BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

This post is in response to the earlier (now deleted?) post asking for comparison photos of Caramel vs normal Northern BTS (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia). These are old photos from 2003 taken with my old Sony Mavica camera that was about the size of a your avrage boom box from the 1980s. Basically The caramel project was an effort to reduce the dark markings (especially the dark portholes), basically creating a sort of hypo. This series clearly shows the difference between the caramels and my standard northerns. I will start with photos of the parents. The first photos shows the females that produced these two litters. The female of the normal litter was the darker normal looking one, and she is pictured along with Lissa (the white Northern) on the centerfold (pages 50 & 51) in the November 2001 issue of Reptiles Magazine. The mother of the Caramels is the lighter one, and she is pictured on page 49 of that same article. The same male fathered both litters, and he was basically the same color and pattern as the normal female (sorry, no digital images of him).




This next photo is of one of the Caramels at just a few days old.




The next five photos show the Caramels as Juvies at a few weeks of age. The first one shows a really unique one. While he had some dark on his sides, his nice wide yellow bands with a very low band count made him special.



These next two show a pretty standard caramel Northern






The next two show a really nice Caramel that showed almost no dark pigmentation at all.





This next photo shows that same skink as a young adult at a few months of age (the photo is not too good in that he was getting ready to shed). Aside form his color and pattern, he was also unique in that he was dropping seminal plugs at 8 weeks of age! He ended up going into brumation against my efforts to keep him up, and he bred at only 7 months of age.



These next 5 photos show the normals as Juvies at just a few weeks of age.












These next 6 photos show a couple of the normal Northerns as young adults at a few months of age.

The caramels are interesting, but I really love the dark markings that normals have

Thanks again for the pictures James! Its really neat to see photos from "the old days"

James, how many generations of selective breeding were there before you produced what you considered a true "caramel?" I find it so interesting to see the results of selective breeding. To me its just too cool that you can basically get whatever colors you want with just some time and dedication. I really think I want my next breeding project to be some kind of selective breeding for a preferred color/pattern.

Alioop wrote:Thanks again for the pictures James! Its really neat to see photos from "the old days"

James, how many generations of selective breeding were there before you produced what you considered a true "caramel?" I find it so interesting to see the results of selective breeding. To me its just too cool that you can basically get whatever colors you want with just some time and dedication. I really think I want my next breeding project to be some kind of selective breeding for a preferred color/pattern.

It just happened with that first generation of breeding that normal male to what I called my whitewashed (lighter) female.

thanks i posted to see the difference earlier ( i don't know why i deleted it i guess a laps in judgment or something )
but thanks again
i debating with myself what i will get if i can add to my collection of blueys

Ember wasn't sold to me as a caramel Northern, but after seeing these photos he looks like one? Here is 2 current photos of Ember;

i love the colors on ember

Great photos, thanks for posting these James! I love seeing the diversity.