Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking for info from others who have worked with mandarins. I've noticed that mandarins seem to darken with age. With this in mind, I was interested to find out if any particular locale or captive bred strain tends to start and remain consistently lighter. I have seen photos of mandarins from the Sichuan area that seem to have brighter yellow and less of the red tipping on the gray ground color. Do these animals end up lighter than other locales? I currently have a pair of captive bred mandarins that have a nice look but I think they have definitely gotten redder as they've grown. If you are interested in the same look in mandarins and have any info (or even if you just want to commiserate) feel free to post a message or e-mail me. Appreciate any input (especially photos of older adults that remained light).

John

I purchased a pair from Robert Seib in Jan. of this year and the 2000 male is very light. He's grown quite a bit since this 2 month old pic and his aluminum grey background has stayed pale, sorry I don't have anything more recent. I don't know what locale his parents were from though. You might want to check with Robert and see what he has cooking this year...

My w/c male does have some red flecking on his scales and is a darker grey background- the seller didn't know his locallity.
I'll post a pic of him for comparison. Next post.

Lora

Here's the adult male approx 3.5'. You can see the thin red stripe on each grey scale. But he also has yellow borders around the black diamonds. Sorry for the flecks in the pic, had to take it while he was still in his hide- he's very shy.

My pair's over a year old. My male is still light grey but the female has always had some red. I haven't noticed them change color at all. They're not adults, though. I like the light grey better personally. Unfortunately, no locality data.

John, my Mandarins are probably like yours and most of the others on this forum. I've looked at most of them. I got mine from B. Gillingham, who was one of the first to produce them. Most of these early ones are all the same type, which I call the common Mandarin. But like most wide-ranging species, there is considerable variability in the color/pattern. I think the best have a light gray background, with very little red tipping, and a nice consistent pattern. I've seen some really bad ones too. Here's an example of one of my adults...

Keep in touch with us on this so we can work as a group and share info. Thanks....TC.

I'm looking for info from others who have worked with mandarins. I've noticed that mandarins seem to darken with age. With this in mind, I was interested to find out if any particular locale or captive bred strain tends to start and remain consistently lighter. I have seen photos of mandarins from the Sichuan area that seem to have brighter yellow and less of the red tipping on the gray ground color. Do these animals end up lighter than other locales? I currently have a pair of captive bred mandarins that have a nice look but I think they have definitely gotten redder as they've grown. If you are interested in the same look in mandarins and have any info (or even if you just want to commiserate) feel free to post a message or e-mail me. Appreciate any input (especially photos of older adults that remained light).

John

Terry, I will follow up on what I do find. I'm going to do a survey of the various breeders to get an idea of what "types" are out there. I'll pass along what I learn to whomever is interested. My animals came from Prarieland Herpetoculture (Larry Keller) and look similar to yours. I must get a digital camera.

Lola, I will check with Robert Seib to see what he can tell me. I've already checked with several breeders but soon I will be doing a more systematic job.

And meretseger thanks for your input. Although I can't imagine that's your first name! Where did you get your stock from (if you don't mind the question)?

John