Lance,
what temps are you keeping the hatchlings at? Coloration in these guys isn't completely set until they are about a month to six weeks old. In other words if you incubated at high temps (88-89 degrees) for males and then let temps fall below that when they hatch, then they will darken up like that. What you are seeing is the migration and formation of the dendritic arms of the melanophore in the dermal layer. In the wild, if they are born in cooler climates, they need to be darker overall to absorb as much heat as is possible. If you want to keep them lighter (and they are Tremper amels - see below) then keep them warmer during the first six weeks or so and they should stay that way for through their ontogenic change.

Are yours Tremper amels? My guess is, is that they probably are as this seems to happen more so with the Trempers than with the Rainwater amels or Bell amels.

Hope that helps,

Ian

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