Scaleless garter

[EasternGirl]

Hmm...I think they are interesting looking, but I would think that the reason why you don't come across many in the wild is because they have a very difficult time surviving without the protection of scales.

[ConcinusMan]

Hmm...I think they are interesting looking, but I would think that the reason why you don't come across many in the wild is because they have a very difficult time surviving without the protection of scales.

I don't think so. Perhaps a little more vulnerable to skin scratches is all. I think amelanism is more dangerous due to the fact that snakes need warm up in the sun (they can sunburn) and it makes them stick out like a sore thumb to predators and yet we still find them in the wild. But it is a recessive trait, which makes it rare enough to produce a specimen. It takes both of it's parents to carry the gene in order for the snake to be scaleless. Think about that for a minute. The odds aren't great of producing one unless there are a lot of snakes in a population that carry the gene. Plus, it can be inherited and passed on for many generations without producing any scaleless snakes. So, this one does exist so somewhere out there in that population are others, perhaps many others, that carry the gene but aren't scaleless themselves. But they would never produce one unless two of those that carry the gene got together and mated.

[Stefan-A]

Perhaps a little more vulnerable to skin scratches is all.

A lot more. Scratches, cuts and abrasions all increase the risk of infection and the lack of scales makes the animal especially vulnerable to external parasites.

[Lisa4john]

I'll stick to the snakes with scales thanks, I am not so fond of the naked ones, they creep me out too.

[Steveo]

Also not a fan of hairless cats/dogs/whatever. Though on women it's not so bad, I have enough hair for two

[Invisible Snake]

I would love to own a scaleless garter!

[katach]

Wouldn't they require extra care, no uv and less heat and nothing sharp or pointy?

[snake man]

personally I think that scale-less snake is a bad idea and a little cruel to the snakes, there is a reason why they have scales in the first place.

[ConcinusMan]

Then there's a reason why some don't and a reason why the gene for it still exists. There's nothing cruel about it. It has no effect on their quality of life, at least not in captivity.

If that's cruel, then so is allowing people with birth defects, to live.

[Stefan-A]

Then there's a reason why some don't and a reason why the gene for it still exists.

The gene for it exists because of random mutations. The reason it still exists, is that it's not expressed in all snakes that carry it. The reason it's not expressed more often, is that it's acted upon by natural selection when it does. And if it wasn't harmful, or if scales weren't worth the energy that goes into growing and maintaining them, scalelessness would quickly push the scaliness out of the pool.

There's nothing cruel about it.

Indeed, cruelty implies malicious intent.

It has no effect on their quality of life, at least not in captivity.

Probably not in a nice sterile tub.

If that's cruel, then so is allowing people with birth defects, to live.

Intentionally breeding people with birth defects for freak shows, would be analogous to breeding scaleless snakes for the pet trade.