It was brought to my attention how very dark my Ibera is. His color seemed normal enough as a baby and has gotten darker as he's gotten older. The color change happened slowly over the last 6 years and now he's nearly solid black. I read that iberas from the mountainous regions tend to be darker. I was wondering if anyone else had a tortoise like mine or any other information or ideas on his coloring. Here's are 6 months/6 years pics of my guy.
Dark Ibera
- Thread starter RobinH
- Start date
He's handsome no doubt 
From what I've learned it is common for an Ibera to be very dark, and to darken up as they get older. Hatchlings, yours included, appear to often have a bit of a dark spot on their nose or forehead, around the crown or around their jawline, as well as a bit of dark around the claws, but as they age the gaps fill in and the glossy brown and black on the shell fades more to grey as well.
Agreed, I have also read that the mountainous regions yield darker Greeks, while the Southern regions of their habitat like North Africa and South Western Spain yield much lighter colors, as per their sun exposure.
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From what I've learned it is common for an Ibera to be very dark, and to darken up as they get older. Hatchlings, yours included, appear to often have a bit of a dark spot on their nose or forehead, around the crown or around their jawline, as well as a bit of dark around the claws, but as they age the gaps fill in and the glossy brown and black on the shell fades more to grey as well.
Agreed, I have also read that the mountainous regions yield darker Greeks, while the Southern regions of their habitat like North Africa and South Western Spain yield much lighter colors, as per their sun exposure.
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