Weird color change

[serpenttongues]

Not sure if this is the right forum to post this under, tapatalk won't let me get the "what morph is this" sub forum. Anyway, back in 2010/2011 I got my first snake, I was rather uninformed at the time and bought a CH ball python from a local "pet store" type of place. He's always been just a basic looking normal, though I always thought he'd pair best with a cinnamon because he was slightly darker and whatnot. Over the past few sheds he's started changing color. Much more brighter, more pronounced blushing. So much so thank I know think his best mate would be a fire! This past shed happened over Christmas while I was out of town (hence the stuck shed) and when I came back I was really taken aback by how bright he's gotten. I know there's reports of snakes changing shades slightly between sheds, but this has really kind of been happening over the course of a year. It all started near his tail, and just got more and more pronounced. All the pics were taken outside under the same sun, so it's not the lighting. Any input?
Also sorry about the bad pics. My computer decided to delete a whole album of photos and these were the only ones i could really scrounge up. Plus the ones I just took.

These were all in 2012/2013 area. You can see he's got dark browns and blacks with a very light hint of blushing spots.



This one was taken in early 2014... You can see where he's getting slightly lighter at the tail and the blushing spots are standing out more
The second one was taken inside but also shows the tail change



And now... Today. Fire-bright with prominent blushing. What's going on here?





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[serpenttongues]

Anyone?


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[Felidae]

I far from be an expert, but I saw that just in females before they ovulating. My only normal lighten up a bit as she grows, but not dramatically like yours. Will be interesting to know why he changed like this

[serpenttongues]

That would make sense; though I've only ever seen the "glow" once, it does look quite similar... I'd say perhaps he was sexed wrong, but I know the glow only happens with ovulation, and this has been a gradual color change. Plus, he reached 1000g pretty quickly and has never gained much more. At 4 years old, he's still only about 1,200g and not very girthy, as seen in the pics. I do wonder what's causing it, though. Since he was CH, I wonder if I should breed him to a fire and see how the offspring lightens up?

[Pyrate81]

I have 2 normals and as an observation with both I have noticed with each shed their colors brighten or darken and blushing has been more pronounced. This happens in one more than the other though. My male Mojave has shown similar traits in the year I have had him. My thoughts/theory on this are it is part of aging/genetics, much how a humans look can change moderately over time as we age.

[angllady2]

For the record, some male snakes "glow" when they hit puberty. I've seen it personally in 5 different males.

Once they hit a certain size/age and really get girls on the brain, they get all light and bright and fancy looking. The only big difference being, males stay that way, or at least mine have. The most dramatic change I've ever seen was in my pastel male. He was an adult breeder when I got him, and wasn't really much to look at. Then, after I had him for about 2 years, he suddenly started lightening up like crazy. He just got lighter and brighter with each shed, and he had all this crazy blushing come in that had never been there. When he changed that way, I decided to breed him after all, since I wasn't at first because he was not a very good pastel. I am happy to say he passed his crazy coloring to his offspring, and gave me an amazing pastel son and pastave son that I kept for future breeding.
It is of course possible yours is a girl, but don't discount that he might just be "buffing up" for the ladies so to speak.

And yes, now that he's grown into his breeding color, he'd be a good match for a bright fire, or a light vanilla, or even an exceptional pastel. Actually, pretty much any morph you like that might benefit from a highlighting would be a good choice. That is how I made my fires and vanillas, which most people agree are some of the nicest they've seen.

Gale

[serpenttongues]

He's going into shed again, which is rather peculiar. I'll update to show if there's any color change, brighter or darker.

[kylephillips87]

I have the same going on with a norm male hitting the 450g mark and producing sperm plugs he just shed and looks like a total different snake I will post some before and current pics later