[Kita]

I just bought a pair of Tokays the other day and received them yesterday. What was supposed to be a Granite turned jet black like a Melanistic and the supposed Melanistic lightened down to a Granite. If the Granite hadn't lightened color back down to a proper Granite where I could compare it's sale photos and match patterns and features, I would have said it was a different animal.

Do all Granites fire up into Melanistics? Or is the Granite just a fired down Melanistic? People always show photos of their morphs displaying the colors expected to that morph and never what they can change to.

Below is the one supposed to be a Granite going from black to blue-gray, but not completely. It is easy to match to it's sale photo due to it's tail tip and rubbed nose.




This was supposed to be the Melanistic, but after opening the box it cooled down to this and wouldn't change again. This one is more difficult to match to it's sale photo.


Thanks in advance.

[Morke]

Well, don't take my word for it, but remember that tokays can change their color A LOT. Mine can become almost as black as yours.

[Green-eyed Gecko]

it's hard to say what kind of morph it could be by the moment.
i ever thought granites have grey eyes.
but at least you have to give them time to acclimatize. when they feel comfortable, then they'll use most of the time their - i call it: "everyday color"!
nevertheless the pair belongs to the same kind of morph and that's great!
congratulations!

[Kita]

A pair yes, but they both ended up being males. Luckily a local guy just ordered a pair of Granites as well (different supplier) and ended up with two females. After they settle in I'm hoping he will trade with me.

I know they all change colors because I've had my tame normal female for over seven and a half years. I'm just trying to figure out if Granites are two separate morphs or just the color phases of the same one. And if thats the case, which do you call them? I'm wondering if Melanistic is a type (super?) of Granite since there are Granites that still have some orange/red spots.

The little one fired up last night. (Please excuse the Crested Gecko terminology)

[Green-eyed Gecko]

yes it i think i would be a nice opportunity for you if that exchange would be possible later. till that don't put the males toghter! but i think you know that if you are keeping normal colored tokays since some years.

hm, i would say it is more a kind of melanistic but definitely not a granite. but that's my opinion - so don't lay to much wight on it!
on the picture you can see a blue granite male of mine using it's everday color! have a look at his eyes. i think your tokays look different to mine!

by the way there is also the possibility that your tokays are calicos in a kind pre-stadium! sometimes it takes years till they change their color step by step from normal to a darker color like your tokays have ...and at least they get white areas on their skin.
i mean look at the color of the toes from the male you've posted at least.

so it takes a bit time to find it out and to be sure what kind of morph it is!
best regards

[Ophidiophile]

Originally Posted by Green-eyed Gecko

i would say it is more a kind of melanistic

I agree that these are melanistics. Melanistics seem to range from jet black to ashy gray.

As far as granite is concerned, right now people don't seem to use these terms in standard ways so it all depends on what you mean. I use "granite" to simply mean "black-spotted" as opposed to the normal orange or red spots. I have seen (and owned) melanistics that are granite-spotted and ones that are red, orange or yellow spotted. It's hard to tell from your photos but it looks like your top one (in the first series of photos) might be a granite (black-spotted) melanistic.

[Kita]

Originally Posted by Green-eyed Gecko

on the picture you can see a blue granite male of mine using it's everday color! have a look at his eyes. i think your tokays look different to mine!

What does your Granite look like fired up? (dark/night phase)