Coloration change during the digestion of food?

[Spaniard]

Hey All,

First off background info to the situation at hand. I finally found a petstore that carries small live rats that are actually small; so I picked one up to try on one of my girls that hasn't eaten consistently since I got her. She wasn't interested and neither were any of my bigger snakes. Lustro Mr. Garbage disposal was more than happy to address the situation. The meal was a little larger than usual so its taking him a bit to digest. Now to the question, sorry for all the rambling, Lustro who is normally a very bright pastel has dulled quite a bit since the meal. No signs of shed like sometimes triggered by a bigger meal, just a lot duller. Anyone else ever experience this?

[frankykeno]

Well Rich I'm no expert here but a few thoughts. I know with our boas you can often see quite a drastic shade change during digestion. They will darken to draw and retain extra heat which of course aids in larger prey digestion. Also the process of digestion in snakes draws most of their resources to the digestive tract. Their hearts go into overdrive pumping extra oxygen rich blood to the belly, they produce far more acid in there, as well as to all other organs related to digestion. These activities peak at about 48 hours post eating when things start to return to normal function. So perhaps a shade change is just a part of digestion of a suddenly larger prey item with your pastel and more noticeable on him because he's normally lighter and brighter than your others.

[Spaniard]

Well Rich I'm no expert here but a few thoughts. I know with our boas you can often see quite a drastic shade change during digestion. They will darken to draw and retain extra heat which of course aids in larger prey digestion. Also the process of digestion in snakes draws most of their resources to the digestive tract. Their hearts go into overdrive pumping extra oxygen rich blood to the belly, they produce far more acid in there, as well as to all other organs related to digestion. These activities peak at about 48 hours post eating when things start to return to normal function. So perhaps a shade change is just a part of digestion of a suddenly larger prey item with your pastel and more noticeable on him because he's normally lighter and brighter than your others.

What a great answer, thanks JO!