearly all captives) have steady levels of heat and humidity in their enclosures at all hours and no supplemental lighting. This situation basically eliminates at least the humidity and heat factors as triggers but I suppose light is still there, even without any artificial supplementation.

5 years in a cage in your house doesn't negate hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. It may be on a TIME pattern/schedule and not triggered by the actual temperature itself. Because YOUR snakes change in constant temperatures does not negate the theory that they change to absorb more or less heat. It just negates temperature as the mechanism that triggers it.

[Bartman]

Since were on the topic of color change, how do chams change their colors. Maybe its snake evolution in progess. They might think changing colors will help them prosper?

[nicola_boulton]

i think it is to do with heat absobtion now that Invictus meantions it. Good point

[MouseKilla]

Jeff,

You're absolutely right, increased heat absorbtion could still be the "purpose" of darkening at certain times, even at constant temperatures, but only if there is some other trigger, either internal or external. You mentioned time of day for instance.

The function of changing colour is another question entirely, but it would be interesting to know as well. I was mainly asking if anyone knew what physically causes it, whether it be environmentally triggered through light, heat, humidity or time or more internally like appetite or stress level.

If it is as simple as they are genetically "programmed" to darken at a certain time of day to absorb more heat that would be good to know but I think the best we'll ever get is theories on that, though it could probably be studied scientifically through a lot of experiment. I wonder if anyone who keeps a large collection of boas has noticed whether there is a tendency for all of them to go light or dark at the same time, assuming they're kept in identical conditions?

What the function is and what the triggers may be seem to be harder questions than what is happening in the skin itself, on I guess a chemical level, to bring about the different colours in our boas. I find it strange that even that much isn't known.

[Linds]

Originally posted by MouseKilla
Not sure if I believe the light/heat/humidity theory as my boas (as well as nearly all captives) have steady levels of heat and humidity in their enclosures at all hours and no supplemental lighting. This situation basically eliminates at least the humidity and heat factors as triggers but I suppose light is still there, even without any artificial supplementation.


Not necessarily. It isn't all those things at once that lead to this occurrence. Snakes will darken/lighten for a variety of reasons - stress/mood, sickness, temperature, photoperiod. Each of those can cause colour changes, how this physically happens I am unaware.

[Jeff_Favelle]

I have over 30 snakes of the species Boa constrictor imperator and they all change colours. All my Rainbows do it too. Babies included.

[MouseKilla]

Ok, that's a pretty good sample size I think. You likely keep most of them in the same room under very similar conditions, so do you notice that they will all go into their light or dark phases at the same time?

[Jeff_Favelle]

Pretty close to the same time. I'll look tonight. Might be too late though. Its almost 8:00, so they may already have changed...........and I'm eatin stirfry...sooooo........LOL!!

On a side note, boid scales RULE don't they? I mean, aren't they the CADILLAC of snake scales? Not big and dumb and clunky like colubrids or other keeled snakes. Boids ROCK!

[MouseKilla]

Wow, you're nuts. lol!

Yeah I guess you could say boid scales are the Caddies of snake scales, they're super silky especially as babies and the scales are really tiny. Keeled scales are cool in their own armour-plated sort of way though, especially on Pits.

[Jeff_Favelle]

LOL!

[Invictus]

We have 14 boa constrictors, not as many as Jeff, but we've noticed color changes in all of them. :) I noticed with my super light boy, when he spills his water dish and the enclosure goes up to 100+% humidity, he goes right into a dark phase. His tail goes almost brown from bright orange. So, humidity or moisture MUST be at least one factor.

[MouseKilla]

OH man, I hate when they spill the water dish!

I haven't noticed the change then but it may have eluded me while I swore and mopped up the puddles. I will make millions one day by inventing either the truly untippable dish or a simple to install cage drain. lol!

I've personally noticed, in my single pair, that the male seems to brighten up at night most often but the female seems to do it at all different times. This led me to believe that it may have something to do with appetite because, while both are greedy pigs, he is in active hunt mode almost exclusively at night while she practically never stops cruising.

It sounds like it could be any or all of these factors that trigger a colour change but it's function and the processes within the skin itself remain a mystery. Wish I had the brains and bucks to look into it more thoroughly.