Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is a continuation from the below thread on Carotenoids. I took a picture of a boiled grasshopper that has the same Carotenoids as lobster shrimp and the like. When certain bugs are boiled the carotenoid responsible for color in reptiles colors up similar to what the stomach acid does to insects in the gut. These red Caotenoids help pigment flesh and muscle tissue in reptiles, feathers in birds and turns yellow egg yoke orange when consumed by chickens and other birds. You will notice the red hue is the same red a nice Coachwhip is.

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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

cool thats interesting! so you could catch a baby coacwhip and feed it grassshoppers and other things that contain that red color and produce a red adult?

If you read the lower thread there is an explanation of how it works, Look under "Carotenoids basic information" and a few threads above it and you will be more clear on what you can use for color on reptiles.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."