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RE: Color Changing Mohave?
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by theemojohnm on August 31, 2008
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I believe the reason I see this occur in Northern Watersnakes is because of the wide range of temperatures they are exposed to daily.
Think about a very active snake that spends decent lengths of time on land to bask, but will plunge into the water without a seconds warning at any sign of danger, or to catch its prey.
Even a stream that is in partial sunlight will have a much different temperature that the shore around it. That is the reason I notice that color changes seem to occur most rapidly with semi-aquatic species such as the Nerodia.
Also, think about a snake that comes up to bask on a cloudy day when the air temp's drop a bit. I notice that alot of the species native to Pa and surrounding states, seem "darker" in color on days like this.
Perhaps to absorb more sunlight when basking?
That has allways been my thought. I can almost assure that your Mohaves color change is temperature related, which also make it related to how much lighting the snakes recieves, and how much heat it gains from that light.
That I assume, would be why changes in color in some species seem to occur at night, like Fred mentioned.
It is not unlikely that many of the nocturnal species come out to bask during the last few hours of daylight (like MANY do), and maybe display this change in color to absorb EVERY last little bit of light (heat) from the sun before becomming active.
Not much of this can be backed up, but those would be my assumptions. It's not too hard to notice this when road-cruising, or observing an aquatic species on a cloudy or windy day, or...later in the year.
I do not think that this is anything that is not "normal", although, it would be a good idea to check your temps just in case. Alot of fluctuation in temperature can stress a snake.
What are your daytime (hot end / cool end) temps, and the average temperature drop after the lights go out at night? Might be somthing to look into. Although, I wouldnt worry.
Take Care,
~John.
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