Hi everyone,
I have a question that has been puzzling me. It seems different tortoises of the same species have different brightness levels to their shells. For example, I see some yellowfoots with bright, colorful shells and some with very blah shells. Is there anything that helps determine which tortoises will have the brighter shells, like UV requirments, diet, etc?
Thanks
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Colors in Adult Tortoises
Tortoise31
Dec 31, 2003 01:30 PM
Replies (1)
mayday
Dec 31, 2003 02:22 PM
At least I don't think so.
If you have ever had the opportunity to examine a large shipment of imported redfoots or yellowfoots you will see huge differences in color and 'brightness'. While animals from the same locality will appear generally similar, there will be individuals that are outstandingly bright and colorful while others are as you say, blah. I'm sure this has to do with age, and individual genetics and maybe, to a lesser degree diet.
I think with these two species, there is simply a lot of variation within a given population.
BTW......when I say large shipment, I mean 100 to 500 animals. Sometimes even more.
