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I was reading a response on another Boa Forum and I read a herper state he brings his Boas out in the sun to lighten up the skin. Is that normal?
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aliaime,
....My guess is that sunlight would actually darken the skin rather than lighten it. There may be something I do not understand about tanning and melanin in snakes that is different than we very sun tannable mammals. Rainbow Boas are not known for spending time in the wild out sunning to warm up as much as many other snakes do. If you do take a Rainbow Boa out in the sunlight the much broader spectrum of the light will show the snake's colors. The colors are actually there in the snake's skin all the time but because indoor incandescent lighting is so narrow spectrum we are not seeing all the color. This effect can be duplicated to some degree by using broad spectrum lighting in your snake room. Most of the artificial lights which are broad spectrum are very weak compared to natural sunlight and so the best color enhancement?(there is probably a better word to use here but I am not sure what it is) can only be seen in close proximity to the light source.
Jeff

>>I was reading a response on another Boa Forum and I read a herper state he brings his Boas out in the sun to lighten up the skin. Is that normal?
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It seem strange that herpers would bring their snakes out in the sun to brighten their skin.
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