Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[neep_neep]

Hi all,

Today my crestie Toby was sleeping on a bit of wood in his viv, with a couple of leaves draped over his head and shoulders. I needed to take him out to clean his viv, so gently woke him and picked him up....

Now, I know that Cresties are generally pale during the day and then fire up in the evening. I always thought that this was a 'whole body' thing and they could not control certain spots...but then again, I don't know anything about the actual mechanisms involved in the colour change. I guess I just assumed it was a bit like a human becoming 'flushed' with colour when they get excited.

Anyway, I picked him up, and where the leaves had been draped his skin was his paler colour and the rest of his body was darker. His belly was also very pale, with a clear line where his body had been in contact with the wood. Now, he had just been asleep, so i'm assuming this was a 'base state' that his colouring was in while he was asleep, which he was not controlling consciously.

His body was the darker colour of the wood, but the bits that were under the leaves (and therefore not visible) were paler.

What I was pondering - is this just some sort of camouflage mechanism, where the body is darker only where necessary (perhaps due to an energy requirement?), or does the skin darken in response to light exposure?

In which case, why do they darken at night? Indeed, it could be something completely different i've not yet thought of.

Anyway, I was just hoping somebody might be able to shed some light on the actual mechanism of colouring up in cresties, and a possible explanation for the semi-colouration?

Here are a couple of pics to show what I mean:





Plus a view from the top where the leaves had draped over his head - his head is normally a solid colour. It is an actual colour difference, not just shadows:




And then a picture of him half an hour later, after he'd been awake for a little while:




I'm not sure how much sense that all made, but if anybody has any comments or suggestions, i'd be interested to hear your views
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Sophie

[PaulG]

wow your cresty is dark!
I dont really know why it did this but I only have one lil comment:
not all cresties go darker at night that totaly depends on the general colour, your crested may go darker at night when it is fired up but some cresties(mine) tend to go brighter generally and depending on day time colour (i.e. orange) they just get more intense at night.-often brighter.

anyway I dont know why they fire up really. They may be similar to chameleons in the fact that when they are stressed, temp is rong, courting ect they cange colour under these different conditions and the environment.

I would also like to learn more about this.

btw I like your male not too many go that dark -almost black
Paul
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Regards, Paul.

:.Rhacodactylus.:.Eublepharis.:.Stenodactylus.:.Nephrurus.:

[Cleef]

I too have noticed that when my cresties sleep during the day, any area of their body exposed to light is paler. Can't really work out the main reason for it, camoflague?... not sure :]
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Steve P