Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my Orange Male milksnake phase Thayeri from Vivid Reptiles.
-John Lassiter-

Orange Female milksnake phase Thayeri from Vivid Reptiles.
These will breed this year for the first time. I think I will be glad with the outcome. I wonder how many milksnake phase and how many leonis phase hatch.
-John Lassiter-

I really like the "mask" on the male. No doubt those two will produce some great colored babies. Betcha can't wait huh?

Damn right I can't wait. LOL!!
I am chomping on the proverbial bit. I know lots of you are with all your projects. It is going to be a sleepless summer at my house. I know some of you guys know what I mean.
-John Lassiter-

Since thayeri's are variable;
Do they change in color (lighter or darker) as they get older with each shed?
Can you have yearlings or juveniles that look quite a bit different as mature adults?
Are different strains or lines more prone this color change?
Thanks,
Uncloudy

Chris,
Nearly all Thayeri are born magnificently colored with clean bands and/or saddles. As Thayeri mature they have a slight ontogenetic change of sorts. If you look close at mature Thayeri you will see some speckles of different colors on each scale. These speckles of color will change the way an adult Thayeri looks as compaired to its neonate appearance.
I have had some outrageous orange babies turn a tannish color or buckskin as they mature due to some black and grey speckling on the ground color. Also a yellow thayeri with grey speckling will cast a greenish hue.
Now some Thayeri do hold their color into adulthood like the male milksnake phase above. It has no black tipping and no speckling of the scales. Now the female is still spectacular in my book but she does show some speckling.
I hope this helps Chris. These are just some personal observations I have collected over the few years I have been doing this
-John Lassiter-