Light and Dark Blizzards

[Led Zep]

I was just looking through some gecko websites and I saw some blizzards that were dark and they called them Midnight Blizzards. I just wanted to ask if this is a result of selective breeding dark blizzards or is it because of their incubating temperature.

 

[eyelids]

As far as I know it's from selective breeding, but I haven't done Blizzard x Blizzard breedings so don't take my word for it...

 

[Kotsay1414]

I read somewhere that it was because of the incubation temps.

 

[IMacBevan]

I think you are actually looking at a little bit of both, frankly. Breeding darker individuals together will increase the chances that the offspring, overall are darker. Also since in some strains of leopards overall coloration is not truly set until a month or so after hatching, you can affect their coloration by incubating and keeping them at the low end of the temperature range.

Be prepared though, I have notice a huge variation in the range of colors that my normal blizzards exhibit. They can look almost completely white to almost slate gray, depending on mood and temperature. I don't see this in my Blazing Blizzards. So even though it is a midnight blizzard you may well see a range of colors from gray to dark gray.

I have yet to see midnight blizzards become commonly available, so I tend to wonder how much is genetic and how much is temperature induced.

 

[Zbiz]

Hm... I know its not the same as a bliz but my patternless male goes from a yellow tan to an intense yellow depending on his mood.

 

[Led Zep]

Wow, now I was going into vmsherp.com and this patternless was at the bottom, do they get dark too?

http://vmsherp.com/images/ForSale/PAT100TRAfemale1.JPG

 

[Kotsay1414]

Wow, now I was going into vmsherp.com and this patternless was at the bottom, do they get dark too?

http://vmsherp.com/images/ForSale/PAT100TRAfemale1.JPG

My patternless' do that when my temps drop.

 

[IMacBevan]

There are two forms of melanophore found with in a vast majority of reptiles, one in the upper dermis layer and one in the lower epidermal layer. The one in the upper dermis layer is dendritic (it has arms and looks a bit like a tree). The melanophore is the furthest in of the three pigment cells. If you looked at a cross section of the dermal layer the uppermost chromatophore is the iridiophore, below that are the erythrophores and xanthophores (which are related and grouped as one type of pigment cell) and under that would be the melanophore with it's dendritic arms weaving up and around the other pigment cells. When a stressor is applied to the animal they have the ability to flood the arms with melanin and become darker or contract the melanin and become lighter. Thus giving them the ability to change color to a certain degree.

I believe this is the process we see in blizzards that allow them to get lighter and darker. I also believe it is apparent in some strains of amelanism (particularly Trempers) and in some other morphs as well.

 

[Lottiz]

My patternless, blizzards and even my mack snow ghost will get darker if they are in their humid hide, for example.

 

[bro paul]

Thanks for the helpful info Ian! That seems to be the case with blizzards/patternless/and some other color phases...kind of like "mood rings".

 

[PaulSage]

Wow, now I was going into vmsherp.com and this patternless was at the bottom, do they get dark too?

Some patternless can be darker too. Here's two regular patternless females--I'd say that the lighter one is only slightly lighter than normal, but the darker one is the darkest that I've seen personally.

 

[Lottiz]

Take a look of my Mack snow patty!

light and nice:
Female

Male

Dark and boring:

but they got almost darkgrey/blackish somtimes! Have no pics on that...

 

[KellyTCS]

Thanks for the info Ian! Lottiz: That is 1 cool pattie! Do you know the lineage of that guy?

 

[Lottiz]

Thanks for the info Ian! Lottiz: That is 1 cool pattie! Do you know the lineage of that guy?

Thank you, Kelly
I bought 1.1 from Alex Hue. All I know is that they are mack snow patty, hatched in July, I think. (On some of this pics they still got their baby spots) I don't know their mother or father...

Here is some more pics of my female (it's the one on the top in my erlier replay too, and after her, my male patty).

Hatchling:

about 8 weeks, Hamm September:

about 3-4 month, November:

/Lottiz

 

[KellyTCS]

Sweet! Great geckos!