Color Changing Tortoise Huh?

[waterboy]

My 2 oldest sulcatas use to be completely different colors than each other.Tatsu is about an 18" shell and is that light tan color and about 3 years ago when i got my other one it was that dark dark brown color and was about 12" shell. Now is about 15" shell and is very close to the same color as Tatsu. I live by a river and my soil is very sandy and the same color as my torts shells are now. So my question to everyone is, do sulcatas shell change color with their surroundings over time or do the just get lighter with age. Should be fun to see what everyone thinks.

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Sulcatas kept inside or somewhere where there is very little sunlight will be darker. Sulcatas kept in sunny environments will be that light tan. The sun bleaches the shells which makes them a lighter color.

 

[shellysmom]

Do your torts burrow outside in the sandy soil? Since sand is abrasive, it might be king of polishing the shell a bit, making it lighter. This is a random thought and a complete guess, though.

 

[wellington]

Sulcatas kept inside or somewhere where there is very little sunlight will be darker. Sulcatas kept in sunny environments will be that light tan. The sun bleaches the shells which makes them a lighter color.

Ditto. At least this is what I had heard, from the forum. But I voted no. Not really changing color because of surroundings, like a chameleon, but whether it gets lots of sun or not.

 

[EricIvins]

It's all genetics......Some animals will stay light, some go dark young and lighten up as they mature, while some go dark and never go lighter........It has nothing to do with sunlight - I have Sulcatas outside 24/7 and I see all three scenarios.....

 

[waterboy]

I have heard the sun thing before and went with that theory until i me a lady that has a 70lb sulcata she keeps outside and it is almost a dark black color and her soil is a dark black clay.Her sulcata is the reason i did this post but i wanted to see what people said first. I will post a pic of her sulcata when see texts it to me.

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Heres the pic of that tort. I have never seen one this big with this kind of color and the soil it lives in is the same color.

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

It's all genetics......Some animals will stay light, some go dark young and lighten up as they mature, while some go dark and never go lighter........It has nothing to do with sunlight - I have Sulcatas outside 24/7 and I see all three scenarios.....

This isnt what I have seen from my sulcatas. My friend and I got a hatchling each from a breeder (the breeder only has one male and one female so they are from the same exact clutch) when we were very young and he always kept his inside and when it was finally big enough he finally moved it outside. His backyard is almost all shade and no sun at all and my backyard only has a few trees and bushes and is very sunny. My tortoise turned into a very light tan adult whereas his sulcata turned into a very dark adult. Both were almost the same exact size years later (over 20") and mine was completely light tan and his was completely dark. My friend then had to get rid of his tortoise and gave it to a lady with a big sunny backyard and now that tortoise looks identical to mine. I have also rescued plenty of sulcatas that were DARK black (even adults) because they hadnt touched outdoors and all of those sulcatas are now a light tan color. So in my opinion and experience the sun actually changes the color of the tortoise. You can even look at leopards that are only kept indoors their whole lives and the blonde growth is white but if you keep them outside for a year in sunny conditions that white will turn into more of a yellow.

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I have heard the sun thing before and went with that theory until i me a lady that has a 70lb sulcata she keeps outside and it is almost a dark black color and her soil is a dark black clay.Her sulcata is the reason i did this post but i wanted to see what people said first. I will post a pic of her sulcata when see texts it to me.

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Heres the pic of that tort. I have never seen one this big with this kind of color and the soil it lives in is the same color.

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That tortoise is probably covered in that soil every day so I would assume it would be impossible for the sun to ever come in direct contact with the shell.

 

[N2TORTS]

Sulcatas kept inside or somewhere where there is very little sunlight will be darker. Sulcatas kept in sunny environments will be that light tan. The sun bleaches the shells which makes them a lighter color.

