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Color Changing Mohave?
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by Jahon on August 29, 2008
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Okay now I have noticed that my mohave changes from a light color to a dark color all the time. My question is, what the hecc does that mean?! Thanks in advance, and have a great day.
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RE: Color Changing Mohave?
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by theemojohnm on August 30, 2008
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Jahon,
The color change I find, that happens in some snake, are more seasonal, if ANY distinguishable, slight change in color occurs.
I see this happen with allot of species of the Nerodia genus (mostly American Watersnakes, which are NOT venomous). Most pit=viper never seem to display the color change I notice at various temp. as with Nerodia.
Are the cage temps fluctuating? How rapid is this change "change" in color?
~John.
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RE: Color Changing Mohave?
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by Jahon on August 30, 2008
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I think it does have to do with temperature because when I turn the heat lamp off it gets a darker color, when it's on it turns a lighter color. But the thing is the lighter color it shows sometimes does not look like mohave rattlesnake pictures you find on the internet. The darker color looks more like a typical mohave.
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RE: Color Changing Mohave?
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by Cro on August 31, 2008
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Here is a thought. Humans have tiny capillaries that carry blood under the surface of the skin. We have all seen folks who got embarressed turn red in the face, well that was because those capillaries filled with more blood. A photo taken of a person while they were "flushed" would appear to be a color change when compared to the normal coloration. We also see this flush if the person takes niason, or gets slapped. We see the reverse in very cold weather, when the body starts shutting down capillaries on the surface and reserving the warm blood for the body core. Then the person becomes more pale.
So, what if the same thing is going on in snakes, when they get hotter or cooler ? The skin of a snake is not as transparent as human skin, however, it still is fed underneath by capillaries. Perhaps the color changes in snakes are there for the observent to see, but just not as pronounced ????
I am not sure if anyone has studied this or not, but it would be easy to do, with a fixed camera, on a fixed setting, and fixed light. Then the same snake could be photographed when it was cool, and when it was warm, and the two photos could be compared ????
Perhaps a science project in the making ???
Anyway, just something to consider.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Color Changing Mohave?
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by FSB on August 31, 2008
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I have definitely noticed certain snakes lighten or darken according to temperature. There is a subspecies of Crotalus durissus in Venezuela that regularly turns darker at night/ lighter by day, so much so that it has been called the "chameleon" of rattlesnakes. I don't keep many western species, mostly C. atrox, C. oreganus and C. molossus, so I haven't had a Mojave in my care long enough to notice this tendency, but I'm sure that lightening/darkening of the complexion is temperature/light related, and I've seen this occur in several different species, venomous and non. It seems like an adaptation that would particularly serve species that come from areas that experience temperature extremes, such as deserts, so it makes sense that Mojaves would do this.
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