Fading pattern!?

[pepper]

Okay, so Watson is getting well, huge. He's over 7 inches now and he is, err was getting an amazing pattern!

Well something seems amiss..he had a really bright pattern of yellow bars, and now, they seem to be..well fading? I'll show pictures..

This was him just last week..begging for food as usual...And actually, I see a tiny bit of fading on his tail and back..

Now these are from just now....see the fading inside his bars?

It just looks really weird, and I don't know if something needs to be done.
We have no vets that know anything about salamanders or newts, so if anyone can offer some advice, much appreciated!!

The only thing I remember changing in the last few days was taking the tap water I use to mist and fill his water dish up with and putting a few drops of dechlorinater in it, the amount it says on the bottle. But those first pictures where the fading is barely there I was still using plain tap water....

He's come a long way, and I would hate for something to go wrong, I don't know if anyone remembers this tiny guy..

 

[IanF]

Plenty of species of newts and salamanders patterns change, brighten, and dull. In my opinion he's just going through a natural process, nothing is wrong with him. Other than that aslong as he's eating healthily and acting normal... I'd say there's nothing wrong.

 

[Kaysie]

A lot of animals also change a bit when they are shedding.

 

[ferret_corner]

I hate to say it but they say my tiger probably looked like yours when he was young. Yellow w/bold black marks. Now he is olivish green/gray with small black splotches. I have two more young ones that resemble yours. I was hoping they would keep their colors but now it sounds like they may not.

What does yours eat?

Sharon

 

[axiebreeder103]

like another member said earlier, Salamanders colors change, sometimes dramatically as they age. As long as hes eating well, (like your final picture clearly shows hahahaha) there's nothing to worry about
His colors will brighten, darken, and change as he ages. There is nothing you can do about it, so hey, embrace it

PS- I like how he looks now with splotchy bars better

-danny

 

[pepper]

Thanks for the info. I really wished he would keep his awesome bars like in the first pictures...he looks like he's dirty all the time now, even if I rinse him off...T_T

 

[ferret_corner]

Ah well he won't notice or mind and he'll keep his same nutty personality. I like the vibrant look too and one of these days maybe I'll buy one of the types that morphs or stays vibrantly colored. Don't some of the "fire" salamanders stay red?

But I have to wonder if its diet related? The petshop where I got my two had an 8 yr old sally who was just yellow as mine are now. But VERY obese.

Sharon

 

[John]

I wonder what would happen if you put him in a tub of water over night - that might help him to shed and I think you could be in for a pleasant surprise if he does so. No guarantees but no harm either.

 

[Nin10doGC]

I heard somewhere that paprika mixed in with food can help with vibrant colors in animals like frogs, it's worth a shot mixing it in with food maybe. Although I really don't know.

 

[pepper]

I don't think he's shedding? How would I know? haha

Couldn't he drown?

He eats crickets, meal worms, and giant meal worms with ease.

He's eaten 2 earthworms, he isn't used to the taste yet haha.

 

[pete]

My guess is that he's transitioning to a new pattern. I'd bet that those darkening areas on the light will go black, and the lightening areas will go yellowish green over time. I had one barred who's pattern would change dramatically in that fashion. The whole process would take about a month. I never understood what made it change.

Btw, I think John was suggesting a dish of water that is deep enough to submerge his body, but not his head. (A bath not a swimming pool.)

 

[John]

He won't drown. I've never heard of anyone being able to drown a tiger that isn't a metamorph.

 

[pete]

Looking at your photos reminds me, I always thought is was such a strange thing. What benefit is there to changing your spots in this fashion? I can't rationalize why they do this.

 

[John]

Looking at your photos reminds me, I always thought is was such a strange thing. What benefit is there to changing your spots in this fashion? I can't rationalize why they do this.

I've never heard of them doing that.

 

[pete]

I've never heard of them doing that.

Yeah, I could never find anything about it either. However, my California tiger seemed to change it's spots almost yearly, but since it was mostly black I hadn't noticed until the time it lost all its spots. I think I posted on that once. And I had one barred that would do something very similar to what Pepper's is doing. I'll dig through old photos and see if I can find photos of the transition, but I think it was pre-ownership of my camera. I'm betting if we get photos a month or so from now that those dark areas on Pepper's tiger will be solid black and those lighter areas will be solid yellow. I could be totally wrong on this, but those photos look very similar to how that one particular barred of mine switched his patterning. It was a dramatic change in patterning all at one time with a fading dark and fading light of areas.

Edit: But it was as if there was switch thrown and the pattern changed in this fashion and then stabilized with new defined light and dark areas, which makes me think that there is some mechanism at work governing the process. I have to add that I also had tigers with more stable patterns that did change over time but weren't nearly as dramatic. That did seem to be the norm.

 

[John]

Pete, you're in California and you said California Tiger. I remind you that illegal activity may be reported to the authorities.

Yeah, I could never find anything about it either. However, my California tiger seemed to change it's spots almost yearly, but since it was mostly black I hadn't noticed until the time it lost all its spots. I think I posted on that once. And I had one barred that would do something very similar to what Pepper's is doing. I'll dig through old photos and see if I can find photos of the transition, but I think it was pre-ownership of my camera. I'm betting if we get photos a month or so from now that those dark areas on Pepper's tiger will be solid black and those lighter areas will be solid yellow. I could be totally wrong on this, but those photos look very similar to how that one particular barred of mine switched his patterning. It was a dramatic change in patterning all at one time with a fading dark and fading light of areas.

Edit: But it was as if there was switch thrown and the pattern changed in this fashion and then stabilized with new defined light and dark areas, which makes me think that there is some mechanism at work governing the process. I have to add that I also had tigers with more stable patterns that did change over time but weren't nearly as dramatic. That did seem to be the norm.

 

[pete]

Pete, you're in California and you said California Tiger. I remind you that illegal activity may be reported to the authorities.

The verbs were in past tense. As I said many times on this forum the California tigers that I had were from larvae collected for research that were rescued by a friend of mine who was at UC Davis many years ago prior to a lot of the rules being established. These animals from old age and other factors do not exist anymore. I remind you that I'm in California and I said tiger salamander of any kind.... However, I assure you that I am unhappily in compliance with the current laws, and aside from observing and admiring habitat I don't touch Ambystoma anymore. Nonetheless, I have had quite a bit of experience with tiger salamanders and I don't feel that my experience should be negated because of changes in the laws.

 

[John]

I had not read any of that before but thank you for making it clear.

 

[Jan]

I've never heard of them doing that.

Don't know about Barreds, but Eastern tigers often change patterns and colors. Bightly colored yellow spots/blotches on a shiny black background color when young, over time can easily change to complete drab olive color with nothing more than a very few thin bands of brown. The spots/blotches appear to coalesce.

 

[Jan]

He won't drown. I've never heard of anyone being able to drown a tiger that isn't a metamorph.

I've witnessed one incident that we attributed to drowning. A 5-year captive Eastern tiger was placed into a temporary viv having a large 4 inch deep pool at one end....while his normal viv was being redone. This was on a Friday morning. When we came back on Monday, he was dead and floating upside down in the pool. There was a plexiglass divider separating the land area from the water. It was assumed that the incline was too steep and that he had been trapped in the water and drowned. Perhaps an incorrect assessment, but he was in otherwise good health. It was enough to make me re-think the potential for drowning.