Coloration on babies vs. adults

[HarleyK]

Hi, I'm still doing some preliminary research on BTS. I'm wondering how the color changes as a baby matures into an adult. Do they usually hold onto their colors or do colors usually fade as BTS fade or the opposite?

[critterguy]

first shed with me.


6 months or so



Pretty much what he looks like now

[HarleyK]

Wow your skink lightened up a lot!

[Jeff]

A skink can look like entirely different animal the day after it sheds. The colors change on some as they age more than others, but I haven't seen any drastic changes in color after they are a few months old. Most look pretty dull and drab when they are born, but brighten up a LOT through their first several sheds. After that changes seem to be pretty subtle. Sometimes it seems like they change a lot because the before and after shed difference is so great, but if you took a picture the day after every shed the change will not be huge over time, after the first 6 months or so.

[HarleyK]

Thanks for the clarification Jeff

[Fatal_S]

An exception to the rule seems to be Tanimbars. They go through phases of bright or dull colors (not just shedding related) and after a few years their colors start to change again (with silver tannies becoming nearly white in some cases).