Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased a pastel jungle Graziani line male from a breeder. When I first picked him out, he was a very bright yellow/orange and black patterned snake. As I made payments over several weeks, I noticed that he was darkening in color on top and getting more orange on the sides that would fade to pale yellow towards the belly. I have had him home now for a couple of weeks and his coloring has gotten much darker as he went into a shed. Well, he has just finished shedding this evening and his coloring has not improved one bit. He is a darker orange on the sides that still fade to a darker yellow towards his belly, but his top is not yellow any more...but rather a medium to dark brown color...exactly like my male normal.If I look at both snakes side by side from above, I see no difference and have difficulty telling them apart. I was told when I purchased the snake that he would lighten more in color after each shed and become more intense in orange coloring. Is it normal for a pastel jungle to darked after each shed? Do they go through several color changes as they mature and perhaps will still lighten? I am very concerned that I didn't choose this snake correctly and am stuck with a dud. Please advise? Thanks.

The pastels will go through a reddish/orangish side phase as they mature, this lasts for under a year when the colors will wash out to a typical pastel. Keep in mind that the "jungle" pattern does not appear to be genetic, or is such a large conglomerate of genotypes it has not been isolated yet.

The fact that you see reddish/orange sides tells me it is definately a pastel you've got.

Thanks for the quick reply to my enquiry. What would be your educated guess as to the dark topside of him? I realize every snake is different, but is there a general progression of color phases the pastels go through as they reach maturity? This guy is only 5 months old, so I presume there is a lot of growing yet to come,but for some reason, this dark back coloring really bothers me because he looks identical to a normal ball except for his sides. Maybe I'm being too picky or expecting too much too soon? However,my purchase was made by the assurance that the snake would improve in coloring by each shed,and now I wonder if perhaps I was either misimformed or misled.

pastels change a great deal with age. Don't be confused by the super pastels you see out there, which are significantly different in appearance than a heteroxygous pastel.