hard time with tokay morphs

wborton · #1 11-23-2010, 01:00 AM

I can't seem to find any information about what exactly "high orange" means. Also, I read about "normals" which is the closest thing I can find that looks like mine, but his head is the normal blue color and his body is sea green (both with the orange spots). His darker colors are nearly black with red spots. I've been looking for a while, and I just can't seem to find the right information. Can anyone help, please?

Ophidiophile · #2 11-23-2010, 10:15 AM

The answer is: it doesn't mean anything. What I mean by that is that there is currently no standardization among Tokay breeders (let alone importers) in what animals are called. Most of the so-called "high orange" animals that I've seen for sale are simply normals that tend to have bright orange spotting. They tend to be very pretty but I wouldn't necessarily call them a true "morph". On the other hand I have seen "high reds" in which the spots are so expanded that they almost completely encroach upon the background color of the animal and so the animal is basically totally red in color and I would call that a morph although we don't know exactly whether it's genetic and if it is, what its pattern of inheritance is. I hope this answers your question a bit! Hey post a picture of yours if you have one - I'm sure many people here would love to see what you've got!

wborton · #3 11-23-2010, 12:36 PM

I posted one in another thread, but I'll post it again for anyone reading this thread

It's not a great pictures because it was on my cell phone in the car, but it's the only one I have right now.

Kita · #4 11-27-2010, 05:13 AM

Too blue to be included in high orange. The ones I've seen actually have a different hue their body indicating the orange, not the spots themselves. Keep in mind this is only my opinion.

Here is my female that I consider "high orange."

And in between a blue granite and a normal with pale spots.

wborton · #5 11-27-2010, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kita

Too blue to be included in high orange. The ones I've seen actually have a different hue their body indicating the orange, not the spots themselves.

Sorry Kita, I'm a little confused! I didn't think my guy was high orange, I just didn't know what it meant. Then your description confused me a little more! haha...what do you mean by "different hue to their body?" Sorry to be such a dummy

By the way, the picture isn't very good, but the base color of his body is completely green...the only blue on his is his head.

Kita · #6 11-28-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wborton

Sorry Kita, I'm a little confused! I didn't think my guy was high orange, I just didn't know what it meant. Then your description confused me a little more! haha...what do you mean by "different hue to their body?" Sorry to be such a dummy

By the way, the picture isn't very good, but the base color of his body is completely green...the only blue on his is his head.

Then I misunderstood you as well, I probably read your post too fast. I meant the main body coloration under the spots. I think high orange can look a bit green, but I think that is because the main body color is generally light blue and having an orange pigment included with the normal blue gives the green appearance.

I realize your picture isn't the best, but having seen a number of Tokays in various light I agree that he/she is a normal. I've noticed mine will start to darken their bodies before their heads like yours. The blue granite in my photo had done just that, leaving her head light blue while the black intensified over the rest of her.

wborton · #7 11-29-2010, 08:46 AM

Oh, ok! Thanks. That helps a lot. Now that you have explained that, I could see how my post might sound like I thought he was a high orange!

You're tokays are absolutely beautiful by the way!

Kita · #8 11-29-2010, 02:39 PM

Thanks! Also, just wait and see. Many of the morphs out there change out of their normal colors from birth and start into their morph colors at 6-8 months. You never know.

Ophidiophile · #9 11-30-2010, 11:58 PM

Wow wborton, I really like your Tokay. That blue head with green body is really cool looking. I have blue-headed greens but they are mostly patternless. The orange spots on your blue-headed green is an interesting twist. No matter what you call it, it's a very nice animal!

wborton · #10 12-01-2010, 12:02 AM

Thanks, he's certainly a cutie. I'm trying to get some better pictures of him, but the light can't seem to really capture it right. Plus, every time I try to catch him, he darkens up, and I feel bad

I'm working on it though. I'm just really lucky he isn't a biter!

Here's one of the better pictures I have gotten