Marbles Anyone?

[N2TORTS]

" rack um" .....

JD~

 

[Jacqui]

I know I may have lost my marbles, but I really like the one in the second shot.

 

[Zamric]

what makes the color change?

 

[N2TORTS]

what makes the color change?

The shell is composed of hard, bone plates covered by scutes. The scutes are made of keratin, the primary substance in hair, nails and hooves of other animals. The pigment melanin, present in the scutes, may form intricate designs and brightly colored patterns in some species all with varied results. There is also the " lack of" pigmentation, as in Hypo's /Albinos.

 

[dmarcus]

You come up with some great thread titles....

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Nice!

 

[Zamric]

what makes the color change?

The shell is composed of hard, bone plates covered by scutes. The scutes are made of keratin, the primary substance in hair, nails and hooves of other animals. The pigment melanin, present in the scutes, may form intricate designs and brightly colored patterns in some species all with varied results. There is also the " lack of" pigmentation, as in Hypo's /Albinos.

can these melanin levels be altered by diet or habitat or is it genetic and happens during randon growth cycles?

 

[N2TORTS]

what makes the color change?





can these melanin levels be altered by diet or habitat or is it genetic and happens during randon growth cycles?

From the get go I would suggest it’s more genetically inherited , but that too will vary within hatchlings from the same litter. Also there is the idea of what they may and may not eat . We can use a flamingo as an example ( although a tort probably doesn’t have the same diversity in diet as a flamingo) … .
The flamingos’ feathers, legs, and face are colored by their diet, which is rich in alpha and beta carotenoid pigments.
Carotenoids in crustaceans such as those in the flamingo diet are frequently linked to protein molecules, and may be blue or green. After being digested, the carotenoid pigments dissolve in fats and are deposited in the growing feathers, becoming orange or pink. The same effect is seen when shrimp change color during cooking. The amount of pigment laid down in the feathers depends on the quantity of pigment in the flamingo’s diet. An absence of carotenoids in its food will result in new feather growth that is very pale; the existing pigment is lost through molting. Also take note if housed outdoors , the sun usally plays a role and tends to make the overall color lighter. ( not really marbling) , but a " bleached out apperance" .

JD~

 

[Zamric]

hmmmm interesting... So they would have to have a genetic tendency to marble but that genetic tendency could be influanced by diet or habitat. This sounds like a really cool thesis paper!

 

[Momof4]

You come up with some great thread titles....

I was thinking the same thing! I'm not that clever!

Very cool pics!

 

[N2TORTS]

hmmmm interesting... So they would have to have a genetic tendency to marble but that genetic tendency could be influanced by diet or habitat. This sounds like a really cool thesis paper!

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