Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read about snakes changing color after a shed, but have never seen it for myself before. This is a female het albino that turned silver after she shed. She is pictured with a normal colored snake for comparison. She has a stripe along the back of normal color that quits a few inches from the tail.
Any thoughts?
Thanks Mike

Looks like a morph to me , beautiful

We had the same thing happen to a yearling c.h male. He shed looked amazing then shed again and looked normal. They very cool until they shed.

Here is a pic of ours.

Thanks
J&J REPTILES
www.jnjreptiles.com
sales@jnjreptiles.com

really cool here is mine I wish we could figure out what causes it to happen.

I beleive some are calling her a sulfer IMG
a few more of her breeding last year.

on eggs

5 babies very nice looking but none has color changed as of yet, not really expecting them to either.
some of the babies



she has browned back out a little but she also gained the black on the sides.
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Vince Pramuk

Hi ! What did the shed look like ? Was there a pattern in the hole shed or just in the normal part or was there areas of clear in the shed ? It may be do to a vitamin deficiency . I have seen it happen several times before and may correct its self next shed . But I would look in to adding a supplement . Good luck . David of DS Reptile Rescue

She eats rats, just like every other snake here. She doesn't need any supplements.
Mike

Well What I am referring to has nothing to do with weather you feed rats , mice , live or f/t it has to do with the level of L-Tyrosine & trace copper in what ever your feeding and what they fed on . The L-Tyrosine is for color and it takes trace Copper for the L-Tyrosine to work .a lot of breeder rodents will not have high enough levels of ether to pass them on to there offspring . That is why most of the time it will correct itself with the next shed . But to prevent it you give a supplement . Good luck . David of DS Reptile Rescue

Thats not whats going on here, it's somthing different.
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Vince Pramuk

Here is one that did shed clear but started to get pattern in her shed as she also got darker and more yellow. Unfortunately I don't know how it started out and if it changed suddenly but what I do know seems to follow at least parts of the pattern of change seen in others. It’s out on breeding loan and hasn’t reproduced yet but I’m told it still looks like the last pictures. Given the changes it underwent after I got it I’m thinking it’s a non genetic changer along the lines of whatever is causing these others.
My Changer

Well with a clear shed and the snake not being a albino then it is a lack of L-Tyrosine or trace Copper . I have seen Ball that were supposed IMG Balls that after given Trace Copper & L-Tyrosine there color came back so one way to see if you have a true IMG is to give them these in a supplement and see if they get there color back . The clear shed should be enough in its self . Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue

.

Just thought I'd chime in, these types of animals are often incorrectly referred to as an IMG(Increasing Melanin Gene) which they are NOT. Personally, I think the names "Presto Chango" or "Sporadic HypoXanthism" would be more correct and descriptive of what is is actually happening with these animals.

A true IMG would be one that would gain LARGE amounts of Melanin(Black Pigment) over time, gradually darkening more and more, not losing yellow pigment during a shed.

-Dan

check out my post above. I would consider her an IMG but she has gained the black on the sides. The black fells in a tiny bit more everytime she sheds from what I can tell.
Some older pics of her.

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Vince Pramuk

opps fill not fell.
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Vince Pramuk

Just because there is a localized increase in melanin does not mean IMG, I'll give you that it is not just a standard presto chango, but it definitely isn't a melanistic animal, otherwise it wouldn't appear gray, it would be dark brown and black.

-Dan

Do you have pictures? When does a snake that's IMG start showing signs of it? I swear my female's getting darker every shed lately but I've been blaming it on her increasing age. I could just be imagining things

However, if you DO have any pictures (especially over time) that would be pretty awesome. Clear up the debate so we know what's what, eh?

~jenny
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1.2.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, Periscope, and dah bebbies)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 mice (Cute Girl Mousy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
0.0.1 chupacabra (it ate our chickens)

jenny.thegreenes.org

I had a het albino female do the exact same thing.......shell darken up again....

I posted a thread a few months ago titled "presto...chango" about a double het for snow that I hatched out. She was normal color until about six months of age. Then she just changed color after a shed. She has since shed about five times and is still showing the color change. She may go back to "normal" color but has not done so as of yet. Attached are some photos after the first color changing shed and then the next two sheds. I used the same background, lighting and camera so the photos could be compared evenly.
Bruce Delles c/o Twin Cities Reptiles

I had a female pastel sibling do the same, She changed at about 6 months after hatching, stayed that way for almost a year and then started to get dark again with alot of black on her sides. I talked to alot of other breeders and the general theory is it has to do with a bacteria that causes it.
here are some pics of her when she was youngerand one with her sister.
Thanks Kim
N.A.R.C.

I had one do the same thing. It was kind of cool to look at a snake that looked like it was "half axanthic"... at least down the sides. She has shed twice since the change is still there, but not as pronounced. It would be hard to believe it was a vitamin deficiency since she eats the same weanling rats as 47 others. I don't think it is anything special, but the change was neat to watch.

Well not all snakes are as susceptible to this deficiency as others . There are some animals including humans that seem to be affected by things more than others . I’m not saying that this is your snakes problem but this affects a small number of reptiles and without giving it the supplement you can’t say for cretin that it is not the problem. And as for as I have been able to determine it is not life threatening , It just affects the pigmentation of the skin . Thanks David of DS Reptile Rescue , Removal & Rehabilitation