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- Apr 3, 2013
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- 10,876
When kept outdoors..... Exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun causes certain skin cells to produce the pigment changes in melanin, which Melanin keeps excessive ultraviolet rays from burning the skin. Exposure to sunlight causes the skin to produce more melanin and also darkens through oxidation. Enough time in the sun and those cells will migrate closer to the skin's surface and produce more melanin, further darkening the skin/shell. Further more the darkening pigment absorbs ultraviolet radiation and defends against further penetration of skin tissue. Melanin-rich cells continually move toward the surface, where they are sloughed. In tortoises for example this darkened melanin proves diversely useful. It absorbs heat, that is essential for our cold -blooded buddies.Interesting, so you share the same observations as me? Maybe this is how you get the 'high-white' leopards that do not pass their colors on to the next generation, and as you said, as they get older and have more time outside they lose the 'whiteness'. Artificial color creation effectively. I wonder what would happen if you kept a number of generations inside, could you have a permanent change in the color? Just thinking of artificial snake morphs.
Btw, sorry for gatecrashing the thread.
I have three Belgian shepards, a Dutch Shepard, a Czech Shepard, and a Jack Russel Terrier. I'm also raising a German Wire-haired Pointer right now.