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Dunno if this is lod news or not, but I found it interresting.

Snake on Borneo Island Can Change Color
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The Associated Press
Jun 27, 2006 6:09 PM (2 hrs 31 mins ago)

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color, the conservation group WWF announced Tuesday.

The ability to change skin color is known in some reptiles, such as the chameleon, but scientists have seen it rarely with snakes and have not yet understood this phenomenon, the group said in a statement.

"I put the reddish-brown snake in a dark bucket," said Mark Auliya, a reptile expert and a consultant for the group. "When I retrieved it a few minutes later, it was almost entirely white."

Reptiles typically change color to camouflage themselves from predators.

The 1.6-foot-long snake was discovered last year in wetlands and swamp forests around the Kapuas River in the Betung Kerihun National Park in the Indonesian part of Borneo island.

"The discovery of the 'chameleon' snake exposes one of nature's best-kept secrets. Its ability to change color has kept it hidden from science until now," said Bambang Supriyanto, a WWF specialist on Borneo.

Scientists named their find the Kapuas Mud Snake, and speculated it might only occur in the Kapuas River drainage system.

The WWF, the international group formerly known as World Wildlife Fund, said 361 animal and plant species have been discovered since 1996 on Borneo, underscoring its unparalleled biological diversity.

But it said that widespread logging has left Borneo with only half of its former forest cover, down from 75 percent in the mid-1980s.

Indonesia and Malaysia have territory on Borneo, which is also home to the sultanate of Brunei.
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GratefulFred

I read about that too on the CNN web site. It's interesting that the snake turned white after being in a dark colored container. It seems to me like it's more of a response to feelings (anger, fear, etc.) than it is to camoflage. But that's also what most chameleons (and some fish) use their colors for too.
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1.4.0 Bearded Dragons (Frodo, Red Sonya, Galadriel, Arwen, Lakis)
1.1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleons (Fred and Wilma)
1.1.0 Peacock Day Gecko
0.1.0 Gold Dust Day Gecko
0.1.0 Columbian Red-Tail Boa (Bilbo)
0.1.0 Ball Python (Daisy)
0.1.0 California King Snake (Cali)
1.1.0 Honduran Milk Snakes
0.0.3 Fire Belly Toads
0.1.0 Fat Cat (Mollie)
1.0.0 Mini Pinscher x Chihuahua (Pepper)

Interesting. The article quotes "the group" (of researchers) as describing color change as a rare and unexplained phenomonen in snakes. The only example I can think of is P. brongermai; the color of the head can go from black to silver and back over a period of hours. Anyone else think of a snake that can color?

Some claim the Hog Island Boa can.

As the other reply said, some boas. They are not drastic though, mine go from a slate color to a dark brown, but it's really just darkening the pigment, not a full color change like brown to white.
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"I'll be back at 6 if not 7. 8 the very latest but definatly no later than 9...ish...Moscow time."

Oxyuranus microlepidus (if I spelled that right. It has been a long while since I wrote an latin name) is known to change color depending on the time of year. Definately not a drastic change like that however.

Thats the only other example I can think of in snakes.

A very interesting find!

I would think maybe it had somthing to do with thermo requlateing their body but its Borneeo. I dont belive there is a drastic enough tempeture change to warrent that.

One possibility to consider is the snake may be changing because of temperature. When cooled, it darkens, when warmed it lightens.

~~Greg~~