Albino -- a defect?

[RedSidedSPR]

Sigh... I know, but again I thought I WAS sure...

My bad..

[ConcinusMan]

Which ones? I get the feeling flame lines could get that way pretty quickly, just based on how popular they are. It seems like it'd be pretty lucrative to just keep breeding the brightest flames in a group to each other if someone didn't care about keeping the genetics good..

Popularity has nothing to do with it. It's the single point mutations that are more vulnerable as it gets harder to find unrelated snakes to breed them to, in order to produce the morph. Problems have been seen in snow radixes (stub tails, bug eyes..)and that's a double mutation (anery and albino) making in even harder to find snakes that carry both of the mutations without being related to the snake you intend to breed.

It's not that difficult to breed nice flames without inbreeding.

[d_virginiana]

That's good to hear. (Also good to hear that I can get nice flames from someday breeding my flame to a non-flame!).

I guess in terms of popularity, I was thinking that snakes that were in high demand were more likely to get inbred simply to produce large numbers of the morph quickly. But I see how single mutations are way more susceptible to inbreeding now though.

[mb90078]

This is why I have mentioned before, speaking in absolutes when you are not sure of yourself leads to embarrassing moments.

So true, that is one of my biggest pet peeves. If you're not sure, don't sound so sure, or don't even comment at all. It makes no sense to me why people try to sound confident, when really they have no clue.

(And I'm not picking on this particular user, I mean this in general)

[RedSidedSPR]

I've made that mistake in the past, and always try not to do that.

[xStatic]

Well I just see it as, these snakes are being bred to live out thier lives in a captive environment

It would seem cruel to breed for these certain traits, and then release them into the wild or something where they would most likely not last any amount of time. But we tend to do this with most all animals we keep as pets. Dogs are a great example and their are many traits in dogs that can cause long term or even fatal health problems.. but we like how they look, or how they function, so we continue to selectively breed for them.

I LOVEEEE my albino checkered in my opinion she is a million times more beautiful than a normal checkered.. but again, that's my opinion. Most snakes have developed their coloration to allow them to blend in, but I love those snakes that really pop out at you. She has the most beautiful yellows and oranges, and when they are against her pigment lacking skin which looks lavender, they are just beautiful. The same goes for my snow corn. His eyes are stunning and he lives a happy life in a rather dark and comfortable home

If people want to pay an extra fee, and provide the care that is needed, then go ahead and breed as many crazy colors as you can. As long as the snakes are taken care of properly, I'm happy