Melanistic (Black Pearls, Black Nights, etc.)

Please note that all the Melanistic lines (Black Nights, Black Pearls, etc) have a lot of phases of color development. They usually start off at hatch pretty dark and stay really dark until about 30-35 grams. Then they go through a juvenile cycle where their color lightens up a bit. After they fully mature they darken back down quite a bit and typically will darken a little more with each passing year. They can also change color a little on a daily basis. Temperature, shed cycles, stress are some of the factors that can play a role.