Ok ... Elliot ...actually I have witnessed a little different results . Although at one time I agreed 100% with what you stated.
I will use my RF Hypo's as an example .......( but have seen this in my white Leos' as well ).
Under artificial conditions such as light and the ground beneath them , they will be ultra light in color and clean as a whistle.
Now the reality .... I Don’t keep them indoors...they are outside year round. Due to the high intensity of the sun they will actually darken up a bit ( which is a healthy sign). In humans and tortoises alike , cells called melanocytes produce melanin. More melanin means darker skin/shell coloring. UV light stimulates production of melanin to protect cells from UV damage, an example would be " getting a tan" . So it sorta swings both ways ....the bleaching theory of the suns rays ....and the Darkening to "protect".
Lets not forget the natural earth that soils / stains their shells as well ....but oh they love it so much !


JD~

 

[mctlong]

Lets not forget the natural earth that soils / stains their shells as well ....

Yes, this.

Genetics, of course, is the prime determining factor in shell coloration and pattern. However, soils do stain shells.

 

[Tom]

It's all genetics......Some animals will stay light, some go dark young and lighten up as they mature, while some go dark and never go lighter........It has nothing to do with sunlight - I have Sulcatas outside 24/7 and I see all three scenarios.....

This has been my experience too. I've repeatedly seen all these scenarios. In general, they do tend to lighten up in the sun and with age, but not always.

 

[N2TORTS]

Lets not forget the natural earth that soils / stains their shells as well ....

Yes, this.

Genetics, of course, is the prime determining factor in shell coloration and pattern. However, soils do stain shells.

Oh I know a little about genetics.... I would presume we are talking about when a tortoise matures and is kept in 2 different environments. In this case it has nothing to do with genetics at all!
Skin , Shell and patterns are Genetic Attributes that occur right out of the egg . But can and WILL change as the tortoise matures.....and have two different results/looks , such as color changes in shell , even pattern changes that are " mapped" genetically speaking . A great example would be the Radi'
Mapped Genetic Factor/ with change
(Same Tortiose)

Here are my Hypo Adults....notice the darker two ....I have had them longer and in a much more natural environment. The bright one is a more recent acquired animal that was kept under artificial conditions . At one time , the same two were the exact brightness as the new female. Hence Environmental Conditioning/or Controlling Shell coloring ( due to the sun)
*Environment Factor

*Another example ......Genetic Role Play

JD~:shy:

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

As far as sun lightening up the shells I was speaking strictly about normal sulcatas. I've seen dozens of sulcatas that have never touched pure sunlight except for maybe a few times in their life and they are just extremely dark, even the skin is really dark. I have ivory sulcatas and one of them that I had bought was bone white, he has been outside this whole summer and now that bone white is now a BRIGHT gold/yellow. Same goes for all of my leopards, if kept inside they will have a white blonde but if kept outside the blonde will turn to a yellowish gold. All testudo that I have seen stay a very light color if only kept inside but will really darken up to their normal colors when kept outside. I have also seen certain aldabra individuals have their shells turn brown and that really seems to be the case here in AZ so is that all genetics too?

 

[N2TORTS]

As far as sun lightening up the shells I was speaking strictly about normal sulcatas. I've seen dozens of sulcatas that have never touched pure sunlight except for maybe a few times in their life and they are just extremely dark, even the skin is really dark. I have ivory sulcatas and one of them that I had bought was bone white, he has been outside this whole summer and now that bone white is now a BRIGHT gold/yellow. Same goes for all of my leopards, if kept inside they will have a white blonde but if kept outside the blonde will turn to a yellowish gold. All testudo that I have seen stay a very light color if only kept inside but will really darken up to their normal colors when kept outside. I have also seen certain aldabra individuals have their shells turn brown and that really seems to be the case here in AZ so is that all genetics too?

Nope were on the same page ......those different apperances are EXACTLY what I was trying to say above with the color changes. I experience the same thing. And what I would consider Enviormental Stressors Due To the Sun
And of course genectics is the key to everything...dark , light , color of eyes... heck in humans we have traced it down to cancers and oddly enough we still produce more cancer ?
( great human ethics question )

JD~