Diamonds what age can u tell if they will be white or yellow
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zen
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Pretty much as hatchlings if you know what to look for.
Certainly after the first slough you'll get an indication of how it'll turn out.
However it's relatively subtle at this stage, becoming more apparent with each slough.
By six months of age, assuming it's been feeding & growing well, you should have a pretty good idea of if it'll be a striking B&W, a high yellow or a normal black beauty 8) .
Certainly after the first slough you'll get an indication of how it'll turn out.
However it's relatively subtle at this stage, becoming more apparent with each slough.
By six months of age, assuming it's been feeding & growing well, you should have a pretty good idea of if it'll be a striking B&W, a high yellow or a normal black beauty 8) .
Greebo
Snakologist
Still a bit too young IMO..... maybe yellow. The easiest way to tell is to look at the parents.
I reckon 12-18 months is a good age to be able to tell. Perhaps that's just because we like to grow our Diamonds slowly and I'm talking about being able to tell the intensity of the colour as well as what colour. I think yours looks like he's going to be yellow just cos I think I can see yellow coming through in the black but you won't know how yellow for a while yet 
. Did they tell you what colour the parents were?
Zen what would you look for in a hatchy to tell colour? Do you mean the horseshoe shape and coppery colour that people talk about or something else?
. Did they tell you what colour the parents were?Zen what would you look for in a hatchy to tell colour? Do you mean the horseshoe shape and coppery colour that people talk about or something else?
timmy
Active Member
My diamonds when i first got them looked just like Daisy and now they are are alot more yellow.
My little guys colours got brighter with every shed.
My little guys colours got brighter with every shed.
Z
zen
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At about 5 months old you should have an indication already.
As you probably already know, the rosettes & their spacings do not change significantly throughout their life.
So this specimen, which looks pure to me, will always have nice, relatively tight diamonds/rosettes.
There's an early indication of some yellow there, but it should be a black beauty as well.
I think I saw another pic you posted of this specimen in another thread, that showed some yellow in the head & nape area.
Can you put up a head/neck pic ?
From a very early age, the light coalesced markings on the head are already yellowish, or creamy-white.
The horse-shoe theory on the nape seems valid enough but is often an indicator of intergrade influence from my observations. Though some pure Diamonds have broken horse-shoes, so combine it with non-suspect Diamond body markings to ensure you've got a pure Diamond.
The rusty colour seems to be a reliable indicator of a high yellow specimen but are they pure Diamonds?
Another early indicator is that the anterior, lower, lateral colouration is already distinctly creamy white in the future B&W's.
Plus, the belly of a yellow specimen starts pinkish compared to B&W hatchlings.
Lastly, look very closely at the individual scales in between the rosettes, especially posteriorly. The size of the light 'speck' in the middle of the scale will give some indication of the overall eventual colouration i.e degree of yellow/white v's black.
Try not to be dissappointed by tiny specking and a predominance of dark brown/black as these specimens often turn out to be strikingly beautiful IMO.
With all due respect, I disagree with Hugsta.
Your specimen will always have smaller, tighter rosettes than his and look like more like a classic wild Diamond.
I'm going out on a limb here.... I'll bet your Diamond is of Illawarra/South Coast geographic origins.
Am I right? Did you ask the breeder about the locality of it's bloodline?
As you probably already know, the rosettes & their spacings do not change significantly throughout their life.
So this specimen, which looks pure to me, will always have nice, relatively tight diamonds/rosettes.
There's an early indication of some yellow there, but it should be a black beauty as well.
I think I saw another pic you posted of this specimen in another thread, that showed some yellow in the head & nape area.
Can you put up a head/neck pic ?
Ouzo, I go on the colour of the head/face and nape markings.
From a very early age, the light coalesced markings on the head are already yellowish, or creamy-white.
The horse-shoe theory on the nape seems valid enough but is often an indicator of intergrade influence from my observations. Though some pure Diamonds have broken horse-shoes, so combine it with non-suspect Diamond body markings to ensure you've got a pure Diamond.
The rusty colour seems to be a reliable indicator of a high yellow specimen but are they pure Diamonds?
Another early indicator is that the anterior, lower, lateral colouration is already distinctly creamy white in the future B&W's.
Plus, the belly of a yellow specimen starts pinkish compared to B&W hatchlings.
Lastly, look very closely at the individual scales in between the rosettes, especially posteriorly. The size of the light 'speck' in the middle of the scale will give some indication of the overall eventual colouration i.e degree of yellow/white v's black.
Try not to be dissappointed by tiny specking and a predominance of dark brown/black as these specimens often turn out to be strikingly beautiful IMO.
With all due respect, I disagree with Hugsta.
Your specimen will always have smaller, tighter rosettes than his and look like more like a classic wild Diamond.
I'm going out on a limb here.... I'll bet your Diamond is of Illawarra/South Coast geographic origins.
Am I right? Did you ask the breeder about the locality of it's bloodline?
Wow that's some serious observations zen! lol . I disagree about the markings not changing though...I know that 2 rosettes can merge together over time as I've seen it on one of my Diamonds and I've heard they can also separate but have never witnessed this. I was actually thinking of putting up a thread to ask that very question: if banding on baby Diamonds can separate as they grow. I used to panic that any Diamonds with banding on them weren't pure but after hearing some of the more experienced members come on and say that that's not necessarily true, I've decided to leave the purity pure debate to others (unless blatantly obvious lol ).
I might have to go and inspect my babies tonight to see if they're gonna take after their parents lol. I've already been looking at their bums PilbaraPythons style to place my bets on what sexes they are :lol:
. I disagree about the markings not changing though...I know that 2 rosettes can merge together over time as I've seen it on one of my Diamonds and I've heard they can also separate but have never witnessed this. I was actually thinking of putting up a thread to ask that very question: if banding on baby Diamonds can separate as they grow. I used to panic that any Diamonds with banding on them weren't pure but after hearing some of the more experienced members come on and say that that's not necessarily true, I've decided to leave the purity pure debate to others (unless blatantly obvious lol ).I might have to go and inspect my babies tonight to see if they're gonna take after their parents lol
. I've already been looking at their bums PilbaraPythons style to place my bets on what sexes they are :lol:
HaHa yeh ime no expert like zen either,but ime learning :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:OuZo said:Wow that's some serious observations zen! lol
I might have to go and inspect my babies tonight to see if they're gonna take after their parents lol
re Diamonds
Shame on you ouzzz,give yourself an uppercut,you need an armchair and to regurgitate literature to be a reall expert,its all quite messy! yuck,your breeding experience disqualifies you, shame shame shame :lol:OuZo said:Oops sorry, did that come across as if I was saying zen's not an expert?
I didn't ask which area the snakes bloodlines stemed back to.
However I will take some macro shots (when I get home tonight) of its head, back, and underbelly so you can have a closer look tonight.
Thanks for all your help guys too.
However I will take some macro shots (when I get home tonight) of its head, back, and underbelly so you can have a closer look tonight.
Thanks for all your help guys too.
Ah I apologise for taking so long to respond...that uppercut really knocked me out...or was that the Ouzo? :mrgreen: Hmmmmmmm either way I regurgitated something ewwwwwwww, am I an expert now? :lol:
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