Fresh shed......

[ConcinusMan]

Yes

[RedSidedSPR]

Weird...

[ConcinusMan]

Warm:



Same snake cold:



They all do this

[RedSidedSPR]

All? As in all concinnus? Or all garters?

[ConcinusMan]

I can only speak for these. When I was keeping sceloporous lizards, they did this too. The blue on them was only blue when they were very warm. Otherwise, it appeared pale and greenish.

[ConcinusMan]

I think it's because the color is the result of light wavelengths being altered by pigment cells. Think of it this way: light hits the cells. Certain wavelengths are absorbed, others reflected. The blue you're seeing is blue light being reflected and hitting your eye. The temperature of those cells is going to have an effect on the exact wavelength that gets reflected. When a snake or lizard is cold, it needs to absorb as much light (heat) as possible. Therefore the cold snake is not reflecting as much blue light as the warm one.

[RedSidedSPR]

Huh... Have you noticed it in the normal concinnus?

[ConcinusMan]

No. But then again, normals aren't reflecting blue, which has a very short wavelength. The slightest alteration in that wavelength will dramatically change the color. Not so with red or orange. It would take a much more dramatic alteration in wavelength before you would notice it with the naked eye.

[RedSidedSPR]

Gotcha...

I love those blue concinnus. They may he my favorite snake...

[Bart]

Still, they seem to have more black that blue.