A question i have been killing to ask!

[dougie210]

Hey guys,
This is a question i have been wanting to get an answer to for ages, as i havn't actually been bothered to ask you guys but now! So here it is:
Do reptiles see colour? i am sure that they don't as i am probaly having a tired blonde moment here lol

 

[dunno103]

I asked my snakes, but they just ignore me. So I don't know.

 

[first_time_owner]

lol

 

[mysnakesau]

I reckon our bearded dragon knows the colour green. When we let her out she bites at everything that is green, trying to eat it. The edge of my table runner which is green, green fluff, anything green she tries to eat it. When I dish out her salads, the green stuff goes first.

 

[shane14]

oh there might be something there...... we need scientists

 

[grizz]

Hey guys,
This is a question i have been wanting to get an answer to for ages, as i havn't actually been bothered to ask you guys but now! So here it is:
Do reptiles see colour? i am sure that they don't as i am probaly having a tired blonde moment here lol

For sure... they don't know it though.

 

[BrownHash]

Yes they do. They don't see as many colours as we do and some of them are able to see into different light spectrums (e.g. infrared). So the short answer is that they do, but their colour vision isn't great. There's also variability between species. Nocturnal animals have different requirements to diurnal animals.

 

[Fuscus]

from Australian Snakes: A Natural History by Richard Shine

"The eyes of snakes apparently lack oil droplets, which are used for colour vision in other vertebrates. However, there is a wide variety of different types of eye structures among snakes, involving cones and rods in the retina, and at least some diurnal snakes are known to have red and green colour receptors. Vision is undoubtedly very important for some types of snakes, and relatively unimportant for others. For example, fast-moving diurnal hunters like whipsnakes have very large eyes and rely upon vision to chase and capture the fast-moving lizards that are their normal prey. At the other extreme, blindsnakes have the eyes reduced to darkly pigmented dots hidden beneath the scales of the head. These 'blindsnakes' undoubtedly can detect the difference between light and dark, but probably little else."

in short some do

 

[Rocky]

I'd say Beardies and bluies do, Mine always bite at green and orange stuff (rocket and carrot)

 

[Slytherin]

I noticed that Snakey singles out green foliage on branches over anything else and reaches for it when I'm standing outside with him in my hands. He seems to instincively seek them out, wanting to climb. He especially likes to single out the bright/light green ones.

 

[swaddo]

I was going to quote shine but fuscus saved me the trouble ... thanks mate

 

[Fuscus]

I was going to quote shine but fuscus saved me the trouble ... thanks mate

You mean I could have saved all that typing if I waited a few minutes ( actually I cut and pasted). Might pull the shine book out tonight , its a really good read.

 

[swaddo]

it is indeed. I only got it the other day but I've found it very interesting

 

[junglepython2]

There is some solid evidence that at least some species have reasonable colour vision, even in pythons.

 

[FNQ_Snake]

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Snakes have rods and cones in their eyes, as do we, though in different numbers. They do not have the diversity colored oil droplets (presumed to have been lost when snakes when nocturnal and subterranean) in their photoreceptors that mammals and birds do, so, while they do have color vision, it isn't as broad ranged as ours is. They do have a yellow filter which, filling the lens, absorbs ultraviolet light, protecting the eye.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Snakes use a combination of infrared vision (developed in the trigeminal nerve), variable (by species) visual acuity and color detection, limited eye mobility, and chemosensation to find prey and recognize features in their environment (including their keepers).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Lizard (including geckos) and turtle retinas contain multicolored oil droplets in their photoreceptors, so they can perceive color. The opsin proteins in the cones in the eye are "calibrated" to detect different wavelengths. In many species, this enables them to see into the higher wavelengths beyond the scope of unaided human vision: into the UV range.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Nocturnal reptiles usually have smaller eyes than diurnal ones, but relatively large pupillary and lens aperture and cornea. This improves their light-gathering ability, but at the same time reduces visual acuity.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Lizards can focus on near and far by squeezing or stretching their lenses, using the ciliary muscles and annular pads. Pupils dilate and contract in response to light. Nocturnal geckos like the tokay have a stenopaic pupil: contracts into a vertical slit composed of a linear array of dots. Some nocturnal lizards have slit pupils, others are round. Lizards, unlike other reptiles, have a choroid body, called the conus papillaris. Projecting out into the vitrious humor, it nourishes the cornea.

[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Sources include[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
Sinclair, Sandra. 1985. How Animals See: Other Visions of Our World. Croom Helm, London.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Grace, Michael S. 1997, The visual system and non-visual photoreception. In: The Biology Husbandry, and Health Care of Reptiles. Lowell Ackerman, DVM, ed. Vol. I, pp. 325-341. TFH Publishing, Neptune City, NJ.[/FONT]​

 

[dougie210]

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[mrillusion]

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Snakes have rods and cones in their eyes, as do we, though in different numbers. They do not have the diversity colored oil droplets (presumed to have been lost when snakes when nocturnal and subterranean) in their photoreceptors that mammals and birds do, so, while they do have color vision, it isn't as broad ranged as ours is. They do have a yellow filter which, filling the lens, absorbs ultraviolet light, protecting the eye.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Snakes use a combination of infrared vision (developed in the trigeminal nerve), variable (by species) visual acuity and color detection, limited eye mobility, and chemosensation to find prey and recognize features in their environment (including their keepers).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Lizard (including geckos) and turtle retinas contain multicolored oil droplets in their photoreceptors, so they can perceive color. The opsin proteins in the cones in the eye are "calibrated" to detect different wavelengths. In many species, this enables them to see into the higher wavelengths beyond the scope of unaided human vision: into the UV range.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Nocturnal reptiles usually have smaller eyes than diurnal ones, but relatively large pupillary and lens aperture and cornea. This improves their light-gathering ability, but at the same time reduces visual acuity.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Lizards can focus on near and far by squeezing or stretching their lenses, using the ciliary muscles and annular pads. Pupils dilate and contract in response to light. Nocturnal geckos like the tokay have a stenopaic pupil: contracts into a vertical slit composed of a linear array of dots. Some nocturnal lizards have slit pupils, others are round. Lizards, unlike other reptiles, have a choroid body, called the conus papillaris. Projecting out into the vitrious humor, it nourishes the cornea.

[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Sources include[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]
Sinclair, Sandra. 1985. How Animals See: Other Visions of Our World. Croom Helm, London.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Grace, Michael S. 1997, The visual system and non-visual photoreception. In: The Biology Husbandry, and Health Care of Reptiles. Lowell Ackerman, DVM, ed. Vol. I, pp. 325-341. TFH Publishing, Neptune City, NJ.[/FONT]​

GoOgLe MaKeS u LoOk SmArT

 

[JasonL]

I used to have these two bright orange male beardies, they hated each other which is normal, anyway, one day during breeding season, I put them in together for a minute to get their blood flowing, after a bit of displaying at each other I threw one into a very large tub that I kept my woodies in at the time, whilst I finished some enclosure cleaning, but I could hear this ruckus going on inside the tub... It was the bright orange beardy attacking, not eating, but fully attacking the carrots I had thrown in with the woodies.. So my conclusion is that they can see colour, but are extremely stupid ..... also, Sandswimmers often attack their red plastic feeder bowl, but never bite any other colour one I use.