I have noticed something, and I THINK that I know the answer... but wanted to run it by you folks.
I noticed that Boo, our Antakyan greek tortoise, has gotten A LOT darker in the last month or so. He still has the pale yellow large-ish scales on his head, but the skin around them, as well as the dark parts of his shell, have gotten so much darker! It used to be that the dark brown areas of his shell markings were only really dark when he was wet. Now they are black even when his shell is dry. (and no, it's not dirtier)
MY guess is that this is because he is finally getting good UV and nutrition? He was kept without UV by his previous owner (except for the 4 weeks per Summer she kept him tethered in the yard by a ring in his shell), and she only fed him romaine. He has been with me since November, so not very long... would the good healthy varied leafy greens and the UVB make such a difference to his coloring so quickly?
I noticed that Boo, our Antakyan greek tortoise, has gotten A LOT darker in the last month or so. He still has the pale yellow large-ish scales on his head, but the skin around them, as well as the dark parts of his shell, have gotten so much darker! It used to be that the dark brown areas of his shell markings were only really dark when he was wet. Now they are black even when his shell is dry. (and no, it's not dirtier)
MY guess is that this is because he is finally getting good UV and nutrition? He was kept without UV by his previous owner (except for the 4 weeks per Summer she kept him tethered in the yard by a ring in his shell), and she only fed him romaine. He has been with me since November, so not very long... would the good healthy varied leafy greens and the UVB make such a difference to his coloring so quickly?